Family trip to Maui, Hawaii!
Posted by Lisa On February 20th, 2015
We had been looking forward for months to a last hurrah before baby Lucia makes her arrival–a family vacation to Maui, Hawaii! Kevin’s mom and our good family friend Judy joined us. We were finally going to use Kevin’s flight benefits for the airlines he works for and we were anxiously watching the flights to/from Maui to see how booked they were getting as the days passed. It was our first time flying standby and it’s a tricky business: we had to book our lodging for the week and hope beyond all hope that we’d be able to get a flight there to even use the lodging we paid for (and on the flip side, hope that we’d make it home okay and not have to stay a night in the airport or a cheap motel near the airport!). We had to pay in full a couple of months in advance (because so many places were getting booked up) and there weren’t many good options for places that would give us an actual refund if we didn’t show so it really was like playing the lottery in a way. Luckily, it all worked out beautifully and we ended up having 50 extra seats on the way home and over 100 extra seats on the flight there so we were given a row to ourselves!
We enjoyed seven nights and eight days in paradise and it was a wonderful way to kick off the third trimester of Lucia’s pregnancy and to enjoy our little family of three before our newest addition joins us.
Tuesday, Jan 27
We were up and at ’em at 4:30am getting our final things together so we could be at the airport by 7am. Sirena had been looking forward to getting on the airplane for weeks now so the whole way to the airport we were talking to her about how much fun we were about to embark on (this girl loves her airplanes!) The flight was just shy of 6 hours long which is the longest flight she’s been on and she was a real trooper, even snoozing on Daddy for about an hour.
Enjoying her first in-flight movie! “Book of Life”
So happy to have arrived! On the shuttle to pick up our rental car
We rented a sweet ride for our trip…a Jeep convertible! I was grateful to be able to sit shotgun for the majority of the time (I could not be squished in the backseat with the car seat the whole trip with my big ol’ belly and Dorothy and Judy agreed) but the times that I did ride in the backseat I could empathize with D & J that the backseat wasn’t nearly as comfy as the front seat. So next time around we may need to reconsider our car choice! But the convertible top and the way it handled rough terrain were really great.
After getting to our condo (a nice little 2 bedroom place a 1/2 mile from the beach in the town of Ka’anapali, just north of Lahaina) and unpacking our bags, we decided to have an early dinner at the Maui Brewing Co (which had yummy food and drinks, just crazy steep prices for any little add-ons which at other places would be included at no-cost). After dinner and on our drive back to the house, we made a quick stop at the tiniest little beach just south of Pohaku Park. We wanted to watch the sunset and thought this little patch of sand and beach would be a great backdrop. To our astonishment, after jumping down onto the sand from the lava rocks bordering the beach and the highway, we were greeted by two exhausted sea turtles taking a break just on the shore (we were feet away from jumping on top of one of them, we had no idea it was there!) It was the most incredible way to spend our first evening in Maui, watching the sunset and enjoying the company of two beautiful creatures.
Splashing her toes in the warm(ish) Hawaiian waters for the first time!
Wednesday, Jan 28
Hawaii is two hours behind California time (at this time of year, they don’t observe Daylight Savings Time so half of the year they’re three hours behind us) so we were all bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed at the ungodly hour of 4:30am! After hanging out at the house for a bit we decided to venture out and we were the first customers at Slappycakes, a fun restaurant where you cook your pancakes at your table. After a yummy breakfast we went to Safeway to buy some groceries so that most of our lunches and about half of our dinners could be eaten at home so we could save some money. After dropping our groceries off, we turned right around to enjoy the mid-morning at Launiupoko Beach Park–a toddler’s swimming paradise! It had a tiny little wading beach blocked by rocks that let ocean water come in gradually and didn’t get more than 2-3 feet deep. Sirena had a blast playing with her bucket and sand toys (thank you, Auntie Judy!) and testing her swimming legs in the warm waters.
We went back to the house so that Sirena could enjoy a much-needed nap while Dorothy and Judy went down to the beach closest to our house. We kept the evening pretty low-key with a BBQ dinner at home and then took to the main drag of Lahaina (the only real downtownish area on the island), Front Street, to watch the sunset, window shop, and enjoy the first (of many) Hawaiian gelatos.
Our only group photo on the trip!
Incredible sunset, amiright?!
It’s official: Sirena loves gelato.
Can’t ask for a better view while eating gelato!
Thursday, Jan 29
Thursday was set aside for our big travel day…we were going to drive the infamous Road to Hana! (Kevin was so looking forward to this day…he LOVES driving, especially windy, gravelly roads…and especially in a convertible Jeep). We woke up really early (jet lag was working in our favor that day) and set out mid-morning.
View from our convertible top
We followed along closely with the “Maui Revealed” guidebook that Kevin bought a year or two ago which talked about both the super popular spots and the not-so-well-known gems along the road, using the mile markers to point them out. The first part of the drive there were a ton of overlooks to stop at and take photos of the breathtaking coastline.
Looking out onto Honomanu Bay
We took a hidden dirt road (thanks to the guidebook) down to Honomanu Bay and enjoyed stretching our legs on the black sand (rocky) beach.
Girl on a mission with giant stick in her hand
Throwing rocks in the ocean, her favorite
She even got Mama and Grandma in on the action. Kevin took this series of photos as we threw our rocks into the ocean.
Proof that Kevin was on the trip, haha!
The Road to Hana during the peak tourist season is well known for incredible waterfalls around every turn. The guidebook warned that at certain times of year (come to find out, late January…) there isn’t much water flow to speak of for a lot of the waterfalls they describe and we quickly found that out after trying to get our eyes on a bunch of them. That just means we’ll have to come back, I guess…
At the urging of the guidebook, we took a small road into Ke’anae Peninsula and village for some awesome views and delicious banana bread and shave ice at Aunty Sandy’s roadside stand. Across the street from Aunty Sandy’s was a beautiful spot to take photos of the crashing waves against jagged lava boulders which we spent some time at before indulging ourselves in the sweet stuff.
Sirena mimicking the crashing waves
Walking the rock wall to Aunty Sandy’s (and hugging her baby Honey real tight)
Peekaboo!
Um…delicious. This was our favorite shave ice on the island that we tried this trip.
We got back on the road and shortly thereafter were met with tons of red brake lights just ahead. We had heard at Aunty Sandy’s that there was a lot of construction going on and that the road might be closing at some point but we didn’t think it’d be so soon! We were stopped for a few minutes before we started seeing some cars up ahead turning around and talking to each car on the way back. The driver told us that they were closing the road and that we should all just head back. We were so bummed!! We thought we’d wait it out a bit and the poor fools who listened to that guy really missed out because not 5 minutes later did they start letting traffic through (no joke!)
So glad we didn’t listen to that haole! 😉
From the Hana Highway section of the guidebook, one of the places I was really keen on visiting was Ching’s Pond. Most drivers don’t even notice the amazing waterfall and swimming hole just below the road but with the help of the guidebook we knew where to pull over and make our way down an extremely steep hill to this real gem. One of my favorite things is to swim in rivers and swimming holes like this (even more so than the ocean to be honest) so I was beyond excited to check it out. Of course the water was freeeeeezing so I hesitated quite a bit before being urged by Judy to get in the water already because she knew I’d end up regretting it later. Kevin jumped in first and Sirena joined the both of us for a 10 minute dip in the super refreshing waters.
My idea of paradise
We enjoyed our lunch on the rocks and were pleasantly surprised (or horrified, depends on which of us you’re talking about!) to be entertained by a guy who climbed up to the bridge where cars would pass and proceed to jump 25 feet down into Ching’s Pond below. We had read in the guidebook that if you were lucky you’d get to see some locals do it but it urged extreme caution because there is literally zero margin for error with this jump. The guy we saw did it twice and we all held our breath each time his feet left the platform!
Can you see the crazy man jumping? He’s just to the left of the bridge, in the center of the photo
I have to mention at this point that Sirena had been a bit under the weather a few days leading up to our trip. She was sniffly and congested off and on but we took our chances and she had been doing pretty well up until this point, just a little extra clingy with me. Our Road to Hana trip took a turn for the worst about 20 minutes after Ching’s Pond when we made a pit stop at Hana Bay. Sirena started complaining about her “owie, ear” and Kevin and I immediately freaked out that she had an ear infection that we had previously been clueless about. I picked her up and held her for about 10 minutes and she was crying and complaining about her ear and we couldn’t seem to distract her. Hana Bay is basically at the complete opposite end of the island from our condo so we were feeling really screwed but not totally hopeless at this point because although she was upset, she wasn’t out of sorts (…yet). We were kicking ourselves for not bringing the Tylenol that I had so thoughtfully packed from home but left at the condo (because why would we need Tylenol on the Road to Hana?!) but we thought that she had been in such good spirits and was such a trooper that things should be manageable. Boy, were we wrong.
This is the part of the trip that we lovingly call “The Road from Hell.” We were in basically the most desolate part of the island on the roughest, bumpiest, most windy part of the Hana Highway. There were no towns, no drug stores, NOTHING for two hours. Sirena was in complete and utter turmoil for the entire 2 hours we were on that part of the drive–she tried so hard to fall asleep but every damn bump and turn would wake her up and she’d be screaming out in pain. Each time she’d wake up she’d cry out, “Hold me, Mommy! Hold me, Mommy!” over and over again and all I could do was hold her hand and try to comfort her as best as I could squished in the backseat next to her (and Judy helped with trying to comfort her as best she could squished on the other side of the car seat). The drive was pure torture, that is no exaggeration at all. We were all so utterly helpless–all we could do was keep driving as fast as we could to just get to the next damn town where they had an Emergency Room we could take her to. As we were approaching the town of Kula, Sirena changed her tune from, “Hold me, Mommy!” to, “Save me, Mommy” and it absolutely broke all of our hearts. We finally made it to Kula and followed the signs to a windy road up the hill a bit to the hospital. As we turned the corner I started to freak out a bit because it was getting dark and the hospital looked like it came straight out of a scary movie (looked like an old insane asylum!) Once we saw the ER it looked a bit more normal but I was starting to question our decision to go to this hospital to be honest! Turns out it was a beautiful hospital with an incredible view and we were in and out of ER in…get this…thirty minutes.
Squeezing Daddy so tight
The doctor was great and gave Sirena some much-needed Tylenol which worked quickly and eased her incredible pain. We drove about 10 minutes to the closest pharmacy and picked up a prescription for her ear infection. From Kula we had another 45 minutes but luckily at this point the road was smooth and fairly straight so Sirena was able to pass out for the remainder of the drive and stayed asleep until we got to the condo and quickly passed back out for the night.
The grown-ups stayed up a bit to unwind from a crazy stressful day with late night pizza and beer/wine. What…a…day.
Friday, Jan 30
For good reason, we took it easy on Friday to let Sirena recover from such a traumatic experience and heal up as best as she could. We headed out to Kapalua Beach for some snorkeling for the grown-ups and wading in the water/playing in the sand for Sirena.
You’d think she hadn’t just had the worst day of her life the day before…
The only photo we took of Kapalua Beach (Judy’s in the middle on her floatie!)
Only Kevin, Judy and Dorothy went out snorkeling this day and they say it wasn’t the best waters for snorkeling. In fact, there was some gnarly coral that banged ’em up pretty good (I won’t name names 😉 ). Yikes!
Sirena passed out in the car just as we left the beach and so the grown-ups got lunch to go from a mixed plate spot that had great reviews. It did not disappoint! Super yummy, local food. Just what the doctor ordered.
We had a relaxing afternoon at the house and took to Lahaina for dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise. My mom’s husband’s daughter (you following?) is the niece of the owners of this chain of restaurants (I lost you, didn’t I?) so we were excited to check it out (and had a super helpful VIP gift card that Steve let us have to help pay for our meal, thank you Steve!) There was a musician playing great music during the meal, we had a great view of the moon over the ocean behind us, and the food was yummy so it was a great choice! And we finished off the (what turned out to be a super late) evening with some window shopping and yummy gelato.
In front of Cheeseburger in Paradise
You can’t really tell but Sirena is actually wearing the souvenir we bought for Lucia…an 18 mos shirt! I couldn’t believe it when I walked in the room and she had it over her head, haha. We proceeded to buy her a matching one, this time a size 3T. 😉
A giant flip flop is just asking to be climbed on, right? She then proceeded to put it on the ground and pretend it was a surfboard, entertaining the two shopkeepers. Hah!
Saturday, Jan 31
After a fairly laid back day and how well Sirena was doing we decided to do another big trip (this time with her antibiotics and plenty of Tylenol on hand) on Saturday. Our destination? ‘Iao Needle with lots of stops along the way.
Talk about an incredible coastline
Our first stop on our West Maui excursion was to Nakalele Blowhole–described by the guidebook, “the ocean here has undercut the shoreline, pounding underneath the lava shelf, where it spits through a human-sized hole in the lava. The blowhole varies tremendously with the tide and size of the surf” and we were lucky that we got here on a good day. There was plenty of action from the blowhole even as high up as we were (we weren’t feeling adventurous enough to walk all the way down with Sirena). The sign at the top of the hill said, “Warning: Stay clear of blowhole. You can be sucked in and killed. This is NOT a water park.” You don’t have to tell us twice with a pregnant lady and a toddler!
Checking out the blowhole down below
Thar she blows! (You knew that was coming, right?)
Shortly after the blowhole, the road narrowed dramatically to one lane and began its extremely windy ascent up through the mountains. For this whole part of the drive, we had to keep our eyes peeled for oncoming cars and yield to them as best we could on the side of the highway. You could tell who was a local and who was a tourist by the speed with which people took those turns. Some of those people were insane!
We came across an overlook a few miles from where we parked to walk to the blowhole and we got a great birds-eye view of it:
Incredible view of the road ahead!
At the urging of the guidebook, we kept our eyes peeled every turn for a tiny little village called Kahakuloa which claimes to have…get this…the “best banana bread in the world.” Lots of small roadside stands sell banana bread but the guidebook claimed that the banana bread at Julia’s roadside stand was hands-down the best so you know we had to check it out. Turns out not only was the banana bread the bomb, they also sold an amazing coconut candy and a passion fruit butter to spread on (thick!) on the slice of banana bread. Heaven!!
Sirena enjoying her coconut candy and the view of the taro fields below Julia’s stand
View of Kahakuloa Village as we made our way up the mountain again
We made another stop a few miles up the mountain at the Kaukini Gallery filled with beautiful art/souvenirs/jewelry…and a much-needed restroom! After that point the windy, narrow road widens and straightens out into a two car highway and we made our way to Central Maui for the main attraction: the ‘Iao Needle in the town of Wailuku.
View of the ‘Iao Valley
Before making our way up the many stairs to the ‘Iao Needle lookout, we had a nice picnic lunch on the grounds and enjoyed the overcast weather for a change with about 5 minutes of sprinkling. Such an incredible spot for lunch and taking in the awe-inspiring sights.
It was a good hour of driving through the central part of Maui and back up along the West Maui coast back to our house and luckily Sirena napped most of the way. We were itching for some more beach time and pulled over at Mile Marker 14 for what we heard was some incredible snorkeling. Turns out the snorkeling was just meh but the beach and water itself was calm and warm and basically perfect to end our day.
We had a BBQ dinner at home and could barely keep our eyes open past 9pm so we called it a night!
Sunday, Feb 1
We had another chill day planned for Sunday (aka Super Bowl Sunday for people who actually enjoy football, haha). Kevin, Sirena, Dorothy and I took a drive to a coffee farm and to the now closed Sugar Cane Train to take some fun photos of Sirena on an abandoned train (one of her faves). We did a little souvenir shopping, had a coffee, and went back to the house so Sirena could nap…but she didn’t (it’s like she knew her time in Hawaii was running out so she wanted to enjoy every last minute of it!)
After a little lunching on our patio we decided to take a dip in the pool to take advantage and to spend some time as a family. I didn’t get any shots at the pool itself but here are some shots of our sun-kissed beauty around the complex after pool time:
Enjoying the view at lunch
Sirena’s third most favorite thing: MAPS!
Her new “silly face.” She does it all the time!
Showing us the way home
Before we left Maui we all wanted to make another sunset visit to Pohaku Park where we made the unexpected sea turtle discovery our first night on the island so we decided to do that this night. The turtles were out as we had hoped and we enjoyed watching the sunset on the little patch of sand with our new local friends.
Auntie Judy showing Sirena something fun
After the sun set we made our way back out to Lahaina for some dinner. We had no idea that it would take us over an hour to find a place to eat! It was already getting late and we walked up and down Front Street trying to find a place that everyone wanted to eat, had decent reviews and had a nice ambiance, wasn’t ridiculously priced, and would seat us right away. We were starting to go nuts because we weren’t able to find a darn place when we finally stumbled upon Captain Jack’s that turned out to be a great dinner (and it was across the street from where we started our search, go figure!) After dinner we had another yummy gelato which made it allll better.
Monday, Feb 2
We started out fairly early that morning to take a drive down to South Maui on the west coast to check out some of the beaches near the docks where we’d go out on our whale watching/snorkel tour midday. On the way there we stopped at an overlook that was always super crowded because of the great vantage point for whale watching.
We drove through the towns of Kihei and Wailea and found our way to Makena Beach for about an hour of swimming.
From the beach you could see Molokini Crater off in the distance where we’d be snorkeling just a few hours later!
After our quick beach trip we packed back into the Jeep and made our way back up the coast to the docks to climb aboard the Four Winds boat. The boat ride was at least an hour long and it covered some extremely choppy waters. I was having a hard time keeping comfortable holding onto Sirena (and trying to keep her from flying off the bench) and keeping my own huge pregnant belly from jumbling around too much. I kept a close eye on the Molokini Crater (our final destination) and hoping that we’d get there sooner rather than later! There were some whales spotted on the way there but I wasn’t able to focus too much on them under the circumstances but Kevin got some good shots of them:
Once we docked at Molokini Crater (which is actually pretty rare for the afternoon snorkel trips, most days the afternoon tours have to go somewhere else because the weather doesn’t cooperate so we were very lucky to get out there!) the waters were extremely calm and incredibly clear and blue. Sirena and I stayed on deck the majority of the time, eating lunch and watching overboard while K, D and J snorkeled. Judy came back aboard when there were around 20 minutes to spare for snorkeling and offered me her wetsuit jacket so that I could take a dip which I appreciated so much! I hadn’t planned on snorkeling but it was so glorious and I’m really glad that I was able to get out there. Sirena even climbed down the steps (wearing a life jacket of course) and sat on the bottom step with me kicking her legs in the water and enjoying some “swim” time herself. It ended up being a really perfect afternoon.
We spent maybe 3.5 minutes at the glass bottom of the boat but it was cool while it lasted
The ride back to the docks was much more pleasant and I was able to actually enjoy the view!
Sirena decided to drive us home…
We finished the busy day out in the sun with a low-key dinner at home. About an hour before Sirena’s bedtime, Kevin and I finally made our way out for a “date night” while Dorothy and Judy helped put Sirena to bed. We didn’t do anything huge because we were both pretty exhausted and we still had some souvenirs to buy so we did some shopping, walked down Front Street holding hands (and not worrying about a toddler running around, what a relief!), and enjoying some gelato (for me) and shave ice (for Kevin). It was nice to have a couple of hours to ourselves before our trip came to an end the next day.
Tuesday, Feb 3
Our final day in Maui arrived and we spent the majority of the morning cleaning and packing. We left with just enough time to grab some lunch before heading to the airport. We could not believe that not 5 minutes from the airport and returning our rental car we got hit by another car! Long story short, there didn’t end up being any damage on our car (the other guy couldn’t claim the same) and we were able to leave with no issues at all (thank goodness!) The timing was unbelievable and I’m just so happy we didn’t end our trip on a bad note.
We got to the airport with about 10 minutes to hang out at the terminal. The flight home was not as easy going as the first (Sirena was exhausted and had a harder time napping but luckily she eventually conked out) and we finally touched down at LAX to make the last leg of the trip home. Home, sweet, home.
We had an amazing time in Maui but we really were so glad to be home. Can’t wait for our next family vacation…as a family of four!
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 30 + 31
Posted by Lisa On February 19th, 2015
Week 30: Baby’s the length of a cucumber
This week we had another prenatal appointment with midwife Allison. Heartbeat sounds great and everything looks just fine! Nothing major to report from this appointment although we’re going to start seeing the midwives a lot more frequently now that we’re in the third trimester.
Something that I’m pretty sure has started up this week are Braxton Hicks contractions, something I don’t remember experiencing with Sirena’s pregnancy. My good ol’ uterus is practicing for the big day and it’s just sporadic, infrequent cramping that can be a bit uncomfortable in the moment but after a minute the feeling passes and things are back to normal. The 3am insomnia has resurfaced this week which is, in a word, annoying. I love when people say, “Make sure you get rest now before the baby’s born!” It’s my favorite thing to think about between 3-4:30am as I’m lying wide awake and nothing I do can get me back to sleep. 😉
One fun thing Lucia accompanied me to this week was “Dirty Dancing: The Musical” with the ladies in my family. We had such a good time and baby girl really enjoyed the music, especially the finale!
Belly shot!
Week 31: Baby’s the size of a pineapple
Now that our Maui, Hawaii family vacation is over (le sigh) it seems that things have kicked into high gear with getting serious about Lucia’s upcoming arrival. Kevin and I, along with our good friend Brianne, have been busy making preparations in a number of ways:
- Party planning: Brianne has graciously volunteered to co-host a celebration for Lucia and big-sister-to-be Sirena. The theme is “Little Miss Sunshine” (going along with the translation of her name which is light) and I’m so looking forward to having close family/friends over to celebrate our girls with us.
- Nesting: Kevin and I have been busy cleaning our house and making room for our little sunshine-in-the-making. We’ve gotten a couple of things from Craigslist (Rock n Play sleeper for one), a friend is passing along her changing table to us, and we’re in the market for a comfy, used glider/armchair (for the hours of nursing that are in my future). We’re going to make a little nook in our room for the changing table/glider which means we’ve got to move our dresser into our closet. We’ve got a plan for the next couple of weeks to get all of the baby stuff out of the garage to clean/inspect and start organizing it in our house.
- Preparing for childbirth + recovery: Whether I like it or not (ha!) I’m going to be giving birth again in a couple of months. This week I got serious about preparing for this huge event by starting to reread “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth,” writing down some affirmations to think about during labor, seriously exercising every day (I need to build as much strength as possible for the marathon-of-an-event I’m about to partake in!), and getting a list together of postpartum recovery needs to have on hand at the birth center and at home.
This week we celebrated Valentine’s Day which has never been a big day for me and Kevin but it has become something of note now that Sirena is around. She made her second set of homemade Valentine’s cards for her schoolmates and family and this year she was sure to make one for “her baby” (that’s how she refers to Lucia!):
These pregnancy hormones have kicked into full gear lately it seems (they say that happens a lot in the first and third trimesters) and I’ve been really emotional lately. It feels like my emotions are just under the surface for me and any little thing can get the tears flowing. The biggest thing for me lately has been the thought that my special Sirena + mama alone time is quickly coming to an end (I had the same sentiments about the special Lola + mama time before Sirena was born, come to think of it!) Believe me when I say that I am BEYOND excited to spend time with both of my girls in the near future and seeing the two of them together is going to melt me to smithereens. But I know that the beautiful relationship I have with Sirena is undoubtedly going to change with the new addition to our family and it makes me just a bit sad and nostalgic thinking about it. I’m trying to enjoy every little moment with this blonde-haired, chatty, goofy, sweet knucklehead as much as possible while I’ve got her all to myself. 🙂
Belly shot!
My trusty sidekick right by my side
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 10 pounds
- Food cravings so far: NONE! A friend asked me what I’ve been craving and I couldn’t come up with anything. With Sirena I craved falafel/hummus and Vietnamese food. With Lucia, in the first trimester I craved meat (so weird) but that’s not happening any more and I haven’t really craved anything in particular. Hmmm…
- Days until our next prenatal appointment: Seven
- Fun baby developments: She weighs about 3.5 pounds and measures over 16 inches long…and she’s heading into a growth spurt. All five of her senses are now in working order and she’s now strong enough to grasp a finger!
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 28 + 29
Posted by Lisa On February 4th, 2015
Week 28: Baby’s the size of a Chinese cabbage
This week was pretty low-key in the baby department. I did the dreaded 3-hour glucose screening–fasting from midnight on through noon, drink the yummy (ahem, sarcasm) glucola drink, get blood drawn, sit in lobby without being able to walk around, eat, or even drink water for the next three hours as I went in another 3 times to get my blood drawn. I had this feeling that I was going to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes because I was so extremely lethargic and soooo thirsty sitting there in the lobby (compared to during the 3-hour test during Sirena’s pregnancy when I remember just being so hungry and bored out of my mind). There was a lot on the line this time around because if I was given the diagnosis and I wasn’t able to keep my blood sugar levels in check, I wouldn’t be a candidate for the birth center which would be so extremely disappointing. I received the results from the screening just a day later and I am so happy to report that the test came back great so I’m in the clear (insert huge sigh of relief)!!
The only other thing of note that happened this week was that I flew to the Bay Area for the day for a work meeting. Leaving the house before 6am and getting home at 8:30pm I was exhausted and I’m just glad that day is over! It was a bit surreal leaving the meeting and my Bay Area co-workers telling me “Good luck with the birth!” because the next time they’ll see me I’ll be the mama of two…whoa!
Belly shot!
No photo this week, oops! (Seems to be a trend lately!)
Week 29: Baby’s the size of a butternut squash
Lucia had an incredible adventure this week…we took a family vacation to Maui, Hawaii! One full week on such a beautiful island, filling our time with lots of warm, sandy beaches, amazing drives through the mountains and forest, gobbling sweet, juicy pineapple every day, snorkeling in the clearest, bluest waters, and lots of scrumptious gelato and shaved ice (Mama knows what keeps this baby happy! 😉 ) More about the trip in a separate post with lots and lots of photos…coming soon! She seemed to really enjoy the trip because for the first time in the pregnancy she began pushing out some part of her body and leaving it there for a bit for me to give her a little massage. She’s now done it just about every day and it warms my heart that I can feel her so close instead of being just this abstract idea of a baby in there. 😉
Upon our return, I was met with one of the loveliest, sweetest gifts I’ve ever received: Lucia’s grandpa (my father-in-law) bought me a bouquet of flowers and had a special card that was acknowledging that I survived a vacation carrying around and caring for not one but two babies around the island. It was such a thoughtful gesture and it was so nice to be acknowledged like that. Lucia, you sure picked a good family to join, I tell ya!
Belly shot!
Talk about the perfect backdrop for a weekly pregnancy photo…sigh.
No Lola photo bomb this week obviously (although I wish we could’ve taken her to Maui!)
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 8 pounds
- Fun baby developments: 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).
- Days until our next prenatal appointment: 5
- Number of childbirth preparation books I checked out from the library: 2 (better start refreshing my memory now since the big day is just around the corner!)
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 26 + 27
Posted by Lisa On January 20th, 2015
Week 26: Baby’s the size of a head of lettuce
A lot was going on in Lucia’s world this week, namely, opening weekend for her Nani’s play “Shadows”! I helped produce the show, Uncle Derdo directed and was the lead male actor in the play, and Nani wrote the play, was the props master and costume director, and produced the play so it was a wild time for our family the past four months and we were so excited (and relieved!) to finally see opening night arrive and go over so well. Seeing the play again after 15 years and being in such a different place in my life (I was in high school the last time the play was produced), I was overcome with pride in my mom and in my family. It means so much to me that because of my mom, not only do I have some amazing stories of my family that I otherwise would never have known but I also have it in a visual performance where my family members, some of whom I never met, really came to life right before my eyes. Means the world to me and hopefully will be treasured by Lucia, Sirena and any other kiddos we might have in our family. 🙂
Now back to Lucia: I’ve come to the conclusion that this little girl moves a LOT more than Sirena did when she was in my belly. Lucia jiggles my belly around all day long and gets me with some major jabs and belly rolls a few times a day. I have yet to catch it on film (I need to keep our camera handy!) but hopefully soon. She also seems to stick around reaaaally low most of the day and night. It can feel really uncomfortable where my pants rest on my low abdomen and I find myself having to resituate myself (or my waist band!) to get some relief from her pushing down.
I’ve also noticed that clothes do not fit me the same as they did with Sirena’s pregnancy. It’s obvious that my belly has grown a lot more quickly this time around but even shirts and leggings that I wore through to the end of Sirena’s pregnancy (when I was a lot larger than I am now) just aren’t fitting the same even now. I’ve had to purchase a few more maternity shirts and a new couple of pairs of stretchy pants to feel more comfortable on a daily basis. Hopefully these will last for the next 3 months!
The only other news with the pregnancy is that so far I haven’t developed linea negra (a brown line from navel to top of pubic bone that is temporary) like I did during Sirena’s pregnancy by now and so far I’ve still got an actual belly button! It’s becoming more and more shallow by the day so I think its days are numbered. 😉
Belly shot!
No photo this week, oops!
Week 27: Baby’s the size of a cauliflower
We started off this week with a prenatal appointment. We met with a new midwife, Vicki, so it was nice to be able to get to know another midwife who may end up being the one present at our birth when the time comes. The ever-exciting glucose screening was at this appointment and a few days later I received the same potentially disappointing news that the test levels came out a bit high and so I’ll need to go in for the longer 3-hour glucose screening next week. Fingers crossed I’m not diagnosed with gestational diabetes but of course we’ll face that if it comes to that!
Things are starting to get more and more real with the impending birth and arrival of Lucia…the midwife talked to us about preterm labor signs and starting next week I need to start keeping a kick count (to make sure she’s keeping active throughout the third trimester). Third trimester starts next week…ahhh! So much to do and now it’s really getting to be crunch time.
Fun fact: Next week during Sirena’s pregnancy is when I chopped all my hair off. I’m considering doing it again…guess it’s a third trimester pregnancy thing??
Belly shot!
My shadow seems to have returned!
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 7 pounds
- Fun baby developments: She weighs about 2 pounds and is around 14.5 inches long, she’s beginning to show brain activity, she’ll take her first peek around this week while her blinking reflex begins, and she probably recognizes my voice!
- Number of days until our family vacation/babymoon to Hawaii: 6! We are so excited!
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 24 + 25
Posted by Lisa On January 7th, 2015
Week 24: Baby’s the size of a grapefruit
This week in the pregnancy started off on Christmas Eve–such a fun time this year with Sirena and being in our own home. Throughout this time we kept talking about how amazing it’s going to be next Christmas with a 3.5 year old and an 8 month old to celebrate the holidays with! This week marked the one year anniversary of moving into our new house as well and we could not be more happy with our beautiful home and the family that we’re growing here.
A conversation I had with a fellow mama who was actually on bed rest from this point in her pregnancy until the day her daughter was born (talk about an amazing mama) really gave me a new perspective on things and it was so timely with the new year being at the end of this week. Bed rest for her really got her out of shape and didn’t prepare her well for her extremely long labor. This really got me thinking about my own preparation for labor which, until this point, I’ve maintained the perspective that with the back pain I didn’t experience before I’m so limited in what I can do and that there’s nothing I can really do about it. I’ve also honestly been banking on the fact that I had an overall low-key labor and delivery with Sirena and that that will surely happen the second time around, if not be even more low-key this time. I realized that my labor was the way it was because of the months and months of physical preparation–walking 5 miles to/from work in the first 3 months of pregnancy, then student teaching and working 12 hour days through my 8th month, and continuing to walk Lola every day and go hiking just about every other week throughout the pregnancy. Up until this point, this pregnancy doesn’t even begin to compare to the physical activity of my last pregnancy. I know that I am more limited because of the changes in my body but that doesn’t mean that I have to allow it to completely keep me from being active. So I have come up with a schedule for walking and a routine of low-impact stretches and floor exercises to keep myself active and moving and to hopefully help with the back pain, prepare me for labor, aid in my postpartum recovery, and allow me to slowly (but not too slowly) return to more physical activity 6 or so weeks postpartum.
Last but not least, Kevin came up with a really awesome name idea that we both liked the sound of and the meaning of right away and I think we’re getting closer to choosing this baby girl’s name! I really look forward to being able to talk to and about her by name, it makes things so much more real when we are able to do that. 🙂
Belly shot!
Week 25: Baby’s the size of an eggplant
This little eggplant is not messing around! I feel a crazy tug and pull on my sides as my belly stretches more and more to fit this growing girl inside. I remember that feeling with Sirena’s pregnancy but not nearly this fast or this intense. Standing for too long the weight of my belly hanging down gets to be too much for me and even crossing my arms can be uncomfortable because my arms push my belly down and it’s too much pressure for my belly. I’m seriously considering getting some sort of maternity support belt to keep the weight from pulling down so much. The crazy thing is that the most growth happens in the third trimester which we’re not even in yet…I’m anxious (in a good and bad way!) to see how this pregnancy continues to develop!
Sirena has really stepped up into the big sister role this past week. She’s become so attached her baby Nine and wants to take her everywhere. Here are some shots of big-sister-in-training in action:
Feeding Nine a bottle, putting her to bed, and buckling her up for safety!
Swinging her at the park, playing “choo choo” train in our laundry basket (with older sister Lola in the background), and taking a photo of Nine with her “camera”
And last but not least, here’s Sirena demonstrating what NOT to do with a baby!
The biggest news is saved for last, of course! Kevin and I (with Sirena’s approval) have decided on a name for this little lady! We wanted something that has meaning, sounds beautiful, and pairs well with Sirena’s name. We had been pretty set on her middle name for a long time but we could not decide on a first name at all. We had been tossing around a few names for months but it wasn’t until last week when Kevin shared a new name that we were totally and completely sold. We wanted to wait to share the name with our family first before publicly announcing it so the time has finally come!
Her name is: Lucia Judith. Lucia means “light” in Italian (so literal translation of her name will be “light of the Edmonds sea”) and Judith is Kevin’s sister’s name who we love and adore and wanted to honor her. Lucia will be pronounced “Lu-SEE-ah” and not “Lu-CHEE-ah” like it is in Italian. We’ll probably call her “Luci” for short sometimes. 🙂
We finally had a chance to share the name with Kevin’s sister Judith this week and, in true Lisa fashion, videotaped her reaction. We wrote out the name “Lucia Judith” on a piece of paper and rolled it up so Kevin unrolled it slowly, let the “Lucia” sink in for a second, and then unrolled it the rest of the way so she could see the middle name. Here’s a link to a quick video of it (along with Sirena announcing the name to the world 🙂 ).
Belly shot!
My trusty shadow is back! And not at all shy with telling me how she feels about these weekly photos…with a giant yawn. Hah!
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 5.5 pounds
- Fun baby developments this week: All five senses are now fully developed. She may start sucking her thumb in utero around this time…how cute! And she most likely has a distinct sleeping and waking schedule (she is most definitely up and at ‘em between 8-10pm).
- Number of days until our next prenatal appointment: 7!
- Number of weeks left in the second trimester: Two! The third trimester starts at 28 weeks…not too far off at all!
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 22 + 23
Posted by Lisa On January 1st, 2015
Week 22: Baby’s the length of a spaghetti squash
Things have been a bit slow-going in the baby department due to the holidays. The only thing that has not slowed down (and in fact has sped up like CRAZY!) is how BIG this baby girl is getting! My belly has gr-o-o-o-wn by the minute, it seems like. The unfortunate thing is that because of the hectic holidays, I not only forgot to take a belly photo this week…but the following week as well! All I can say is, looking back at my belly photos from weeks 22 and 23 with Sirena’s pregnancy compared to now, it looks like I’m 4-6 weeks ahead of schedule with the baby belly now, haha!
We think we’ve decided what to do with the baby in terms of sleeping arrangements which is a pretty big deal. Some people have asked if the girls are going to share a room and although that’s the plan eventually, it’ll be a while. Here’s the plan as of today (goodness knows how things change when babies enter the scene so this may all go straight out the window!):
- The first 3-4 months, baby girl will be in our room in the co-sleeper. We’re going to buy a changing table/dresser (so Sirena will keep her dresser as is) for our room and a comfy and good quality glider/recliner for our room as well.
- After the transition out of our room, we’ll move her into a space in our office with basically just the co-sleeper (set up like a crib) and her changing table/dresser. This will probably be until she’s 18+ months old.
- When she’s sleeping through the night, we’ll transition her to share Sirena’s current room with her. The room will basically be only for sleeping and getting dressed. All of their books and toys will be transitioned to our current office which will eventually be half office/half playroom.
One really exciting piece of news is that this week…Sirena felt the baby kick! Her reaction? “Whoa.” 😉
Belly shot!
No photo this week, oops!
Week 23: Baby’s the size of a large mango
We started week 23 off with a prenatal appointment and I’m grateful after our scare at week 21 that everything is looking just dandy with the little miss. She’s measuring just right and after the midwife looked at our u/s photos from a few weeks ago she determined that the due date is right on time (with Sirena’s pregnancy, her due date was pushed back two days at around this time). At our next appointment in a couple of weeks will be the oh-so-exciting glucose screening. I’m anxious to find out what the results are because I was glucose intolerant during Sirena’s pregnancy and had to basically follow a diet for someone with gestational diabetes (to prevent developing it because I was borderline). The midwife says that their test only determines yes or no, so there will be no grey area–if I’m a certain level I’ll be diagnosed with gestational diabetes, there won’t be any diagnosis for glucose intolerance. Here’s hoping for the best!
This week the major discomforts of pregnancy really started to get to me. Walking just up and around the block for me can be painful for my lower back and I have to slow waaay down. Thinking back to my pregnancy with Sirena where I was hiking one week before she was born, it frustrates the heck out of me that this early on I can barely get up and walk around the block. The other major discomfort has been crazy insomnia in the middle of the night. There was a string of 5 nights in a row this week where I’d wake up somewhere between 1-3 in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep for at least 2 hours, I’d just be wide awake lying there. Blech.
One question that a lot of people ask me is if we’ve chosen a name yet. We’ve got a small list of names that we keep tossing around that we like a lot but we just haven’t settled on the one yet. The fact that I knew Sirena’s name when I was in college makes it feel so weird that now here we are like so many other people trying to decide a name just months away from having her. I’m happy to know that we’ve decided on a middle name (can’t reveal it quite yet, though!) so that at least helps when trying to come up with a first name and hearing how they sound together. I’m hoping we’ll have a full name decided on by the end of this 6th month of pregnancy, but we’ll see!
Belly shot!
No photo this week, oops!
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 2.5 pounds
- Fun baby developments: Her face is fully formed right now and just needs some fat to fill it out, she weighs just a little over a pound, and she’s actively listening in to what Mama is saying as well as the loud noises out in the world (Lola barking, for one).
Dear Sirena… (2.5 year old update!)
Posted by Lisa On December 9th, 2014
Dear Sirena,
It’s been 6 months that you’ve been a full-fledged 2 year old and it has gotten so so so much more fun with each passing day. Here are some snippets about life with you in this moment:
- The Peacekeeper: At our Parent/Teacher conference at preschool we were told by your teacher that you like to help keep the peace at school. When kids try to take a toy from you or from another kid, you tell them no, that they need to wait until you’re done. This is exactly what I’ve tried to teach you by example! When other kids try to take a toy from you I’ll model that exact same thing saying, “No, so-and-so, Sirena is playing with that. 5 more minutes and she can share with you if she wants to,” and I am so beyond proud that you are standing up for yourself (and others!), sticking to your guns, and doing the right thing.
- The Negotiator: I am big on giving you countdowns to use the potty, to finish playing, for dinner time, etc. so that you are aware of my expectations and there are (hopefully) no tantrums (or minor ones if so!) I usually start with 5 or 10 minutes and try my best to keep tabs on the time that passes to give you incremental warnings until it’s time to do XYZ (although I’ve been told that sometimes my 10 minutes in reality are 15+ minutes. What can I say, I get distracted too sometimes, haha!) You’ve begun giving me your own countdowns for different activities, telling me, “2 more minutes, ok Mommy?” sometimes without me even prompting you!
- The Big Girl: It’s been 3 weeks now that you are officially diaper-free during the day and I could not be more proud. Like I mentioned in one of the pregnancy posts it was a random day that I came in after nap time and you were stark naked and hadn’t peed in bed. I asked if you needed to go potty, you said yes, and the rest is history! Of course we’ve had our share of accidents but you are getting better and better about telling us when you gotta go. Many times at home we’ll hear you getting the potty ready yourself and you’ll be sitting on it doing your thing by the time we get to you! You like your privacy (who doesn’t when it comes to potty time?) and occasionally you’ll tell us, “Leave me. I go ‘self” (translation: Leave me alone, I go by myself).
- The Clown: Your sense of humor is becoming more and more distinct and you are quite the character. You like to make us laugh and you love it when we make you laugh too. You find it hilarious to say, “Hi Lola” to me or Daddy or Auntie Jessie. You seem to be taking after Mama in the potty-humor department which we find hilarious at home and, ahem, blush-inducing out in public. We’re working on when it’s an appropriate time to talk about poop, pee, farts, etc. 😉
- The Parrot: Like all kids your age, you soak new vocabulary up like a sponge and repeat things that me and your Daddy say…sometimes regretfully! It’s fun to hear you say things like, “Wow” or “Aw man!” or “Are you okay?” or “You’re welcome” or any number of small phrases that you pick up. And I guess I say, “Oh Jesus” a lot because I was having trouble with our gate and you immediately said, “Jesus,” lol! Better watch what I say more…
- The Performer: You love to show us your new tricks and talents, calling out, “Look a’me!” (translation: Look at me!) A few weeks ago your Auntie Jessie, Uncle Derdo, Auntie Laura, Daddy, and Mommy were all hanging out in the living room and you hammed it up all night! It was the first time I really saw you putting on a show for a group and it was such a delight. You’d come out, stand in front of the fireplace, and sing (at the top of your lungs) as many songs as you could think of. Here are my favorite renditions of yours:
- Itsy Bitsy Spider: “Itsy bitsy ‘pider, come out in the waaater…”
- ABC’s: “A, B, C, D, H, I, J, K, LMNOP, Q, R, Esss, TUandV, W, X, Y, and Z. Now I know my ABC’s, next time won’t you sing wid me?” You know the whole alphabet but recently you’ve been skipping right past “E, F, G.”
- Twinkle, Twinkle: “Twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up, up, up, up, up, up high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.”
- Row, Row, Row your Boat: “Row, row, row your boat, gently in the boat. Mini, mini, mini, mini. Gently in the boat.”
- Holiday favorites:
- Jingle Bells: “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. What fun it is ride in horse sleigh. HEY!”
- Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet: “Trick or treat, ‘pell my feet. Ginnee someping good to eat. [Inaudible…don’t…inaudible…care]. I’ll pull down your u-n-d-e-r-w-e-a-r [super exaggerated].”
- The Mama-in-Training: You still love all things baby doll. Honey and Nine are your babies of choice and you take such good care of them (never mind the way you grab them by the throat or head sometimes, haha!) You’ve moved from only changing your baby’s diapers on a daily basis to now putting them to bed. You’ll lay a blankie out flat on the floor (justright), put down a little pillow, lay the baby down, and cover the baby from head to toe (we’ll need to talk about how that can’t happen with your baby sister!) You then go around your room getting things ready, turning the starry night light on, turning the nursery rhyme music on, turning your Ok-to-Wake alarm clock on, turning out the overhead light, closing your bedroom door, and then going around the house and closing every other door for some reason, haha.
- The Big Sister: It’s becoming more and more real to you that Mama’s growing a little baby in her belly (you like to tell me, “Baby get bigger!” when you see my belly some days) and you are just the sweetest future big sister. You love to say hi to the baby, kiss my belly, and talk to her. Warms my heart to no end.
Here are some photos I was able to snap of you in some of your day-to-day activities recently:
My little mermaid, you make me so proud to call you my daughter. I love all of your talents, your charm, your cuddly nature, your pure sweetness, and your good heart.
Love,
Mama
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 20 + 21
Posted by Lisa On December 9th, 2014
Week 20: Baby’s the size of a banana
We’re officially at the half-way mark! What an exciting time. And an even more exciting time because this week we had our big anatomical ultrasound and found out that we’re having…drumroll please…another girl!!! The ultrasound (u/s) tech lubed my belly up and basically as soon as she put the machine on my belly she asked us, “Are you interested in knowing the baby’s sex?” This was vastly different from our big ultrasound with Sirena when we almost left the office unsure as to whether she was really a she or not. So this little lady was rearin’ and ready (no pun intended, lol) for us to know right away!
Pretty lil’ profile. She was gulping away in there, over and over again, it was so cute to see!
The u/s tech called this one “Hang Ten” (Can you see the bottoms of her little feet?? Looks like the Hang Ten logo.)
The obligatory (somewhat creepy but really cool nonetheless) 3D photo!
As soon as the tech told us that it was a girl I began to cry. I would’ve loved to have a boy of course but the thought of Sirena having a sister…man, I broke down with tears of happiness. My sister Jessie and I are super close and there is nothing in the world that could replace our relationship and what impact she’s had on my life and I hope that Sirena and this little chica can be just as close and me and Jessie. 🙂 And Kevin is thrilled to be able to continue to say “his girls” about me, Sirena, Lola, and now this little lady. If we adopt another dog, we better make it a boy dog to balance the hormones in this house, haha! And like I mentioned in my last post, Kevin and I aren’t sure if we’re going to continue to expand our family after this baby or not so who knows, maybe a little boy is in our future after all…
In true Lisa fashion we announced the baby’s sex at the Thanksgiving get-togethers for both of our families and caught them both on video. Here is a link to a fun video of both announcements!
Another major milestone occurred this week: Kevin felt the baby kick for the first time! We were lying in bed on a rare morning when Sirena didn’t wake us up first and as I felt the baby jiggling around I put Kevin’s hand on my belly and I was so happy that she gave an extra strong jab right then and there and he was able to feel it! I told Sirena that she could try to feel it which she has now attempted on a number of occasions but she’s too spazzy and won’t keep still long enough to really feel it yet. 🙂
Lastly, this week baby girl #2 got her first gift from Aunt Juju and cousin Katelyn!
I can’t wait to see that diaper booty in those fox pants!
Belly shot!
No photo this week, oops!
Week 21: Baby’s the length of a carrot
With all of the excitement of last week, this week really threw us for a loop with a real scare that almost sent me to the ER. I am not the kind of person to go to urgent care/ER for any little thing (to be honest, I’ve never even been!) so when I thought I might be losing the baby and was advised by the on-call midwife to either go to the birth center or to ER right away, I was freaking out. Luckily it happened on a day that I was working from home, Kevin was off of work, and Sirena was at school so we were able to get to the birth center right away without any issues. And I am so happy and grateful to report that everything is 100% okay with the baby and with me and it was something completely unrelated to the pregnancy (and not a serious health issue I might add).
Those couple of hours before we really knew what was going on were terrifying. I kept talking to the little lady, telling her that we would get through this together and that she had to be a fighter. I kept feeling her move throughout the whole ordeal which I was hoping was a really good sign that things were going to be okay. I hope to goodness that there are no more scares like this and that everything is as smooth sailing as they have been so far. Man, being a mom and a woman is tough work, physically and emotionally!
The best part of this week has been how much more active she’s been lately. I actually was able to see my belly shake from the outside which means she’s getting stronger! Soon I’ll post a video of the belly shakes like I did during Sirena’s pregnancy. Such a strange but cool experience! Feeling the baby kick is by far my most favorite experience of both pregnancies. <3
Belly shot!
Baby girl is gettin’ serious in there!
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 0 pounds–I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight again which is so strange but is actually exactly how it was when I was pregnant with Sirena so I guess I’m not too surprised. It’s just so strange because my belly is significantly bigger this time around and one of the pregnancy websites I follow said for this week that “you should have gained around 10 pounds by now”…um, okay!
- “Fun” physical things that have resurfaced: Middle-of-the-night leg cramps and good ol’ heartburn! The heartburn I experienced with Sirena was intense and I was hoping I might not experience it with this pregnancy but darnit, every day the past week I’ve felt the sensation. It’s not terrible yet but I’m going to start watching what/when I eat and buy a bottle of Tums now to be ready!
- Fun baby developments: Baby girl is around 10.5 inches long and weighs 3/4 of a pound. She’s got working taste buds (I better start craving all that exotic food I craved when I was pregnant with Sirena so this baby’s as much of a foodie as her big sister!) and she’s already got around 6 million eggs in her womb (crazy!)
- Days until our next prenatal appointment: 9!
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 18 + 19
Posted by Lisa On November 25th, 2014
Week 18: Baby’s the size of a Bell pepper
This little baby is an active little monkey already–I feel it kick and bounce around all day long and nothing could make me happier. It’s most active right after lunch and a few hours after dinner when I sit down to read a book or watch a show.
Not too much going on this week with the baby other than that a sad day I knew was coming has arrived–I can no longer sleep on my stomach! Most nights that’s how I have to fall asleep and during those sleepless moments in the middle of the night usually turning onto my stomach does the trick to get me to finally fall back asleep. I tried to do that this week and was so uncomfortable there was no way I could stay that way more than 2 minutes. Boo! I busted out the ridiculously large maternity pillow that I used when I was pregnant with Sirena and have been reacquainting myself with it (that thing takes some getting used to to figure out exactly the best positions to put it in for the most comfort! But boy when I figure it out, it’s a godsend.)
My back has been feeling a lot better this week, probably because I’ve been taking it more easy on myself and have been asking Kevin to pick Sirena up or carry her whenever he’s around. I went on a mostly uphill walk with some mama friends at the end of this week and the whole night my back was really sore. It’s so frustrating to not be able to be as active as I used to be (especially given how active I was when I was pregnant with Sirena). Three years older and caring for a toddler really changes the game!
Belly shot!
Week 19: Baby’s the size of a mango
Not much going on this week in the baby department other than that it’s more and more obvious that the little bugger is really growing and kicking a ton! We are so anxious to find out the sex of the baby TOMORROW and we’ve got two fun plans up our sleeves to announce it to our families at our respective Thanksgiving get-togethers. Just you wait, Delmar and Edmonds families…you’re in for a treat. A lot of people have asked if we care what the sex is and I am being 1,000% honest here–we will be thrilled with either a girl or a boy. A few people have made mention of how great it would be to have one of each and my reply to them has been that Kevin and I think we might like 3 kids so we may not be done after #2 (whether or not that is by blood or through adoption, that’s also still to be determined) and also in my family, I’m the second girl and I sure wasn’t a disappointment so I wouldn’t be disappointed in the slightest with another girl. And if you know us and our parenting styles, very little will be different in the way we raise this child if it’s a boy. There’s nothing (other than teaching him how to pee standing up, basically) we can do with a boy child that we can’t already do with Sirena, and vice versa. We want to raise our kids, no matter their sex, with equal amounts of affection, rough-housing, and encouragement to be strong, smart, playful, and compassionate.
In other news we’ve entered a new frontier with big sister Sirena–she officially kicked the diaper habit this week, all on her own! She had been rebelling against any and all mention of the potty for a couple of months now and I was getting really frustrated and disheartened by the whole process. One day I came into her room after her nap and she was buck-naked from waist down and hadn’t peed in the bed. I asked her if she needed to use the potty and she said yes and successfully peed in the potty. The rest of that day she was in her chonies. The following day was a school day and her teachers kept her in underwear all day (except for nap time) and she had zero accidents the whole day. Since then we’ve only had her wear diapers during nap time and bed time and on a couple of occasions on longer car rides or outings. We’ve successfully gone to a party, to the grocery store, to a restaurant, and to her grandparents’ and Nani’s houses without wearing diapers and she’s kept it up with only a couple of minor accidents. We are so so so so proud of her and I know that this is finally it! A few times throughout the day she’ll tell us, “I’m a big girl now” and it makes me smile and fills me with so much pride.
Belly shot!
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 1.5 pounds
- Fun baby developments: Baby is around 6 inches long and weighs 8.5 ounces and is busy rolling, kicking, punching, hiccuping, swallowing, and dancing around in its private jacuzzi.
A couple of updates to the blog: I’ve added a page for all of Sirena’s Monthly Photos (from 1 to 24 months) and I’ve updated the Pregnancy Posts page to include weekly photos of both pregnancies–side by side, which is fun to compare. Check ’em out at the top of our site! And we’ve fixed an issue with our comments so feel free to comment away!
A baby story [Part II]: Weeks 16 + 17
Posted by Lisa On November 11th, 2014
Week 16: Baby’s the size of an avocado
We’re in ‘cado territory right now (that’s what Sirena calls an avocado, and she referred to the baby as “baby ‘cado” this week) and some pretty major developments happened this week, namely…I felt the baby move! Just like with Sirena’s pregnancy, the first time I felt the little pop-pop-pop action in my lower abdomen was at work after lunch (I guess this baby will be a foodie just like Big Sis!) I wasn’t sure I was really feeling the baby move or not but the same sensation has been felt throughout the week, mostly when I’m sitting (so my pants are pressing against my abdomen and the little nugget is pushing against it) or when I’m relaxing and laying down in bed. This is just about 2 weeks earlier than when I felt Sirena move which I hear is pretty typical for a 2nd pregnancy. Such an exciting time!
This week we celebrated Halloween which was so much fun. Big sister Sirena dressed as Mickey Mouse and had a blast trick-or-treating. Holidays are so much fun with her at this age, she seems to really understand a lot about what is going on! We kept imagining Halloween next year when we’ll have a 6 month old and a 3.5 year old…wow! Ideas for a fun family costume welcome (extra points if Lola’s included!)
Belly shot!
Week 17: Baby’s the size of an onion
This week started out with both good and bad things. The good was our prenatal appointment on 11/6 when we met with midwife Allison and everything was looking “perfect” which we couldn’t be happier about! And the whooshwhooshwhoosh of the heartbeat might be the sweetest sound in the world, I can’t get enough of hearing it. We also got news that our first trimester genetics screening came back looking great which is a big relief. So far baby is doing great! So the bad thing is my lower back pain which has progressively gotten worse. Kevin, Sirena and I did some yard work one day and I had to stop in the middle because I could sense that I had been pushing myself too hard. Throughout the night and when I got up the next morning the pain was pretty intense. The midwife suggested I go see a chiropractor (I’m going to try going to yoga with my sister once a week first) and to of course take it easy on myself and not push myself so hard. At the moment this is so frustrating because anyone who knows me knows I always have to keep busy so it’s going to be a major adjustment in my way of thinking and going about my day to day activities.
This week I got the opportunity to go on a girls’ weekend with some of the Edmonds girls (Dorothy, Judith, and Sarah) to support my niece Katelyn in her band competition in Las Vegas. We had a nice low-key weekend filled with catching up, eating yummy food, and enjoying each other’s company. Sirena enjoyed wearing out spending time with Nani, Bopa, TT, and Jessie all weekend which was a special treat for everyone involved. 🙂
Sirena took the baby belly love to the next level by putting her stuffed animal “Georgie Bear” inside her shirt and rubbing her belly and singing “Rock-a-bye Baby” to her belly. Adorable! She finished by having the baby “be born” and pulling it out from the bottom of her shirt. If only it were that easy, Sirena…
I think she’s mimicking me and my belly photos, holy cow!
Belly shot!
Other pregnancy updates:
- Total weight gained so far: 0 pounds
- Fun baby developments: Baby’s measuring around 5 inches long and around 5.5 ounces. It can sense light (even though its eyelids are still fused shut) and it can now probably hear our voices!
- Days until our BIG ultrasound (where we’ll hopefully find out the sex!): 15 days (day before Thanksgiving!)
- Days until Thanksgiving: 16 days! That’s when we’re going to announce to the families what the sex is (as long as it lets us see between its legs, haha!)