A visit from my Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Luis

Luis and Vanessa came to visit Joseph from North Carolina

Celebrating New Year's Eve

Joseph rang in the new year sleeping but he was very well dressed, in his baby tux

Joseph's 1st Christmas

Little Sabrina purchased Joseph 2 little car for Christmas at her school sale

Joseph on GMA

25 years ago Susy and I were on GMA saying Good Morning America to the nation from the NYC Intrepid Museum.... Keeping family tradition I wanted Joseph to be on GMA as well. So he did it on their "3 Words segment" Hollywood watch out Joseph just made his NATIONAL TV debut.

Week 2....

2 amazing weeks have gone by... it's unreal to me how time is flying already. I think the lack of sleep is making time seem fast to me. Joseph is doing well. He is more alert and cuter than ever

The kids met Joseph and he loved him. Sabrina offered to baby sit for Free while Felix said he would only charge $4.00 an hour.

My First week as a mom....

It's amazing how no matter how many kids you have cared for in your life, when it comes to your own things are a little different.

The 1st week hasn't been too bad:

I never realized what a difference "poop" would make in my life... I freaked out when he didn't poop in 24 hours and rushed him to the doctor after only being home for 1 day.

I admire women who exclusively breastfeed, since breastfeeding is a painful and time consuming thing.

I value sleep a little more than I did before even though I have worked the overnight shift for 11 years of my life.

but most important of all, I learned that I am his world right now, perhaps in a year he will only want to play with dad (since he is the "fun" one) but right now, it's me he needs and it's an amazing feeling.

What you learn during the 1st 24 hours of motherhood...

So it's 3:40am and Joseph is 1day and 5 hours old... What have I learned in these hours

1. I will never sleep again.

2. I will never have a worry-free night in my life

3. How quickly you learn to put your priorities in order

4. How you become paranoid.... I have checked if he's breathing a million times

5. most important... How you can love a person, whom you have never met, more than anything in the world

Coming Home...

Meet Joseph Thomas

He is here!!!!!!

Baby Joseph Thomas Epifania knew it was December and decided that it was time to come out.

Our little bundle of joy arrived at 10:49pm on December 2, 2011. He's a little doll. I will post pictures soon but I wanted everyone to know that he is healthy, and perfect in every way.

He was a real trooper, I was 5 hours in labor and pushed for 20 minutes. I couldn't ask for more.

Welcome December...

Baby Joseph is a good listener already, I asked him to stay put till December and he did. I wanted a December birthday and I am getting it... Now we just sit and wait to see when he decides to come.

on 11/30 (Tuesday) the doctor said I was STILL 2 centimeters and was thinning out but nothing to go crazy about, of course that news made me feel as if this will go on forever which made me have my 2nd meltdown in 9 months. I feel better now and have settled with the thought that if nothing happens between now and 12/15, the inducing process begins.

I have discovered that the worse part of being pregnant is the not having control of when or where you will be when labor begins. With my luck my water will break while shopping at Shoprite. That's what I have always wanted to hear.."CLEAN UP ON AISLE 2" I would die of embarrasement LOL

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Little Sabrina and Angie helped make this "unique" thanksgiving card... using a very unusual canvas!

16 days...

So the Braxton Hicks contractions began... I was a little freaked out but after reading in my book that these start as early as 29 weeks for some women I relaxed. They are not painful just a little odd. I actually feel bad for the baby, he must think he's in some type of compression machine.

My stomach gets soooo tight and hard that I can't move. My sciatic nerve is still killing me but the nice insurance nurse said that pain won't go away now till after the baby makes his debut, even a week or 2 after since my hips and pelvis need to go back to place for the nerve pressure to stop. Fun right

The final days.... Im turning into a Lion.....BEWARE LOL!!!

So in April, I thought December would take forever to get here and now I look at the countdown baby on the right of this page and get freaked out. There are a few days left and it's unreal to me.

I its finally hitting me that this little guy is mine forever.. I didn't think it would have till I meet him face to face but it's odd, what the final stage of pregnancy does... I have always been very over-protective of my family but now I'm in super protective mode.

Before I would skim the instructions of an item or the page of a book, now I am reading it 2 and 3 times to make sure I am doing this right. I freak out when I see commercials that say holding a baby could give them whooping cough, and have thought of every shot I could get so I don't spread disease...

I feel bad for the families that day he is born, I feel as if I will be like a lion with her new cub, I had to laugh to myself the other night as I sat on the sofa rehearsing my speech for people who have colds or even the sniffles and want to see the baby.

I have realized that having a baby changes everything... Not only how you sleep, or how long it takes you to get out of the house, but how you think, react to things and how you BECOME YOUR OWN MOTHER... without even realizing it. God help us all LOL!!!

And now the insomnia begins....

So every one tells you "sleep before the baby comes because you won't be sleeping when he arrives"

Well either they just want you to pass that message to the dad (who is soundly sleeping as I type) or are simply saying that to start conversation because.....
There is no such thing as SLEEP WHEN PREGNANT.....

If I'm not dreaming about a pack of wolves trying to break into my house, I'm dreaming of my superintendent killing me in the parking lot.

Now I'm at a point where I go to bed at 11pm and its 1:50am posting on my blog. If I would have known this I would have continued working. Atleast working would have kept me busy and not awake on my couch thinking of the stupidest things in the dark.

I'm tried of counting sheep, of going through my To do list in my head, and of doing random searches on Google.

I have loved carrying my little butterball around for all these months but the lack of sleep is getting to me...

35 week and 5 days check up

Doctor Tuesday.... So today was a bit uncomfortable, 1st internal exam in months.

I saw Dr Bewtra which Bobby liked and she was very informative. She looked at the growth scan and she said the baby was in the 65 percentile, which is ok, but she also said that that scan could be off 20% which adds up to 1.3 pounds in either direction.

We were told he was 6.2 pounds on Nov 1 on the scan but if it's off by 1.3 we could be looking at 7 lbs 5oz or 4 pounds 15 oz (which I doubt) right now. She said he could be 8 pounds which is normal or 10 pounds but she agrees with the other doctors to let me go and see what happens.

Not that I am totally against inductions or c-sections but why do something un-natural. I keep saying it and I will go with this till the end, if he is happy, keep him in. I don't care being uncomfortable, I just don't want him out because people think he is fat... I am standing up and defending all the fat babies in America

She also said I was 2 centimeters dilated, I had a 2 second panic but then she said, I could be that for weeks. I called my mom and she said she was dilated for weeks before I was born and I remember Sabrina also being dilated for weeks before Baby Sabrina arrived. So the panic ended fast. My mom said that being dilated without even knowing is a good thing cause i could go into labor and by the time I go to the hospital it's almost pushing time...

I guess that is a good thing unless you miss the window for the epidural and then you better welcome the pain..

I guess it's all about waiting. I still have my heart set on December 12 but I'll settle for December 5th (that's Bobby's day).

I am sitting on the coach and holding him hostage!!!

Putting things together....

Bobby took some time off to get the baby items built and ready. We are waiting for the furniture to arrive but that won't be for another couple weeks.

We got the Mamaroo built and ready and the stroller which took some time to getting use to..

CNBC see you in May....

So I had my little CNBC baby shower, which was very nice, I got great gifts and a beautiful cake.

It's going to be hard not to go to work but I am sure I'll get use to it and when May rolls around I will dread going back.

I am hoping the baby realizes that I am now home awaiting his arrival and doesn't wake up at 4:30am looking for his daily banana... I need some sleep before he arrives.

Nov 1... The Weight Ultrasound

So the day came to find out how big is the little man.... I had a strong feeling he wasn't as big as everyone claims he is and I was right. He is 6.2 pounds... NOW that doesn't mean we are not looking at a 9 pounder in December but I knew there was no way I would have a 10-11 pound baby.

Everything looks great, he is happy in his little water pool and is right on track. Now we wait and begin the weekly visits and the "great" internal check-up

3D Ultrasound

After some deliberating we decided to have the 3D ultrasound done. It was pretty cool seeing the baby move around, sucking his little fingers and his toes. No we have an idea of what he looks like and are even more excited about his arrival.

I think we need a storage

We are so thankful for all the gifts, we got so many wonderful items that I can't wait for the baby to come.

Here is our baby blanket bin Strollers, Mamaroo chair, and all our bedding
Toys, toys and more toys

The Baby Shower...

The Baby Shower, ended up being more like a "Baby Hurricane" since we got a TON of gifts but it was beautiful and tons of fun. I really appreciate all the time and effort that went into putting it together and most of all the love shown but all those who attended and those who couldn't be there in person.

Bobby and I are thankful for all the great gifts, we are all set for the arrival of the baby!

October and pregnant

Susy and I decided to take the kids pumpkin picking on Columbus Day since they were off from school... It was a great idea till the temperature reached 87 degrees. The next day, I had a doctors appointment and my bp was 141/93 (the highest it's been ever)... I guess pumpkin picking at 31 weeks pregnant is not a good idea....

What to do when you have no power for 12 hours...

and pregnant.... EAT AN ENTIRE SLEEVE OF RITZ CRACKERS AND DRIVE TO McDonald FOR A MILKSHAKE

Yesterday was a fun day, those who know me well know that I get extremely anxious when there is no power, for some reason that is when I need TV the most. No TV, Internet, lights etc... drives me insane and being pregnant added more drama.

Bobby and I decided to go to the mall and we killed a couple hours before I had to go to bed so that helped a lot. I just LOVE electricity!!!

UPDATE: on 30 week dr visit...

So my uterus is measurring 2cm more than it should, but we all suspect that I will be giving birth to a toddler so I am not shocked, my sciatic nerve is just ruining me, but again part of the package so I have to deal. I have to say, I thank God for giving me my personality. I take it as it comes and can't complain cause there is nothing I could do.

Everything looks great, she said the baby sounds great and now it's all about getting fatter and bigger. Oh I got my very 1st FLU shot ever... I didn't want it but being sick would be worse so I gave in

I have decided that I have too much work to leave in October so my new last day of work in November 4th. As much as I hate waking up at 3am, I just don't want to rush my work.

Next Up, shopping for a dress for the shower with Susy, can't wait for that... LOL!!!

Oh do babies cost money....

So after hours of research and debating back and forth we decided to collect the baby's cord blood and store it for 25 years. After 25 years, I hope he has chosen the right career path and could afford to continue storing it at his own cost.

I asked the poor women a million questions but I guess it's only normal when you are spending money on blood in a bag right....

They are kind enough to set up a little registry so if any of you kind people out there want to give a cool baby shower gift visit the site and contribute to our banking!!!

www.cbrgiftregistry.com

Maria Epifania

Week 29...

11 weeks to go but who's' counting.... I was going to wait and post next week since next week is WEEK 30, but the cramping in my calves was no bad last night that I had to share my pain with you.

What is up with the cramping, it's to the point I shake from the pain. If labor is as bad as the leg cramps, I want the Epidural before I get to the hospital, perhaps Susy could work on getting the anesthesiologist to the house.


I will admit, ever since the third trimester began things have been a little tougher, but I can't complain


1. 3-4 hours of sleep is the max, since I am so uncomfortable
2. Eating a full meal is harder than before, I guess there is less room in there
3. I miss my flip flops, since I can't bend to tie my shoes
4. Even though I am eating less, the scale has jumped up big time
5. The baby moves around and makes my belly move into odd shapes
6. He gets hiccups at least once a day (ANGIE he's like you lol)
7. I pee more often now, especially when a little someone decides to camp out on my bladder
8. My Belly button is totally popped out, VERY ODD
9. Getting up from the couch requires assistance at times
10. It's sad to say that the sciatic pain is so bad, I am actually getting use to it

Upcoming... The shower is only 23 days away (we still have tons to do), Dr appointment on 9/27
and only another 5/6 weeks of work left :)

I love this....

I wish they would have this everywhere

Welcome to the THIRD Trimester.....

Oh my, there is nothing more nerve wrecking than getting an email from THE BUMP.com saying Welcome to your Third Trimester.... The LAST ONE.

I am so glad that I have felt great from day 1... so good that I would do this again 10 times (JUST KIDDING) 1 other time and then the Epifania Baby Factory is CLOSED.

The baby is a total morning person, I think CNBC could hire him to cover me on the overnight shift, he wakes up around 3:15-3:20 every morning even Saturday and Sundays, good thing Sleep is not my thing.

Week Twenty Seven:

Eyes can open

The fetus weighs almost 2 pounds now and is about 14.5 inches long.

The head is over 2.5 inches (7cm) in diameter.

Your baby's hearing continues to develop.

The eyes can blink, open and close.

You have made it 2/3 of the way through.

Baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes and hair is growing everyday.

The muscle tone is improving and his or her body is getting plumper.

Your little one's brain continues its rapid growth.

25 week update

So after some yummy treats at Disney I was a bit nervous about having a glucose test on 8/31 but everything is fine.... No gestational diabetes for me. The baby is growing at a perfect rate and he is moving around like a true champ.

They gave me all the pre-admission hospital papers and we spoke about the EPIDURAL.....

Next appointment is not for another 4 weeks, then we go down to every 2 weeks which only means it's getting closer.

The shower is next month, invitations went out and we are getting many RSVP cards...

Our Disney Trip....

So we are back from Disney, we missed an earthquake and a hurricane which was great for us but not for those at home.

We had a blast at Disney, we went to The Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Isle of Adventure, relaxed at Vero Beach and then back to Disney since our flight got canceled thanks to Irene.

I did great walking around in 90' heat, the baby was well behaved and didn't give me a hard time. I think he was in shock about being there because he really didn't move around as much and he didn't sit on my bladder. I did get a weird rash-like thing around my ankles, but since it didn't itch or hurt I didn't worry. I later found out from the doctor that it was blood vessels that burst from walking in excessive heat. It's common on overweight folks and since I am carrying around an additional 26 pounds that would put me in that category for sure.

Many people commented on my cute t-shirt... even Mickey Mouse gave it a thumbs up!

23 Weeks ......

23 Weeks along and only 5 days away from going to Disney. People have called me insane for planning a Disney trip, while pregnant, but I feel great, I love Disney and I want to introduce the baby to the Disney sounds and smell while he is in the womb so it's not a shock to him when he goes for the 1st time.

Felix, Sabrina and Angie are also coming along so it will be a blast. I'll sit, drink water and shop for cute Mickey outfits while they go on rides....

I can't wait to pick up this hat at the Magic Kingdom. He'll be wearing this one as soon as he pops out!!!!

Coming up: When we return for Orlando, I have my gestational diabetes test, only 9 weeks of waking up at 3am to go to work left, planning the shower, and picking out furniture!!!

We went shopping....

buy buy BABY

Well sort of... We registered for the million baby items we will be needing.

It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be since I had previously gone with Angie and my mom to look at stuff. Angie was great, she took a notebook and wrote down everything I liked by section, so when Bobby and I went it was easy. We walked up to the section, and scanned...

Bobby was a bit shocked at the cost of some items, hey babies are not cheap.

If you would like to take a peek or purchase an item before it's gone go to

http://www.buybuybaby.com/

or

http://www.babiesrus.com/

We registered at both and it's under Maria Epifania

We are also registered at El Bambi (West New York, NJ) I did that for mom's friend who don't drive. All the knitted fancy outfits are there. God forbid I don't bring him home in an outfit MADE IN SPAIN...

Enjoy!!! The shower is October 15th so shop early LOL!!!

What are people thinking...

While searching on the internet for baby shower cakes, I came across some weird cakes. Why would anyone want this it's beyond me.

Seriouly... who would eat the piece of cake with a buttercream women pushing a baby!

The Cooked baby cake!

Good thing I decided to design my own cake because these are insane

Stollers, strollers and more strollers

What happened to the days when strollers cost $100 and were just 1 seat... We went to El Bambi today since they were the only store in the area that actually carries every stroller known to man in stock to test out. I couldn't register for a Stroller without playing with it 1st and without carrying it to see the weight.

When strollers cost over $600 I want to make sure I get something that will last for 2 kids and that will be comfortable to push.

I found 2 that I really like, The Peg Perego Skate and the Uppa Vista. They both have the regular seat, bassinet & car seat adaptor. They also both sell jumper seats for the older child to sit when another baby comes along.

It's crazy to me that El Bambi is still around, being that my mom use to buy my clothing there as a kid, but it is and they have the best baby layettes.. I already saw the outfit I want to take the baby home in from the hospital and I also saw the nicest christening gown for a boy. (Good thing Susy will be paying for that one LOL)...

Next up... going to Buy Buy baby to check things out before the "real" registering day...

Week 20 Doctors Visit

Update on the 20 week doctors appointment...

Well best news of the day, Dr Patrusky said she was happy with my weight gain. I gained a little more than the previous months but that's because I have been celebrating birthdays since June 8th till now. Can't say no to cake.

My swollen feet are here to stay and she said they might swell even in December, it's part of the package. My BP was good and the baby's heart beat is strong and beating. She said all the results of the Anatomy scan are great and so far the baby is in great shape.

I got my follow up scan scheduled... here they will do a sonogram in November to see where the baby is at weight wise, being that I was a HUGE baby we want to make sure the baby is not too big.

The next appointment is a fun one... I need to be at the dr. office at 8am, drink a sugary punch and wait an hour to see how my sugar levels are. if I pass, great if I fail then we do more testing.
I decided to do it after our Disney trip because I didn't want to be stressing about it while relaxing at Vero Beach.

Seriously.... this is not the way to serve ice cream

So one of my favorite things is McDonald's ice cream, I gave up the Sausage Egg McMuffins due to the sodium, so I thought the 90 degree weather days call for some creamy vanilla ice cream... WELL this is what I get from the Little Ferry McDonald's. Angie thought I was going to kill the guy in the drive thru... Seriously people this is NOT the way you serve ice cream to a pregnant women...

This baby better like football!!!

Bobby got a little excited shopping for the baby... All I say is the baby better "BE READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL" because he already has plenty of OU and Giant outfits

and I thought I would be able to dress him in some little lamb or duckie outfits... I guess not LOL!

Now that we know....

So last night was a tough night for me... I am thrilled about having a baby in general and knowing that it's a boy is even greater. Angie is thrilled she didn't lose her "queen" status, but poor little Sabrina took the baby boy news hard... She had her heart set on a girl. So I guess I need to write the stork a letter for the next baby (whenever that may be) and tell it to please send us a girl so she could have a friend..

Anxiety did kick in... I began to think how boys go from Tonka trucks, to sports, to friends, then GIRLS.... It's a long way coming but I'm not ready for the little girlfriends LOL..

I think I am going to have some long conversations with my friends Marlene and Leslie and see how they have coped with sons... Their boys have turned out to be great kids so ladies, I'll be calling you for advice.

For now let the baby blue shopping begin!!!

Gender Revelation Party.... It's a ____???

Watch the video to find out what the baby is.......

How would they explain this to a judge...

So on Saturday the only people who knew the sex of the baby were the bakers and employees at Miller's Bakery in Cliffside Park.

Susy and Jackie happen to be out that night and drove by the bakery, realizing that the paper with the sex of the baby was inside the bakery....

This is the pic I got at midnight, as they faked breaking into Millers...

20 Week update...

The half way mark is here... Only 20 more weeks, which feels far away but it's really not.

The 20 week Ultrasound went well, it was a long one but it was well worth it. Everything looks great. The baby is 15 oz. and developing right on schedule. We were able to get the sex of the baby written on a paper and took it to the bakery.

Upcoming events....

We prepare for the gender revelation, our next dr appointment, registering for gifts and our trip to Disney with Little Felix, Sabrina and Angie... I'm looking forward to that!

Here's a picture of the baby at 20 weeks.. I think it has my "stuck up" nose!