It's a BOY!!!

"You've got to see the baby!" -- Seinfeld

Our new baby boy made his grand appearance into the world on:
July 25, 2010 at 11:17PM
Weight: 8lbs 9oz
Length: 21 inches

We are so in love with him!

Here's the birth story:

Saw the doctor Friday July 23rd and was told I was 2 cm dilated. I felt it was imminent so I went through our birthing books post-it noting all pages for Matt to read. He removed them all, sending me into a panic that I would birth alone. Saturday night, we had dinner with friends and I felt fine. Went to bed at midnight and woke up with water trickling down my leg -- my water broke in bed! It was 4:45AM and I ran downstairs to wake Matt up. It was surreal. We packed up our bags (which we started but never finished) and got to the hospital at 6AM. Got set up in Triage ( still 2 cm, 2 IV pokes --1 of my veins blew-- and started on the penicillan) and was in my room by 6:45am.

The doctor on duty (one of the nice women OBs) came in and suggested I walk to get going because her partner, who would be on duty in 2 hours, would want me on pitocin. So instead of sleeping, we walked the halls, did labor lunges, etc and my contractions got more regular. My mom showed up around 10am. My contractions were good, I saw the Doctor and I was put only on a small dose of pitocin. That made them a little stronger - i.e. as we walked the halls, I would stop and close my eyes through each one. The next time I got checked I was 4cm! Progressing! Of course the doc was miffed I was not on an epidural at this point, and I asked the nurse, "Does he not like me?" He was then called a "curmudgeon." Through active labor (4-6 cm) I labored in the room on the birthing ball, against my mom & Matt, visual imaging... it worked fine.

At 6cm, I was feeling it strong so we got in the shower and Matt had the jets on my back as I sat on the stool. He was absolutely the most amazing labor coach in the entire world. He was my rock, my savior through it all. He calmed me in the shower to relax me, and I did visual imaging of running a marathon. Then we switched to laboring on the toilet and Matt was kneeling in front of me on the hard floor until the nurse brought him a pillow. When she came back and asked "How are you feeling?" He said, "I'm fine thanks." and the nurse is like, "No I mean her." Matt has been laughing about that ever since! By this point he probably felt like he needed some relief ... and me too. I had to ask for some drugs by this point. I did not want an epidural, so I got checked at 7-8cm and was given Stadol. For 1 hour, I could relax having the pain down 1 notch, and Matt held my hand. I remember telling the nurse, "I don't need 0 pain, I can deal with pain, just not this much."

When the pain came back (with full force) I asked for more drugs. By then I was 9 cm and if she gave me any Stadol it barely worked. But I quickly advanced to 10 cm (the doctor came in for the 3rd time and declared I was complete and left) and a new nurse, one who was trained at different types of pushing methods, came to start us pushing. This was 9PM. So for the next 2 HOURS I pushed in different positions, with the squat bar, across the balance call, with a sheet tied to the squat bar ... I can barely remember how I felt. With every contraction I just tried to bare down, but about 45 minutes before the birth is when things got serious - more nurses came in to help me everyone was calling me a trooper and encouraging me every step of the way. Matt had one leg, my mom had the other and I was pulling on these bars against the bed as the head crowned. The doctor finally arrived and helped me along. When the baby came out, sure I felt the ring of fire, but by that point who the hell cared. I got a 2nd degree tear (no episiotomy, yeah!) which I did feel. It was sweet relief as he was born at 11:17PM.

Unfortunately, he had the umbilical cord around his neck and body so he was blue and limp. I did not know anything, but Matt and my mom saw it - the agony they must have felt. He had to get rushed with the nurses so Matt could never cut the cord and I couldn't have him on my chest. The NICU nurses and doctors were called to recessitate him and when he was deemed good, he got weighed, wrapped and finally brought to us. While all that was happening, Matt stood by my side as I delivered the placenta and stitched me up (which took forever and hurt despite the local anesthetic - I kept saying, "Ow, Ow" and knew that if I hadn't just labored 18+ hours I would have lept off the bed).

I was so happy that I did this as natural as possible, I was determined and I did it which amazed me as much as it did everyone else. The next day, one of the nurses even came to visit me to tell me that @ L&D I was a hero and it was the most amazing birth she's seen. As well, she said Matt was one of the best labor coaches she had ever seen. It made the 2 of us feel so great -- we can't stop talking about it. (and I will never post-it note anything for him again!)

But we finally had our little boy in our arms and were the happiest people ever. As I wrote in his baby book, "Your father and I have dreamed of you, and now you have come true."

38 weeks 5 days

Here is some good news ...

1 - I only gained 1/2 lb from last week (instead of my typical 3 lbs/week).
2 - I am now 2 centimeters dilated and 75% effaced
3 - Blood pressure, Non-Stress Test ... all good. Baby is looking great according to the doctor.
4 - I had 1 very large contraction on the monitor, so the doctor declared I was in "labor." I felt it this time, but I wouldn't have known how large it was if it wasn't for the monitor. Sometimes technology is bad.
5 - I have a very favorable cervix.

click on photo to enlarge

Other news ...
If I don't deliver this baby by my due date, then they would encourage me to get an induction. Not my 1st choice. The doctor said we can weigh the pros and cons, but with the way I am progressing, he would lean towards that. I asked if they would give me cervadil first (so I wouldn't get started on straight pitocin), but with my favorable cervix, it's not necessary to be at the hospital 12 hours ahead of time for that. Although, he said that sometimes cervadil can jump start the labor so that's an option. Then he said, "We're talking about all this but this might not even be an issue, you can go into labor in a few days..."

Let's hope!

Fried Zucchini Flowers

It's the season for Fried Zucchini Flowers!

These are one of those quintessential Italian things that you grew up on, not really knowing you were the only kid in your class eating this stuff until you meet someone who says, "Fried Zucchini Flowers?" And you feel kind of freakish (like when you brought Nutella to college and no one could understand how you could eat chocolate spread -- and now everyone loves it).

The zucchini flower is just that -- the flower that will eventually become a zucchini if you let it. We like to pick them and fry them up; they're delicious and my mom always makes them every summer. It's truly about eating what's in season. The only problem is that they are super delicate, so unless you have a zucchini plant in your garden or are buddy-buddy with a local farmer, you won't find these in a grocery store. The day you pick them, you should cook them; this makes them even more a treat (and probably super expensive if you ever had to order them).

If you google "Fried Zucchini Flower" you'll get a lot of different recipes to choose from. Most of them appeared to be stuffed with herbs and ricotta (here's one example), but my mom always makes them flat like a tiny pancake - no stuffing - as you can see from the picture. Maybe that's the way she learned them from my great-grandmother? This recipe is more like what my mom makes - although, again, my mom makes them look like pancakes.

I just ate these six for breakfast!

Chinese Gender Prediction Calendar

According to the Chinese Gender calendar, I'm having a girl. We'll see how right that is (because almost everyone feels this is a boy, including me & Matt).

The prediction works like this: you enter in your age at conception (34) and the month you conceived (November).

If this is true, then we had better come up with a girl's name. We haven't thought much about it because our intuition tells us it's a BOY!

If you want in on Matt's "Guess the Baby's Date" game, email us or comment -- Date the baby will arrive, time, & gender. I think there may be a prize? His work has a NCAA/Baby Squares game going on (as Matt's the keeper of the Basketball squares at work, they thought this was funny).

Nursery (2nd bedroom) Before & After

This went from one of the saddest rooms in the house (florescent lighting, bad wall paint, no closet ... just sad), to the happiest room of all.

Before

After

 

update November 2012 -- now a big boy room!

Cloth diapering videos

As I'm getting closer and closer to actually having a real live baby in the house, I'm getting my stash of cloth diaper and supplies ready.

I bought more chinese prefolds and Thirsties covers (which I heard were really good) from a store in Madison WI. As well, I bought a wet/dry bag to store clean and dirty diapers (at home and when we travel), and a diaper pail liner.

My entire stash now includes:
18 chinese prefolds
3 microfiber inserts
3 Thirsties duo covers
2 Flip covers
1 Bummi cover
1 BumGenius 3.0
2 G diapers

I started looking on YouTube for videos about how to fold them. I was taught at the store where I bought my first stash, but I needed a refresher and good thing too because I have learned so much from these videos alone made by the same cloth-diapering mama.

Pre-fold Tutorial (with Snappi)


BumGenius 3.0 Tutorial


After watching these, I have concluded the following ... 1) I need Snappis. It looks like it's so much better, easier, and leakage-proof when using them.

And 2) I need more BumGenius pocket kinds because they look so much easier than pre-folds (although more money, but I choose easier over saving money). And they seem to be more Matt-proof. When he watches these videos, I am SURE he will agree that the pocket kind will be better!

They might also be better with DayCare ... I don't think they want cloth at our daycare, but this might be acceptable since they are just as easy as disposable (and instead of throwing them in the trash, they can throw them in my wet/dry bag).

37 weeks 5 days ... 39 lbs gained

'Nuff said.

Melting

We're having a humidity crisis!

We have the air-conditioner on full blast and I still am sitting at my desk at home with the fan blowing on me drinking ice cold water.

Last night, we had a parenting class and went to dinner afterward where we sat outside. Big mistake. It was 89 and so humid I thought I was going to pass out. I kept on drinking water and rubbing the condensation from the glass on my face. Matt said this is what Memphis is like -- in May. Don't sign me up to move to Memphis because I cannot stand this kind of heat.

My "people" come from a land where even if it's 90 in the day, it goes down to a cool 60 at night (like California). My genetics are not made to stand this kind of humidity. Thank goodness in Chicago this doesn't last for very long.

If I didn't have to work (from home) I'd be sneaking into my aunt's pool to cool off... maybe I'll sneak in later this afternoon...

Saturday in the City

This Saturday, Matt and I went into the city to get our baby shower loot. His work colleagues were so generous, they pretty much finished off our registry and got us so much stuff. I couldn't believe it, we were so touched!

We had breakfast on the way downtown at Bleeding Heart Bakery (Oak Park location).
It just so happened they were also filming Transformers 3 on LaSalle which we had to pass to get to Matt's building from where we parked. So there we are walking down the street with a pallet of baby gifts, running into tourists (who don't move, by the way) -- and getting stuck having to wait because they were filming a scene. We got stuck both times (going to the car with the loot, and going back to the building with the empty pallet). And it was a hot day.

I wanted to stay downtown and hang out, but I was hot and big and walking around is just getting too much. So instead we opted for Brunch at Prairie Fire. I had delicious Chilequiles & a banana, orange, mango smoothie and Matt had banana bread french toast and a mimosa. I hear dinner there is great too, but Brunch was great and the place was fairly empty (at 1PM) so we got seated easy (they have outdoor seating too).

Strep B

So I am Strep B positive ... ugh! That doctor in Mexico was right ...

So I'll get treated with penicillin when I get to the hospital. This site says that the best is to get the antibiotics 4 hours before you give birth. I just don't want to be hooked to an IV line while laboring since I want to labor naturally and move/shower/ etc. But from what I understand (from the nurse) I'll just get treated once and then it can be removed. Still. What a drag.

On a positive note, my mom is getting me a pre-natal massage for my birthday. I hope I can get my appointment in before I go into labor! I am so looking forward to this because I am so sore and sleeping is now officially sucky. Matt sees me in modified child's pose and comes over to massage my back (the best feeling ever). This weekend he gave me a leg/arm massage this weekend that if I wasn't already married to him, I would have married him!

I'm officially ready to have this baby. I think he/she is done baking.

Matt's work Shower - cake

Matt's colleagues at work are throwing him a baby shower today.


They emailed me to surprise him, and I was planning on going. But Matt got wind of the plans and when he saw me bumbling around the house told me that he didn't feel comfortable with me taking the train downtown and then a cab to his work, all in this 95 degree heat. I had to agree with him, I thought I could make it, but this is why I'm working from home this month -- commuting, heat, enormous belly ... mixed together does not a good margarita make.

So he sent me a picture of the Baby shower cake ... Isn't it cute? I am so sad to miss this...

4th of July Weekend

We spent the whole long weekend up in Lake Geneva and it was very relaxing. We drove up Friday night, and met my mom, brother, and cousin at my parents place.

Matt & Geena with their pancakes

The town was jumping with people, but we knew where to go for breakfast -- Williams Bay for the Lion's Club pancake breakfast on the lake. We saw signs for this the weekend before, so we knew where we'd be on the 3rd!

Me on the beach

After heading to Target to buy some maternity bathing suits, we went to the beach where it was so crowded there was actually a line to get in (we got to by-pass because we have beach passes, but still, my mom said she never saw a line before). But just hanging out at the beach with the sand under your feet was perfect even though it was hot. Matt went to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls.

For dinner, we went to a place we've never tried before called Medusa's. Everything they make is grilled over cherry wood and has a lot of greek spices. My dad joined us that night, and we had dessert and watched Fear (for some reason everyone wanted something scary, I wanted the Time Traveler's Wife).

At my uncle's & aunt's

The next morning, my mom made us all pancakes (again!) but my cousin was sick so we spent the morning taking care of our "little sister." The rest of the day we spent at my uncle's place where we had lunch and margaritas (lemonade for me), hung out at the pier (no diving off the pier for me, I waded into the shallow end), and then back to the house where everyone played badminton, bags, bocce, and softball. Soon it was time for dinner, dessert, and fireworks.

Fireworks!

My uncle's been the fireworks guy since I was a kid (he was the single uncle showing up with the big box of goods!). Add on the years and it still hasn't changed, but the fireworks have gotten more sophisticated. All his neighbors showed up for the show and since he has a nice big lot, we all sat back to watch them light the fireworks. I got some pretty good shots - I slowed my shutter speed down and I think they look pretty cool.

Name-dropping

I was reading the wedding/engagements/anniversary page in the paper today and I have 1 question ...

... if you had a quasi-important cousin (say, CEO of a car company), would you put that he attended your wedding as a "special guest" in your wedding announcement?

Yeesh. Like anyone gives a crap.

35 weeks 5 days appointment

This morning Matt and I went in the first of my weekly OB appointments. They are starting the Non-Stress Tests on me because of my age (if I were a Sequoia, I'd be a sapling).

The Non-Stress Test is this: you recline and they strap you to the monitor. One strap checks the heart rate, the other checks contractions. Everytime you feel the baby move, you click on the clicker (like Jeopardy). You sit like that for 1/2 an hour and the nurse and doctor come in to talk and check on the progress. Everyone likes to stare at the monitor (Matt was glued to it). I'm glued to my belly because that's what matters to me (and I'm focused on the baby's movement so I can click). It's called a Non-stress test because it doesn't cause stress to the baby (but my heart rate was 100, so guess who's getting it all).

When the doctor came in and we started talking (episiotemies for example) she asked if I was feeling contractions. I said no. She said, "well you've had 4 of them since we've been talking, but the best kind of contractions are the ones that don't cause pain." The nurse seemed surprised that I didn't feel them. So then I started thinking about it more -- and sure, OK, I felt something. My belly tightened a little, I had a little more pressure down there, but nothing to write home about or to even make me take notice. I probably had at least 8 contractions during that 1/2 hour and some measured quite large on the monitor. Matt would tell me afterwards, "You just had a contraction." I was glad I wasn't looking at the monitor.

So the NST was fine - the baby is doing exactly what it should, was moving good and still had a resting/steady heart rate of 140's. Then I got swabbed for the Strep B test. 30% of people carry this bacteria and it causes no harm to you, but if you have a vaginal birth you can pass it to the baby with dire effects, so they treat you with antibiotics when you get admitted. I told the Doctor that I'm anxious for the results because a doctor in Mexico (at our Ixtapa resort) told me I was a carrier by checking my throat. She said there's no way for him to tell by that and even if I am a carrier, he had a 30% of being right. So we had a good laugh about that.

Finally, she decided to give me a cervical check because I had so many contractions and I'm already 1 centimeter dialated! I read a little on this and it's nothing too big, but as a first-timer I'm pretty thrilled and I read that sometimes it takes forever for someone to get to 1 cm. So I'm thinking positive!

As of today, if the baby comes, they will not stop my labor (and she added a 5-6 lber is a nice size to deliver).

Work Baby Shower

I had my baby shower at work today -- everyone was so sweet! They had cupcakes and lemonade and fresh flowers on the table. They were so generous getting us a nice gift certificate from Target (this will come in handy!), a book, and 2 sleep gowns.

Surprise!

The table all set up

Check out my cleav.age!

This was also like a "Send-off" because it was my last day in the office.

For the rest of the time up to my delivery, I will work from home. There was just too much liability being so far from my hospital, doctor, & home. I'm glad I was able to work this out with my manager and am very grateful because commuting to work the last 2 weeks has been a strain on me.