Arielle's Closet

This child is a already a diva! She certainly has more clothes than I do at the moment (My pregnant self that is....)

All laundered and ironed and ready for the princess!!

She takes my breath away

Can't seem to catch my breath these days, I get winded just from talking! I was leaving a voicemail for someone I felt disgusted with all my heavy breathing down the phone LOL.

Ocean arrived just in time for Mother's day!!

Saturday morning, 2am with only 1.5 hours of sleep my sister Tricia calls me and says she's been admitted to L&D with consistent contractions with 4.5cm dilation. So we got up got ready and drove the 45mins to be by her side. She had already received her epidural when I arrived as evidenced by her smile and relaxed demeanor! Laughing and telling jokes etc as we waited for things to progress. The doc came in and checked things out - she was progressing well but in the spirit of medical management, prescribed pitocin to "speed things along so we could have a baby in the next half hour rather than the next hour... The doctors love control - none of us argued since we were all so excited to meet Baby Ocean!

With both sisters at her side helping to keep legs up, cousin and husband holding her hands (And Deryk safely outside), she soldiered through 20 minutes of pushing and out came the princess!! We were all in tears as a triumphant Mommy held her baby in her arms for the first time. Daddy is super proud and has been hogging her; which he can easily do since Tricia has chosen to bottle feed - he's one happy daddy!!

What a lovely Mother's day gift? Happy mother's day to Trish and all the mommies who go through so much for us!!

6 weeks to go!

People (including complete strangers) are always saying - "Ooh, I bet you can't wait to have the baby!!"

I usually answer calmly; "Oh yes I can"

I'm just not ready! Oh yes I have all the baby gear and baby clothes - I mean really? At this age she only needs diapers and onesies right?! Ok not really. Its so funnny how in the beginning, during the excitement of finding out that I'm actually WITH CHILD; 40 weeks seems so long, but actually I feel like it's flown by! As a first timer, I've never experienced the euphoria, the instant love connection and the bliss that comes with giving birth to this human being. All I can think about is the immense responsibility of raising my daughter as well as the more immediate issues such as lack of sleep (I love my sleep), incessant crying (I'm impatient), not knowing what to do (I dislike being unaware or out of control), worrying about SIDS, freaking out about whether she's ok, keeping her safe and alive....... It just all seems so stressful!!!

Of course I'm excited about our daughter. I know she's going to be beautiful but I guess a part of me is worried too and I keep hearing horror stories about the birth process and about babies not making it and I'm just trying my best to be cautious - or is it just me?

Baby Shower Bliss!!!

I can't thank my friends and family enough for the amazing Baby shower and gifts we (Arielle and I) received on May Day...... I have to make special mention to Nikki!!!! Who organized the whole thing with help from Peta-Gaye and Elesia. So sad that Elesia and many other people couldn't make it :(

I had the best day ever!!!! I can hardly believe I got so much stuff, according to her daddy, Arielle is a future DIVA and already has more clothes than her mom (well the stuff I have here anyway!).

We are blessed and grateful! Now to finish up the baby shopping (not much there!), wash Arielle's clothes, pack hospital bag....... I'm so not ready!! 45 days to go!!

Tanisa Samuel & Deryk Meany

Smooth Sailing

We're settling into our temporary home; it's so easy here - everything so convenient! I've met with my doc - and she's great, I get the impression she is caring, and is supportive of my natural birth plan. She was very patient and took time to answer all my questions. Time is flying, my appointments will be weekly from now on!

I also met with my Doula - Wylene, and she is wonderful. She's actually a board certified Midwife - How blessed are we to find her? She will be with me throughout the whole labor and delivery process. She will also give me pre-natal classes. I've signed up with the hospital for their classes as well.

In the meantime, I'm trying to stay fit and healthy!! I'm going to the gym downstairs 5 times a week - walking (and some light jogging) for 30 minutes on the treadmill plus stretching and some toning.

Deryk's trying out the local golf courses and sometimes I go along for the (somewhat bumpy) ride!! Here's a pic of me going to golf at 32 weeks :)

Can't wait to blog about my baby shower tomorrow!!! There'll be tons of pics!!

Tanisa Samuel & Deryk Meany

Good-Bye TCI

The past couple of weeks have been hectic, with moving, packing, shipping, traveling, unpacking - whew! I'm really going to miss Turks and Caicos - more for the people who became like family to us. Caridad and my Dominican family, Natasha my fitness guru and loyal friend to the end to name a few. As for Elesia (& Jade) she is more like a sister (& niece) and I can't see them being in Turks for much longer - even though I was sad to leave them there!!! :( The pic is with Jonathan & Lucy who took us out to Coyaba for a good bye dinner.... And that's big brother Mikey!! He'll no longer be the baby of the family! Oh by the way - some moron asked me if I was having twins that night!! LOL - that was at 30 weeks, I blame the dress.

So we're here, in Fort Lauderdale - living in a lovely 2 Bedroom apartment less than 5 minutes away from Holy Cross Hospital where lil Miss Arielle will be born. I'm so relieved that I'm here so just in case she decides to come early or I develop any complications - which are more common in the last trimester at least I'm here and within reach of a decent hospital - Thank Goodness. I have so much to be thankful for, especially the wonderful people in my life. Nikki & Sammy who helped us with an amazing apartment, and so much more, the list is too long!!

I'm really looking forward to being with my sis Tricia as she gives birth to Arielle's cousin Ocean!! She is due May 8th but we're all expecting an earlier arrival so I'm glad I made it in time. I'm hoping the girls will be great friends - especially since they're the same age; How amazing is that?