Category Archive: visitors

Sirena’s 2nd birthday party!

We hosted Sirena’s second birthday party at our new home and invited her family and friends to celebrate her big day with us. Sirena’s a BIG fan of airplanes and so we thought it would be so much fun to have an airplane-themed birthday party. The party started off with a bang…literally…and Sirena had a major accident that landed us in Urgent Care just an hour into the party. Luckily she didn’t require stitches (but did get sent home with a giant bandage on her forehead!) and we’re so happy that her party guests stuck around so that the party girl could finish celebrating with everyone.

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Paper airplanes galore!

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Daddy made the cake and decorated it

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Mommy made the cupcakes and Daddy, Bri and Brian decorated them. They turned out exactly like I had hoped!!

We did a fun photo booth for the kids at the party. Daddy, Mama, and Brian made this super cool cardboard airplane and Bri helped decorate the backdrop.

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And the biggest kid of them all? Uncle Derek 😉

We played a round of “Pin the Propeller on the Airplane”…

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And the adults got in on the party action as well with a paper airplane flying contest!

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Singing her favorite song (“Happy Birthday”)!

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I think she’s a fan!

Present time!

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She LOVED her Mr. Potato Head doll

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And can you tell she was ecstatic about her airplane book??

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Sooo happy about her Richard Scarry book too!

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Reading from her new Minnie Mouse coloring book

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The party favors for the kids were these aviator caps. Uncle Derek is modeling one for us.

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You know Lola had to get in on the action!

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Captain Sirena at your service

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Love my little family

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Kisses for the birthday girl!

Our last visitors: B+B’s visit to Oakland

Before our big move back down to Long Beach we were able to host one final set of friends, Brian and Brianne. It was bittersweet but it was so nice to be able to share our second home, the Bay Area, with our closest friends one last time.

We spent the majority of their short visit across the bridge in our favorite city, San Francisco. We visited one of our most favorite spots in the city: Strawberry Hill and Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park.

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And we made another day trip back across the bridge to do the most touristy thing ever but something none of us had ever done: Alcatraz!

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Of course they had to get lunch at Boudin…having worked across from Pier 39 for 3.5 years it was definitely not on my bucket list before we left the Bay Area, haha.

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Sirena and Auntie Bri

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Nerd alert!

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Family photo (minus Lola) with our favorite city in the background

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It got freaking chilly after the sun went down on our side of the island and we had to wait for the darn ferry. Glad we came prepared!

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Goodbye, San Francisco and the amazing Bay Area. We love you and we’re so grateful for all of our adventures!!

November visitors

November was filled to the brim (just the way we like it!) with visitors…

We were so happy to hear that Tio Derek and Laura were going to spend some time with us during their trip up north!

Highlights from their trip: Mitchell’s ice cream, game nights, walk through the cemetery (again!), Zachary’s deep dish pizza (drool)

Sirena sure is one lucky chickadee, having not one but TWO grandmas who are excited about seeing her and want to come up and spend the weekend with us!  They piggy-backed their visits so we had two weekends straight of grandma time…perfect.

Highlights of Nani’s trip: Lots of lounging around, playing with Sirena and Lola, movie night, fancy grandma/mama/baby dinner out at Jessie’s wine bar/restaurant

Highlights of Grandma Dorothy’s trip: meeting Santa, Christmas tree shopping, visit to Sirena’s Great Grandma Margie’s gravestone in Half Moon Bay, homemade pie from Pescadero

Sirena’s first dip in the pool

My mom and Steve came up for a few days so that my mom could attend the Brave New Voices international spoken word competition that was being hosted here in the Bay Area (she works with a group of youth from Long Beach that were competing this year) and so they decided to make a trip out of it and come spend some time with us too.  The competition was amazing (I attended one of the day’s events) and although the LB team didn’t win it was so inspiring being there and hearing their amazing work.

Here are some photos from their visit, including Sirena’s first time in a swimming pool!

We went to a car show in Danville where Steve’s nephew’s car was being shown and Sirena seemed to enjoy herself almost as much as her Daddy did!

Sirena’s first car show

Hot rods make her happy, apparently!

We then went to dinner at a yummy Italian restaurant…

Ma & Pa

Sirena with Steve

No meal is complete without a chocolate-dipped cone from Foster’s Freeze!

And now for the photos you’ve all been waiting for…when we found out that the pool at my mom’s hotel was heated we immediately went out to Babies R Us for some swimming diapers, strapped on her first bathing suit, and got the cameras ready!

Diaper duty before hitting the waves (the smallest waterproof diapers were for 16-26 pound babies and she was only around 12 pounds at the time so we just had to fold them over quite a bit and pray that there weren’t any accidents in the pool [luckily there weren’t!)

“Hey Daddy!”

Can’t forget the baby sunscreen!  Getting a massage from Mom.

Suited up and ready to go!

I think she was a little nervous, just judging by this photo, haha.

Here we go!

My mom took a video of her first dip in the pool, check it out here!

She was totally at home in the water and we see swimming lessons in her future!  She’s our little fish and we loooove how much she enjoyed herself in the pool.  Here are more photos of the lady being passed around…

She is learning to love the prickly kisses from Dad

Getting so much love from her Aunt Jessie!

Flying high with Mama

That’s quite a view!

Love this girl

The happy little family

Group photo

Swimming with Nani

She was in the pool for at least an hour (maybe more?) and she eventually passed out in her Nani’s arms…

After getting dried off and into some warm clothes she sat around with her Aunt Jessie soaking in the last rays of sunshine of the weekend…

Life with Sirena: Weeks 3 and 4

Things seemed to change dramatically after the first two weeks but thinking back on it now I think it had less to do with Sirena and more to do with me and Kevin just getting the hang of things!  Quite a few people reached out to me after reading my last post about my experience with the “baby blues” and I appreciate it so much.  Although it was hard to write and even harder to post for everyone to read, it felt really good to be so honest about it and to receive such positive feedback from moms and future mamas alike.

I wanted to share with all those future mamas out there that one of the things that helped me the most was reading the book The Happiest Baby on the Block. Although the book focuses mostly on how to calm a fussy baby and how to help relax and put a baby to sleep, what I found most helpful was reading about a newborn’s development.  I had heard before that the first three months of life are considered the “fourth trimester” but I never understood exactly what that meant and the author, Dr. Karp, explained it extremely well (and much better than I’m about to do, I guarantee that)…he says that babies younger than three months old can still be considered fetuses because they have not finished developing and still need 24/7 attention.  They were so used to living in the womb where their every need was met on demand (eating, warmth, movement, being held tightly) and after birth they’re still in need of those things all the time.  Reading this helped me understand a lot about her and her needs and it helped me to understand why my sole job right now is to take care of her.  This understanding has helped me immensely!

In other news, we had her first appointment with the pediatrician on June 18 and she weighed in at a whoppin’ 8 lbs, 14 oz and measured the same as she did at birth at 19.5 inches.  The doctor said that everything looks good and that we’ve got a healthy baby on our hands!

We continued to keep ourselves mighty busy the last half of her first month including a visit from her Grandma Dorothy and celebrating Kevin’s first Father’s Day!  Pictures of our adventures…

A hike at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve in Oakland

First time baby-wearing for me and I loved it!

Sirena’s first-ever visit to San Francisco!

Me and the little Bay Area native looking out on the bay

A not-so-happy bather

Preparing for a dip in the bathtub

Not digging this experience in the least

“Quit taking pictures and dry me off NOW!”

Tummy time!

Tummy time is a really important part of a newborn’s development to help them strengthen their neck muscles and practice keeping their heads up. She likes it for a couple of minutes but then won’t hesitate to let us know that she is very unhappy and wants to get off her tummy as soon as possible!

A hike in Glen Canyon in San Francisco (Mom and Dad’s old stompin’ grounds!)

After the hike we spent some time sitting in the grass and taking in the sunshine…

What day at the park would be complete without a showing of Kevin and Lola’s tricks?

Some more random photos from these two weeks…

A naked, sleeping baby…could life get any better than this?

Hanging out at Auntie Jessie’s apartment

Getting to know her cousin Mars

Me and my girls

Kevin and his lounging “beach bum”

Sirena and Mama

Grandma Dorothy’s visit

Grandma Dorothy came up to visit for a few days to spend some more time with her fourth grandchild (oh yeah, and us too 😉 ).

We spent one day at the Berkeley Rose Garden and Codornices Park across the street (the last time we went to these two places was back in 2010 when Kevin’s brother Thomas came to visit, see post at this link).

Notice Lola’s photo bomb? Haha, that girl is such a ham.

We also spent an afternoon at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland to hang out and play frisbee with Lola…

Ready for some sunshine!

Me and Dorothy chatting while Sirena napped the afternoon away

This girl makes sleeping look so good…

Big foot!

Kevin’s first Father’s Day was spent at the botanic gardens at Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley at Kevin’s request.  We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed the beautiful gardens together.

Chow time!

Sirena napped in her stroller while we had our picnic lunch

Then it was time for our hike…

Kevin and Dorothy

The gardens had TONS of stairs so Kevin and I had to carry the stroller quite a bit, haha.  And we quickly realized that we definitely need an off-road stroller (which we’ve since gotten, hallelujah!)

Beautiful trees in the garden

Diaper duty for Kevin on Father’s Day!

Happy girl with a clean booty

Papahood sure looks good on Kevin, wouldn’t you say?

I have to admit, saying the words “Happy Father’s Day” to Kevin for the first time that day was the sweetest thing!

And some final random photos from Grandma’s visit…

The three of us hanging out in her room on the glider

Kisses for my Buddha baby and her giving me a goofy grin right back!

It’s so apparent that Grandma has so much love for this little lady (wearing her “Grandma gives the best hugs” onesie for the occasion!)

And finally some short videos of Sirena in action to close this post out!

Sirena making some funny faces at me here

Getting kisses from Lola during a car ride here

Me trying to wake The Grump up here

Sirena’s first two weeks

Sirena’s first days of life

A few hours after Sirena was born, we made the trip upstairs to the Family Recovery Room to spend the next two nights getting to know our baby and preparing to go home as new parents.  Over the course of the next 48 hours we spent a lot of time visiting with the family that was in town, trying to get as much sleep as possible which proved to be almost impossible with the constant feeding, changing of diapers (which Kevin did completely while in the hospital, I didn’t have to change a diaper until we got home!), and the constant interruption by nurses and doctors coming in to check in on us, and just being in complete and total awe of the little lady we had created.

My first experience in a wheelchair and I couldn’t have asked for a better chair mate!

Skin-to-skin with mama

Hanging out with mom and dad (and Uncle Derek who came for a surprise visit!)

Love

Sirena was surrounded by lots of loving family members who couldn’t wait to get their paws on her–she was rarely laying down in the bassinet but instead almost always in someone’s arms!

Proud first-time grandma

Kevin and his mom (I love this picture!)

Such a happy Grandpa!

Enjoying time with Grandpa George and showing off those expressive little hands

Getting the special treatment by Aunt Jessie

Uncle Derek made a surprise visit to the hospital on the afternoon of the day she was born–someone knocked on the door and, thinking it was another nurse checking in on us, I told them to “come in” and I was speechless when I saw Derek walk in the door!  Turns out he happened to have an ultimate frisbee tournament in Santa Cruz that weekend so made the drive up to visit with us for a couple of hours before going back.  It was so wonderful having him there to meet his first niece!

The Delmars

The Edmonds

Sirena actually had to have a minor medical procedure done while still at the hospital–I was experiencing a lot of pain while breastfeeding and the nurses who observed me just said that Sirena had a strong latch but that eventually it’d get better.  When I began bleeding and the pain, in fact, did not stop we asked to meet with a Lactation Consultant to see if she could help.  She first observed Sirena nurse and then took a look inside her mouth and said that she believed her frenulum (the membrane that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth) was shorter than usual which did not allow her to breastfeed very efficiently.  She told us about the simple procedure of cutting the frenulum and after we said it would interest us she had the attending pediatrician come to our room to check her out.  The doctor agreed that cutting the frenulum would be beneficial and gave us the consent forms for the procedure.  It was surreal having to read through medical paperwork and sign off on something for another human and not myself.  Once the paperwork was signed and the doctor was getting ready I was overcome with some pretty intense emotions–whenever I had heard moms say that they couldn’t stand seeing their child get a shot I really couldn’t understand why something like that could be so dramatic, and yet here I was with a one day old baby who was going to get a very minor medical procedure done and I was overcome with sadness and I began to cry.  I felt so bad for this little person and I couldn’t help feeling guilty, questioning our decision to do this if it was only for a selfish reason (so that I wouldn’t be in pain while breastfeeding).  I couldn’t stand to watch the 2-second procedure and felt awful when I heard her little cry after it was done.  Luckily her cries only lasted for 30 seconds and she barely bled at all but it was the first time I truly understood those other moms and the overwhelming feelings of wanting to protect my baby from any little harm.

The hospital commissioned a photography company to drop by to meet with the new families to take baby’s first photos–although we didn’t order any from the company we did take advantage of the trance-like state the photographer put Sirena in so that I could snap a few posed newborn photos of our own!

Our itty bitty model

Sirena’s first glamor shot

Daddy and Sirena

Our last night at the hospital we got the extra special treatment with a meal fit for a royal family.  Kevin and I had placed our order the previous day so were looking forward to the dinner but when another huge tray showed up covered with five servings of desserts and Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider we were blown away–they not only prepared dessert for Kevin and me but for my mom, her boyfriend Steve, and my sister Jessie who happened to be visiting during that time as well!

The feast (with the guest of honor)!

And here’s a short video of the three of us hanging out in the hospital together

Life with a newborn

Bringing Sirena home

On Monday morning after meeting with countless medical professionals and attending the hospital discharge class it was finally time to go home.  I hadn’t set foot outside of the recovery room for 48 hours so it was strange not only to be going home with a new sidekick but also just to be outside of those four walls in general!  The weather had changed dramatically that day–it had rained early that morning and it was so windy, it reminded us of some tropical location.  She couldn’t have asked for more dramatic coming-home weather!

Proud new daddy

Soothing herself on mom’s finger for her first ever car ride…she was a total champ!

We were both excited and anxious about Sirena’s and Lola’s first encounter.  Lola had been without mom and dad for three days so we decided to leave Sirena out in the hallway with my mom while Kevin and I went into the apartment to greet our overly-excited pup.  It was so apparent she missed us a ton while we were gone and it was so great getting to see her again!  After a few minutes it was time for the long-awaited first meeting: here’s a short video of the two of them being introduced! Lola was extremely curious about the new little person (if she even recognized that Sirena was a little human) and just wanted to sniffsniffsniff her.  We had to tell her to “leave it” when she started getting a little too carried away with wanting to give her kisses but overall Lola did great at their first meeting!

Her first week

Sirena’s first week at home was a whirlwind.  Kevin and I were busy trying to figure out this whole newborn thing and getting used to our new sleep schedule.  We had the company of my mom and Steve for a couple of days at home which was nice to have some companionship and some extra hands to hold her while we tried to get things taken care of.

The only thing we had to do that week was go to our first doctor’s appointment with a Lactation Consultant on the day after we got home from the hospital.  The LC we met with was fantastic and gave me a lot of support and an extra boost of confidence.  Sirena at first weighed in at 7 lbs, 7 oz and after nursing her for 20 minutes she was weighed again and gained almost an entire ounce!  The LC scheduled us for another appointment the following week and said that it was her hope that Sirena gain at least 4 oz within the week.

Here are some snapshots from her first week at home:

Three generations

So itty bitty in her car seat!

My Aunt Tina bought Sirena a cute little Minnie Mouse outfit and a ton of Disney dolls so we wanted to take advantage and take a cute photo reminiscent of E.T.:

Let’s play “Where’s Sirena?”

Napping with Dad (check out the arm positions for both of them…)

Kevin and I made sure to get out of the house as much as possible to enjoy the outdoors and the sunshine instead of being cooped up in the house all day long.  Our first excursion when she was five days old was to Piedmont Park for a nice walk with Lola–while pregnant with Sirena I would take Lola here just about once a week so it was crazy being there with a little baby in tow!

Kevin and his girls

Sleepy baby

Lola checking out the munchkin Dad was carrying around

Her second week

We kept ourselves pretty busy her second week with visitors (Carleigh, Terri & Scott, and Darinee & Harrison came by for visits), a doctor’s appointment, a postpartum doula appointment, and excursions around town.

The doctor’s appointment we had was with the same Lactation Consultant we had seen the week prior–the first thing she did was weigh Sirena and when she found out she weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz (up 13 oz from the week before) the LC said, “Good job, mama! That’s all I needed to know, you’re doing a great job and you can go home now!”  It seems that Sirena and I are a pretty good team when it comes to this breastfeeding business.  🙂

One of the days that week we took a nice long walk to the Lake Merritt farmer’s market.  Since dogs aren’t allowed in the market I sat in the shade with our girls while Kevin went around to get some food–there was a man with his one year old daughter who stopped by to see the little baby in the stroller, he asked me how old she was and when I told him 7 days old he said, “You gave birth a week ago?!”  😉

On the walk home we stopped by the lake to take some photos…

Lola checking in on her sister

Kevin and his three girls

And here are some random photos from the week…

Little Buddha baby (check out those legs!)

She’s such a GRUMP when she wakes up!  We love it.

A visit from Auntie Carleigh (who is expecting two boys in a few months, Sirena’s future buddies!)

At the Oakland Rose Garden

Trying out Dad’s shades

And a little bit about postpartum recovery

With all of the preparation I did for the birth itself I wasn’t quite prepared for the moments and the days after the birth.  Other than a co-worker telling me about her own experience the two days in the hospital after her daughter was born, no one really talked to me about the recovery so I thought I’d mention it briefly here.

Like I mentioned in my previous post with her birth story, the moment she was placed on my chest was incredible.  She was so warm and so big and so unbelievably cute and I just could not believe that she was real and that she actually came out of me.  I was very much focused on her little face and her huge presence but something else was demanding my focus: being stitched up by the doctor.  Turns out I had a second degree tear (which is pretty typical for a woman’s first vaginal delivery) and because I didn’t have an epidural, even though she applied a local anesthetic I was still very aware of the sensations of the stitching while it was happening.  It actually took around 30 minutes for the doctor to finish and it was a lot more painful and uncomfortable than I could have imagined.  Even though I was in quite a bit of pain, during this time I was very much focused on Sirena and I actually gave her the nickname “Honey bear” to comfort her when she would cry or whimper.  I had never thought of that nickname prior to this experience so I consider it extremely special for the two of us and I find myself calling her that now when she’s in the most distress.

Another thing I hadn’t really expected was when I went to use the restroom for the first time about an hour after she was born, Kevin accompanied me and when I got up I told him I was feeling dizzy and placed my arms around his neck and the next thing I knew I woke up on the bathroom floor with a nurse looking over me.  I had fainted because I had lost so much blood (not any more than expected for a vaginal birth but way more than I had ever lost before!) and thank goodness Kevin was there to help lay me on the floor so I didn’t hit my head.  From then on I had to wear a “Fall Risk” bracelet on my wrist and the nurses were extra cautious of me getting up for any reason.  I also had a hard time urinating and ended up having to get a catheter put in for an entire evening–the worst part about this was that the nurse couldn’t put it in so had to ask the head nurse to come in and help her and she also had a hard time putting it in so for about 30 minutes total I had two nurses pricking me in a very sensitive area which I had definitely not anticipated.  Once the catheter was in I felt a huge relief so it was definitely worth it but it was a very trying time while they were putting it in.

More than anything, what I had the hardest time with in terms of recovery was the fact that I was so extremely weak.  I had never even broken a bone before so being in a hospital and actually having to recover and needing nurses to take care of me was very difficult for me.  I couldn’t do a lot of things for myself and I had a hard time letting go and being okay with nurses helping me with some very personal and uncomfortable things like assisting me in the restroom, emptying the catheter, etc.  I now have so much more respect for nurses and all they have to do for their patients having been one myself!  The first two weeks at home were pretty rough with my recovery as well but each day I would feel more and more normal and now that we’re almost one month from her birthday I am feeling about 95% back to normal.

The “baby blues”

Yup, I experienced them.  I struggled with deciding whether or not to include anything about this on the blog but I decided to be honest and share my experience because it seems that it isn’t always talked about and I want other new moms who have experienced them or women who may experience them in the future know that they’re not alone.

The first two weeks were…rough.  Adjusting to life with a newborn was not easy in the slightest, just like everyone had said (but I didn’t truly understand until I was living it!)

Lack of sleep + constant discomfort/pain from recovery + feeding Sirena every 1-3 hours all day long + crazy postpartum hormones = a not-always-happy mama.  I had a hard time accepting the fact that the independence I had once enjoyed every day was now completely gone.  When Sirena was hungry (like I said, every 1-3 hours all day long), I was needed right this instant.  Sleep was constantly being interrupted by a need to breastfeed and/or change a diaper–she’d wake up 2-3 times during the night and be awake for at least one hour at a time.  Our daily schedule was completely flipped on its head and we weren’t getting out of the house and seeing the light of day until around 2pm each day.  My body was no longer my own (not just in terms of breastfeeding but with the recovery too) and I just didn’t feel normal anymore.

All of these things added up to make me feel, in a word, drained.  Even though I genuinely enjoyed so many moments with my new little family there were many moments when I felt inadequate for not knowing what to do at all times, I felt selfish for wanting more sleep and wanting to not breastfeed and wanting my old life back, and more than anything, I felt guilty for having these feelings.  I have wanted to be a mom for a long time–I am great with kids and had expected mamahood to be something I would be a natural at.  So when my first two weeks as a mom turned out to be extremely difficult, I began feeling like maybe I wasn’t cut out for being a mom after all and that was the worst feeling to have.

So what helped me snap out of this?  First of all, Kevin was amazing throughout this experience.  He allowed me to crycrycry it out, he was extremely supportive and was constantly telling me that I was, in fact, doing a good job and that it was okay and normal for me to feel the way I was feeling, and he would do his best to take her so that I could get a 2-3 hour nap in every day.  Getting out of the house at least once a day to enjoy the sunshine and some fresh air has done wonders as well–I can’t imagine what kind of a wreck I would have been if I was cooped up in our apartment every single day.  And lastly, I had to constantly remind myself even during the crying fits and the discomfort and the sleeplessness that I had wanted and dreamed about having Sirena for so many years and that I needed to appreciate the little life that I was fortunate enough to spend my days with, even during the rough patches.

Each day has honestly gotten better and better and even though we’re now approaching her one month birthday and I’m still exhausted, even though I still question whether or not I know what the heck I’m doing, and even though I still cry at the drop of a dime, I know that this is all temporary and that this will all be over before we know it so I strive to enjoy each and every moment I have with her as much as possible.

Our little burrito

Sirena’s birth story

Friday, June 1

5:00 AM

I woke up to the sound of the ticking clock in our bedroom and I remember hearing the faint, faraway sound of the Amtrak train horn going down the tracks about a mile from our apartment.  I had to use the restroom (something that I had gotten well-accustomed to during the pregnancy).  When I returned to bed, I thought about the few baby items I wanted to take care of on my very first day of maternity leave and about the possibility of getting a pedicure.  I quickly fell back asleep.

6:15 AM

I woke up again, this time to the sensation of what turned out to be my water bag breaking.  I sat up and immediately made my way to the restroom.  I told Kevin on my way out the door, “I think my water broke.”  Kevin’s reaction may or may not have included a curse word which, thinking about it now, I find hilarious.  I took a shower to get cleaned up and got back into bed.  We laid in bed for a while, trying to figure out what we should do next.

7:15 AM

After snoozing in bed for a while we decided to call our doula, Lauraina.  She said that we still had plenty of time to get some rest, eat a good breakfast, and get things together before calling the hospital.  After hanging up with her we decided to call the Labor & Delivery line just to make sure and the nurse who answered told me that I needed to be there in thirty minutes and that we would most likely be admitted to the hospital right away.  This really stressed me out—I hadn’t pictured our birth story starting out this way (very few women actually have their water break before going into labor, unlike what the movies show) and I had hoped to labor at home for as long as possible.  We knew that it was relatively safe and acceptable for a baby to remain in the womb for 24 hours after the water bag breaks so we decided to nap and then take our time getting to the hospital.

7:15 AM – 1:30 PM

For those few hours at home we slept, showered, ate a significant breakfast and lunch, and cleaned our apartment.  We even took Lola on a walk up and around the block.  It felt good to do normal things because at the back of my mind I was terrified of what was to come.  I didn’t feel 100% prepared mentally or emotionally to give birth within the next 24 hours and I am so glad we decided to stay home to get things taken care of and for me to work things out in my head before heading to the hospital.
My contractions had started within those hours at home but they were very mild, like menstrual cramps.

1:45 PM

We arrived at the hospital parking lot and sat there for about 10 minutes—I was still terrified and Kevin helped talk me through my fears.  I told him that I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to give birth naturally and unmedicated like I had hoped and that as soon as we were admitted I would be pressured to do things on their schedule, their way.  He assured me that the nurses and doctors were there with the best interests of me and Sirena at the forefront and that I had to be positive and give everyone the benefit of the doubt before making any assumptions about them.  After some deep breaths, we decided to make our way down to the hospital.

2:00 PM

We were admitted by a very friendly nurse name Cathy in triage (the room where laboring women are evaluated before being officially admitted to the hospital) and she immediately calmed my fears.  She wanted to determine if my water had actually broken and tried to do a few tests which turned out to be inconclusive.

With a smile on my face in triage!

The doctor on duty came in to check me—she said that if my water had broken they were going to limit the amount of times I was checked internally by a doctor because the more times I was checked, the more times I and the baby would be subject to new germs being introduced.  She determined that my cervix was 4 centimeters dilated (a very good number to be at so early on!) but that it needed to thin out some more.  She also said that she was pretty certain my water had broken even with the inconclusive tests because…she could feel Sirena’s hair!  She said that they were going to admit us to the hospital and that, in the next couple of hours if my contractions didn’t start to pick up in intensity, that she’d like to start me on a pitocin drip (pitocin is a synthetic form of the natural hormone oxytocin and it is used to induce labor).  I was very honest with her in that pitocin was not something I was interested in so early on (the reason being that, generally, contractions are extremely intense after pitocin is started and it can lead to a “snowball effect” with interventions, possibly leading to an epidural and/or c-section) and that it was my hope to induce labor naturally.

3:00 PM

Cathy led us down the hall to the Labor & Delivery (L&D) hall, we were in Room 11.  The room was, to our surprise, HUGE and although it was most definitely a hospital room we were encouraged to make it our own (even being encouraged to rearrange some of the furniture if we wanted to).  The most surreal moment was when Cathy said, “And this is the room where your daughter will be born.”  Incredible.

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM

The nurse on duty for the evening, Anissa, was amazing and we really took to her quickly.  I shared my concerns about the doctor’s recommendation to start the pitocin that afternoon and asked her opinion–she said that we still had plenty of time for labor to start naturally and that the best thing for me at the time was to walkwalkwalk the halls to try to get things moving along.  She had to hook me up to an IV, though, for an hour—I tested positive for something called Group B strep (a very common bacterial infection found in many pregnant women that can be passed on to babies during birth so they had to give me penicillin via an IV every six hours)—so I couldn’t walk around much in the beginning.  While I was hooked up to the IV they also put a fetal heart monitor on my stomach so that we could hear Sirena’s heartbeat (to make sure that she wasn’t in distress) along with a monitor to time my contractions and monitor their intensity.

The number on the left is Sirena’s heartbeat, the number on the right is the intensity of my contraction (very low at the time Kevin took this photo)

Kevin and I were on our own for the majority of this time—we kept ourselves busy setting up our room, eating snacks to stay nourished for the long night ahead, trying to relax, and talking about the little lady that decided to grace us with her presence a week early.  I couldn’t get over the fact that she decided to begin her arrival on the very first day of my maternity leave–for the 2-3 weeks leading up to my maternity leave all I kept telling her was to “wait until June 1!” and guess what?  She listened.
My contractions were coming pretty regularly by this time, about five minutes apart but still very mild in intensity.

4:30 PM

My sister Jessie arrived at the hospital with a huge smile on her face—she was so excited to be a part of the birth but obviously very nervous too.  The three of us sat in our room and talked for a while.

5:30 PM

Our doula, Lauraina, arrived at the hospital to check in with us—because things were progressing pretty slowly she wanted to come in for a visit to try to help things move along naturally with massage.  She enlisted the help of Kevin and Jessie and all three of them worked on me while I laid in the hospital bed.

7:20 PM

My mom and her boyfriend Steve arrived at the hospital after having taken a last-minute flight from Long Beach to Oakland.  Generally they only allow three other people in the L&D room but our nurse said that until things started progressing they didn’t have a problem with the number of visitors.  Mom jumped in to help with massage and acupressure and we all passed the time away talking about the night ahead of us.

My massage team getting to work!

9:00 PM

My contractions had actually started slowing down by this time and I was starting to get nervous again.  Lauraina asked me if I noticed that they started slowing down once everyone had arrived and it seemed that they did.  She asked if I thought it might be better if Kevin and I were left alone to rest and focus on the baby and the birth ahead of us and although I didn’t realize how much I needed it at that time it was such an appreciated suggestion.  Jessie and Lauraina both went to their respective homes to get some sleep and my mom and Steve went out to the lobby.  Before Lauraina left I shared my fears about potentially being induced with pitocin and I asked her if she had ever witnessed a birth where a mom was given pitocin and things were still able to progress naturally and, luckily, she said she had.  This gave me an extra boost of confidence and set my mind at ease if we were to eventually go that route.
When everyone left, Kevin and I decided to take a nap to see if things started picking up when we woke up.

10:45 PM

Kevin’s parents, Dorothy and George, arrived at the hospital after the long drive up from Long Beach.  We were afraid that they might not make it in time and we were so happy to finally see them!

Dorothy so obviously elated that they made it in time!

11:00 PM – 1:30 AM

At this point we were feeling more rested so decided to get up and out of the hospital bed to walk the baby out!  The loop we had to walk was pretty short and we must have walked that hallway over 100 times.  At one point we decided to switch things up and go in the opposite direction, just to keep things interesting.  It was great that the L&D halls were so empty during these hours so there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic to have to walk around.

Kevin and me on lap 79

In the center of the loop we walked was the visitor’s waiting area so my mom, Steve, Dorothy and George were all hanging out and watching us walk around and around and around.  My mom and Dorothy joined me for a few laps to give Kevin a break.

Dorothy going for a lap with me

The family was starving at the late hour (since none of them had eaten dinner) so they decided to order pizza around midnight.
After walking the hall for a couple of hours and talking things over with the nurse, Kevin and I decided to start the pitocin drip at 1:30 AM.  She was going to start me at 2 drops per hour and increase it two more drops every hour until everything was at the level it needed to be.

Saturday, June 2—Sirena’s birth day

1:30 AM

The nurse began the pitocin drip but told us it would take thirty minutes to kick in so it was advised that we try to get some rest.  Kevin got onto his reclining chair again and I laid down in the hospital bed for one last pre-baby nap.

2:00 AM – 4:00 AM

Right on schedule I was woken up by much more intense contractions at 2:00 AM.  At first they were pretty manageable just with the use of deep breathing.  Kevin and I were in our room together with the lights kept down low, working through each contraction one at a time, just the two of us.
Kevin would keep his eye on the monitor to see how far apart the contractions were coming along.  The funny thing was that on our monitor we could also see the contractions of the other laboring women who were also hooked up to the monitors–it was hard not to compare where we were at with all of the other women’s contractions we were seeing on the monitor.
At 3:00 AM the pitocin drip was increased to four drips per hour.  This ended up being as high as the pitocin needed to get–my body got the kick-start it needed and basically took it from there!
Towards 4:00 AM I was starting to have a harder time coping with the intensity of each contraction.  I had read a lot of books about natural childbirth and there were a few things that stuck with me that helped me a ton–I would wrap my left arm around Kevin’s shoulder and lean into him sideways, rock back and forth, then I would relax my jaw, take a deep breath, and on the exhale I would make a low “ahhh” sound.  This is what we would do every few minutes for a few hours, over and over again.  We were honestly living life in five minute increments, just getting through each contraction together, one at a time.
There were a few thoughts that kept going through my mind during this time–I would keep in mind that Sirena was working just as hard as I was to come into the world and that we needed to continue to work as a team to get through this experience together; I would also imagine life with Sirena, camping with our family, playing with Lola, spending time outdoors in the sunshine–these thoughts helped me get through the brief moments of relief in between each contraction and helped me prepare mentally and emotionally for the next big wave.

4:00 AM

We called the nurse in because things were feeling a lot more intense and we wanted to know how we were doing.  She said that things were coming along and that we should call Jessie and Lauraina to let them know and that they should start making their way back to the hospital but that they could take their time.  Kevin called them to let them know our status.

4:20 AM

Within 20 minutes (about four contractions) things became extremely intense.  I was having a harder time standing during the contractions and began feeling the urge to push.  We called the nurse back in and told her how I was feeling–she said that things weren’t far enough along for me to be pushing and that I should try other coping techniques but that things were definitely progressing and that Jessie and Lauraina should really make their way to the hospital.  Kevin texted Jessie and Lauraina and told them that they needed to get to the hospital NOW.

4:30 AM

The intensity of my contractions was overwhelming–I felt such an incredible pressure and a need to push that I couldn’t get relief from.  We called the nurse in again and she suggested I lie down on my side and she said that she would call the doctor in to check me.  As I was lying on my side I felt so many different sensations that were overpowering–I felt nauseous, like I was going to throw up, and Kevin held up a bag next to my face just in case I did; and at the same time I felt such an urge to push that I could not control.  The nurse suggested to Kevin that he help me with quick, shallow breaths so he sat in front of me and mimicked the fast breathing that I was able to follow (and this helped a ton with keeping me from pushing as much as my body really wanted to).
Dr. Gray arrived to check me and said that I was only six centimeters dilated so I still had a ways to go.  Hearing this was so incredibly frustrating and I began feeling overwhelmed and defeated.  I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to keep myself from pushing when the urge was so incredibly overpowering.
Neither Jessie nor Lauraina had arrived yet so Kevin texted my mom and told her to come in.

4:40 AM

Within 10 minutes (about three contractions) I could no longer control the urge to push and told the nurse.  She called Dr. Gray back into the room and the doctor quickly noted that I was ready to begin pushing.  They had me lie down on my back and put my feet in stir-ups.  By the next contraction, I began pushing.

4:45 AM

Jessie arrived just as I was placed on my back and she joined me opposite Kevin at my right shoulder.
This time is both extremely vivid in my mind but at the same time, a blur.  I was aware overall of my sister arriving and my mom being in the room but I also was only focused on what I was feeling and how I was going to get through each push.
At first I didn’t really know how to focus my pushes, it was just an urge I had but I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right.  Dr. Gray placed her fingers on me and told me to focus my pushes there which I tried but I still wasn’t sure I was doing it right.
They brought a standing mirror into the room and Dr. Gray asked if I was able to see the top of Sirena’s head.  I tried to focus enough to see her clearly but there was so much going on in those moments I really couldn’t focus on anything other than what my body was doing.
For each contraction I was able to get about three pushes in–when the urge would arrive I would lift my knees up (which Kevin and Jessie helped with),  take a deep breath, then push with all of my might for around 10 seconds (which Kevin and Jessie would count out for me), then take another deep breath and do the same thing two more times.  After three pushes I would get a break of around 45 seconds when I would relax my legs, try to breathe and relax my body, Kevin would pat my head with a cold washcloth, and I would prepare myself for the next set of pushes.

5:00 AM – 5:15 AM

Lauraina arrived at this time and went to my left shoulder while Kevin went to my feet with Dr. Gray.
By this time there were so many more doctors and nurses in the room, just standing around and getting ready for Sirena’s arrival.  In between the contractions I remember glancing around and taking note of how many people were standing there in the room while I was lying there with my feet in stir-ups wearing nothing but a sports bra (but of course, I couldn’t care less in that moment!  It’s completely true that any and all modesty goes straight out the window when a woman gives birth).  Luckily no one thought to tell my mom to leave the room but she stood in the back and tried to blend in with all of the other people in the room as much as possible just in case.
I continued the cycle of pushing three times in a row with about 30 seconds of rest in between each set of pushes.  Lauraina told me later she noticed that I had gone very much into myself during this time and I couldn’t agree more–I was semi-aware of what was going on in the room but was mostly focused on the work my body was doing.  I had to close my eyes shut during each push and all I remember listening for was the countdown to 10 Jessie would say aloud during each push and Dr. Gray saying, “That’s it, that’s it” which was so helpful to hear while I was pushing, hearing validation that I was doing it right and that things were coming along.
Kevin was having a completely different experience while at my feet with Dr. Gray–she asked him if he wanted to touch Sirena’s head while it was crowning which he did and he says it was amazing.

Kevin’s smile here makes it so apparent that he was having an amazing experience while watching his daughter be born

As her head was emerging, Kevin continued to have his hand on her head and Dr. Gray was supporting it with her hands.  Then as the shoulders emerged, Dr. Gray began to help pull them out while Kevin continued to hold Sirena’s head–it was at this time that Kevin barely dodged a stream of fluid that came out with one of my pushes (something that Sirena and I had been planning all along 😉 ).   Once the shoulders were out, it was with one more big push that her entire body squirmed its way out of me and into Kevin’s and Dr. Gray’s hands.  I remember a very warm, wet sensation (and a huge relief) when she was finally born.  The nurse looked at the clock and declared her time of birth as 5:15 AM.
Dr. Gray had to remove the umbilical cord from around her shoulders and then Kevin immediately placed Sirena on my chest, umbilical cord still attached and allowed to finish pulsating as we requested.

Kevin and Dr. Gray lifting Sirena to my chest

I cannot quite describe the feelings I had when I first saw her.  It was an extremely surreal moment that I still have not found the words to describe (and I’m not sure I ever will).  This photo that my mom took captures the moment beautifully and it makes me cry every single time I see it.

I was in total and complete awe of this creature that had just come out of me, this creature that had been growing inside of me for nine months, this creature that I had wanted and dreamed about for so long, this creature that was me and Kevin.

Love at first sight

First family photo.  Head over heels in love.

She was finally here and our lives have not been the same since.

A baby story: Week 35

Week 35: Baby’s the size of a coconut!

The weeks seem to be zooooming by now that we’re getting so much closer to the due date!  A LOT has taken place in the last week and it feels good to be getting so many things done in the baby department. But before I get to that I just need to shout at the top of my lungs that I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH STUDENT TEACHING!  Friday was my last day with those 7th grade knuckleheads and although it’s completely bittersweet since I enjoyed my time with them so much, it is such a major relief to be done and only have to work full-time for the next few weeks.  😉  I want to write a post reflecting on my experience once my credential course and my CA state assessment are done (should be all finished up with everything next week) so I’ll leave it at that for now.

This week Kevin and I did some major work on the baby’s room and it’s coming together quite nicely!  The fire was under our rears because our Bay Area shower was being hosted at our apartment so we worked from early morning hours both Saturday and Sunday to get the room and the entire apartment in tip-top shape.  We’ve still got some work to do on the baby’s room but we are almost done!  Here are some sneak peek photos of our progress so far:

Mars relaxing in the glider we got from Craig’s List!  We’re going to dye the fabric a dark brown but this is what we’ve got for now.

Here is a little something I made for her–a picture of our very first ultrasound at 8 weeks (seems like a lifetime ago!) with the words “Love at first sight” written on the bottom.

The top of her dresser/changing table with another plant, her mermaid candle holder from my mom, an art print of a bear + constellation, a little mermaid finger puppet from Jenny and Neil, her first spoon with a little mermaid on it, and last but certainly not least–a framed picture of her big sister Lola!

We went to IKEA and purchased two bookshelves to begin her little library.  Here are some shots of some of the shelves:

The top of the bookshelf with some flowers, her cute little Vans shoes (courtesy of Kim and baby Amelia!), her Ariel doll (one of four Disney dolls my Aunt Tina got us for our shower last week!), and a mirror I purchased years ago at an antique store

So many good books!!

Two of the shelves with a Peter Pan pop-up book that mama and daddy bought for her months ago sitting atop a stack of children’s story/song records from the 60s we scored for cheap during our babymoon, and the second shelf has her Shel Silverstein book collection (we received Where the Sidewalk Ends from her Aunt Judith, A Light in the Attic from Jayme, and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O from Kim, Frank and Amelia) and two cute teddy bears (one from Steve and one from Brianne and Brian wearing a cute little hat from Lisa and Josh)!

She’s already got a shelf dedicated to her bilingual English/Spanish books!  I only told one person that I wanted to get some bilingual books but quite a few people thought of it on their own and I am so happy they did!  Kevin’s looking forward to practicing his Spanish with her too.

We had a great time at our Bay Area shower and we can’t thank Carleigh enough for throwing such a fun party for us!  We had around 17 people there total and Lola and Mars were the perfect hosts.  🙂  My mom and her boyfriend Steve crashed the party and surprised us that afternoon, here’s a link to a fun video she put together of their sneaky plan to surprise us. And here are some photos from the afternoon (courtesy of my mama):

One of the games Carleigh had the guests play, they had to create a baby out of Play-Doh and I chose the one that I liked the best! Some very interesting creations here…

The pink one on the bottom is the one I chose (Carleigh’s)!

Second and third place winners for the other shower game

Me and Kevin opening up some gifts. We were reading a super sweet poem written by our friends Terri and Scott that was inscribed in the inside cover of the book.

Some of the party guests + doggies

Family photo!

Tonight I was treated to an amazing prenatal massage and it was so appreciated.  Our doula is a massage therapist and I had been looking forward to this massage for weeks! This one was included in our package we got from her and my mama bought me a few more to take advantage of before and after the little miss arrives.  THANK YOU mama!  It was beyond relaxing and I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now.  🙂

And last but certainly not least today we had our 36 week prenatal appointment.  It was a little stressful because our OB/GYN’s office called me yesterday afternoon letting me know that she was cancelling all appointments for the rest of the week, including ours.  Kevin and I had been looking forward to seeing her one last time today and I was definitely upset by the news.  Luckily this morning I was called with some good news, that another OB/GYN had an opening to see us at 11:30 so we were able to have our appointment after all!  The doctor was able to confirm that Sirena’s head is down (woohoo!) and although the ultrasound was short and sweet, we were so happy to see her little arms and fingers and long legs stretching out.  The funniest thing was that the doctor could tell that her bladder was full, haha.  The picture we got wasn’t the best but I thought I’d put it here anyways just for posterity’s sake.  🙂  This is a picture of her pretty lil’ head:

The doctor said her head is nice ‘n round!

Belly shots!

She is definitely groooowing!

Can you tell how much more relaxed I am after my prenatal massage? Ahhh…

The best Lola photo bomb to date!

Other pregnancy updates

  • Total weight gained so far: 13 pounds
  • Number of baby-related classes/appointments we have this weekend: Four! Friday we’re meeting with the Labor & Delivery team to ask questions and get a sneak-peek as to which resident doctor might deliver this little munchkin, Saturday we’ve got a Newborn Care Class at Kaiser and we’re meeting with our doula again, and Sunday I’m going to an event where mamas get together to share positive birth stories which I’m really looking forward to.
  • Fun baby developments this week: She measures around 20 inches now and weighs a little over 5 pounds.  At this point she probably won’t grow much longer so all of her attention will be focused on packing on the pounds! Her kidneys and her sense of hearing are fully developed and at this point all she’s got left to do is allow her lungs to mature.

A baby story: Week 29

Week 29: Baby’s the size of a butternut squash!

Lots of baby news this week (seems like it’s been that way for a few weeks now…we’re definitely on the home stretch!)

We had a few special visitors in town–Brianne and Brian drove up on Friday afternoon and spent a couple of nights with us.  The majority of the time was spent getting some good quality time in with each other at our place but we also did a few fun outings including: seeing “The Hunger Games” (so good!), getting Indian pizza for dinner in the city at Zante’s, enjoying some Salvadorean pan dulce (sweet bread) at Rico Pan (a bakery we used to frequent in our old ‘hood in the city), a quick hike in Piedmont Park followed by awesome sandwiches for lunch at Ike’s Lair (the East Bay’s version of Ike’s Place which was featured on that show “Man vs. Food”).  Can you tell we like to eat?  🙂

We didn’t let the rainy weather get in our way of enjoying the weekend!

B & B at Piedmont Park (check out Lola’s photo bomb, haha!)

After B & B went on their merry way back down to Long Beach, Kevin and I trekked across the bridge once more to visit with my dad who was in town.  We were only able to spend a short amount of time with him but it was really good seeing him and I know he was excited to see the belly that is home to his first grandchild!

This week I also had my appointment with the dietitian due to my having developed glucose intolerance.  I’ve know for a couple of weeks now and had already adjusted my diet (no more cookies/cake/ice cream for me, boo!)  One thing I didn’t realize was that my diagnosis has nothing to do with what I’ve been eating this whole pregnancy, it’s just that some women’s bodies don’t process insulin properly once all of the pregnancy hormones are added into the equation.  So it was definitely a minor relief knowing that it wasn’t something I did to cause it.  I also brought a list of some of the common foods I eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks and she was pretty pleased with my diet which made me happy.  I have to actually up the fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil) and just monitor the carbs I eat throughout the day and make sure that I eat every three hours to stabilize my blood sugar.  But overall it was a good appointment and luckily I don’t have to make too many adjustments to what I was already doing these past two weeks.

We also took a huge step and interviewed and hired a doula!  She and I have been speaking over the phone and via email the past few weeks and we finally had a chance to sit down and meet with her at our apartment.  She was very easy to talk to and we both felt very comfortable in her presence.  She has a lot of great experience (having even been present at 6 births at the Kaiser Oakland facility we’re going to have Sirena at which I think is a big plus) and she is going to be a really great addition to our little birth team.  We’ll have three visits with her before the baby arrives, then she’ll stay with us throughout the labor and up to a couple of hours after she’s born, and then she’ll meet with us twice postpartum.  I wrote a little more about the reasons we want to have a doula present at our birth on this post if you’re interested in checking that out.

This week I’ve started keeping track of Sirena’s movements on a kick count chart (kinda like this one).  It’s suggested that moms do this in the third trimester to monitor the baby’s movements and just make sure that they don’t decrease at all.  I have to count to 10 kicks/movements within an hour and so far she always gets to her 10 kicks within 25-30 minutes…this girl likes to move!

And lastly, although zero progress has been made on the nursery (due to the leak that we are continuing to battle with, we’re going on 10 weeks now!!), I am happy to say that one of the crafty projects I’ve had my mind on for a while was finally tackled and accomplished.  I wanted to do some hand-lettering and write out the literal translation of her name (Beautiful mermaid of the Edmonds Sea) and here’s the final product:

Framed art for Sirena along with the newest teddy bear that Brianne got her!

Belly shots!

I noticed I wore this same outfit in my Week 20 belly shots, check out how much the belly’s grown since then (she’s grown from a banana to a butternut squash since then…and it shows)!

My little furry girl wanting to get in on some of the belly shot action again this week!

Other pregnancy updates:

  • Total weight gained so far: Back down to 7 pounds…we’ll see what the doc says tomorrow!
  • Fun baby developments this week: She’s around 15 inches long and weighs around 2.5 pounds (and she’s going to triple in weight before birth!)  And she is hopefully beginning to settle into the proper birthing position (head down, facing my back).
  • How I’m feeling this week: The back pain is still going strong and by the end of the night I’m pretty uncomfortable.  I’m hoping to schedule a prenatal massage in the coming weeks which may help ease some of the pain but in the meantime I’m still working on moving around as much as possible (and not being sedentary all day) and doing some easy back exercises.  I also started to feel a bruise-like pain at the top of my rib cage on the left side and after doing a little research I think it’s due to my rib cage expanding!  A lot of pregnant women have written about a similar pain on different online forums and I’m going to talk to my doctor at our appointment tomorrow just to make sure it’s nothing more serious than that.
  • Number of days until our babymoon: One!  Kevin and I are so looking forward to a weekend getaway to a little town in Sonoma County where we’ll be staying in a bed and breakfast and just enjoying each other’s company for three uninterrupted days.  ::sigh:: I can’t wait!

Cities that start with an “S”

In mid-January I visited three cities that start with an “S” within a week’s time–San Diego, San Francisco, and Sausalito.

I went to San Diego for work a few weeks ago for an amazing (can you sense my sarcasm here?) three-day training at our San Diego campus.  The best part of it all was that I was able to make a quick visit with my good friend Heather, her husband Steven, and their adorable pup Jack since they live so close to where I was staying.  Heather picked me up after work and she made us an amazing vegetarian dinner which was enjoyed while telling stories about what’s going on in our lives (she’s a runner and a blogger too!) and commiserating over working at universities.  😉

The best part of the visit (just don’t tell Heather and Steven)?!  Getting to spend some time with Jack!  I met him a couple of years ago and he was just a little rascal then and it was great seeing him in person after following his blog for all this time.  I didn’t realize how small he was, he always seems bigger in pictures (he’s just about the same size as Lola) and he is such a sweet dog!  We’re hoping to get him and Lola together in the nearish future…they would have so much fun together!

Check out those ears! And yes, one of them is always folded over to the side…so cute!

Kevin’s mom Dorothy and his sister Judith came up the following weekend for a visit (and to be present at our 20 week ultrasound!) and we visited two cities that start with an “S” together.  We were only in San Francisco for a couple of hours but those hours were well spent…we went to Zante’s for Indian pizza at the request of Judith who had never been there but heard such good things from my dad-in-law George.  Even though I didn’t take any photos during our shotgun trip across the bridge I can confidently say that we made another Indian pizza convert out of an Edmonds!  🙂

The last city on our tour was Sausalito.  We hadn’t been there since January two years prior when Kevin’s brother Thomas and our nephew Joshua came up for a visit so it was about time to make another trip up to Marin County to take a stroll along the coast.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day and we thoroughly enjoyed our time out in the sun with the yummy and refreshing sea breeze.

Beautiful day in the Bay!

I have like 15 of these candid photos of Kevin…I should make a slideshow of them all, what do you think?? Hehe.

Kevin, Lola and a sea lion statue.

Judith, Dorothy and the San Francisco skyline in the background…it was such a clear day!

Lola spotted ’em first…she’s thinking “C’mon, Dad, let me at ’em!”…

Kevin, Judith and Dorothy trying to get a good look at ’em too…

What exactly were we looking at?

Sea lions!

Relaxing in the sunshine

We ended the day getting some ice cream (or sherbert, if your name is Kevin) and eating it in the sunshine.  Here’s a fun animated slideshow of Kevin and Lola…check out her eagle eyes on that sherbert of Kevin’s!

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