Week 4-5: MMIA

I'm still alive!  I've been a MMIA...Missing Mama in Action.  Sorry everyone!

You really aren't missing much-my life has been confined to home and a few places to run errands here and there.  Being a nanny you would think I would be prepared for how long it takes to just leave the house...but I've never been a nanny for a newborn that hates to be put down/left alone.  We'll get him dressed to go out, put him in his carseat, then Leif will start bawling.  Then we realize he's hungry, so I have to feed him.  Then I'll put him in the carseat, and then he'll pee or poop.  Or he'll continue to just bawl because he doesn't want to be in his carseat.  And the other day he was sobbing and screaming for five minutes straight in the car, and kept trying to latch on my fingers, but then realized it wasn't the real thing so would scream louder.  It was the most stressful car ride I have ever had.  So...I don't like to leave the apartment as much even though I get cabin fever.  Ahh!

But I really, really, REALLY am in love with Leif.  I know it is super cliché, but parents are right when they say you do not know what true love is until you have a baby.  I absolutely love my hubby but the love I have for Leif is on a different level.  I love my family!

 Quick note: I apologize to those who are on facebook...the photos for today's post you all have seen.

Update on the past few weeks now, may not be in any particular order...

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

I'm sooo excited that the Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl, how cool is that?!  That last game put hubby and I on edge...we were superstitious to the point that we made Miles wear his football the whole game and the whole family had to be in the same room.  Hey, they won!

Miles turned one last week!  He's been wonderful with Leif, but definitely shows boredom time to time since we don't play with him as much as we used to.  He is still the cutest and dopiest (is that a word?) puppy we could ask for!

Like I mentioned before, Leif can get fussy if we put him down in his crib, swing or pack n' play by himself.  He will eventually just start crying if left alone long enough!  I was able to get to work yesterday to pick up a Co-Sleeper from a co-worker since he always wakes up between 4 and 5am and does NOT want to go back to sleep on his own.  We tried the co-sleeper out yesterday and it was definitely easier on me, but Leif still has his night cycle.  Last night was a couple milestones for Leif-1. I was able to eat dinner without having to pick him up and hold him while I ate and 2. He had his first bath.  He did alright with the bath-he cried here and there which I predicted, but overall he did good.  Kind of glad we only have to do that once or twice a week until he gets older; I hate seeing Leif cry and get frustrated.

The only time Leif is quiet the longest is when we set these cool black and white cards in his crib, from the "Wee Gallery".  Apparently newborns may not see colors but are attracted to contrasting images/"colors", so black and white is good.  Hubby sent a picture of him enjoying the pictures to the company and they featured his picture on their facebook page, how awesome is that?

So today marks Leif's Four Week birthday, I can't believe he will be one month old in a few days!  Time definitely flies by quickly even though we do the same thing every day (almost).  At least hubby and I take photos of him pretty much every day, we will cherish his growth to the fullest!

And lastly, I'm doing fine.  I am definitely sleep deprived, but I'm getting used to it.  I've also lost a lot of weight faster than I thought I would (woohoo!), but I have about 20 pounds to go to get to my base weight.  At least I don't have back pains anymore and can tie my shoes.  :)

I can't say I'll be back to write more sooner than later, but stay tuned and I'll try to keep everyone updated on being a new mama and how Leif is doing!

Week 1: Welcome to the World Leif Arthur Hovland, part 2

Friday, December 27 & Saturday, December 28, 2013
After all the chaos of cleaning up the labor room, my new nurse showed me what I had to do to use the restroom (long procedure ladies!), and then we were wheeled over to the postpartum wing.  I was able to hold Leif for a little bit before the families came by.

Precious little Leif

Happy Mama!

Proud Grandpa Barnes

Leif's Lola

Proud Pop-Pop Hovland and Nana

Auntie Missy, or as she wanted to be called, "Thor" : )

That first night in the hospital was a little rough; Leif did not like sleeping in the hospital bassinet, so I would constantly be picking him up, trying to feed him, then putting him back to him waking up two minutes later and crying.  And the nurses came in every hour or two to check on both of us.  I didn't get much sleep.  Around 6am rolled around and hubby woke up (he managed to get way more sleep than I did in the pull-out couch).  He drove home to take Miles out (btw-our friend Daryl stayed overnight at our place with Miles and the entire Friday-such a wonderful pal!).  And while he was gone, they rolled in some breakfast for me and lo and behold...

Leif actually slept more than 10 minutes in the bassinet while I ate breakfast!

Unfortunately due to lack of sleep and new baby, hubby drove almost all the way home before he realized he forgot the house keys.  Poor guy drove back, grabbed keys, and rushed home.  He didn't come back until about 9am.

Lunchtime rolled around and they brought us our "celebratory meal" which consisted of (all chosen by us the day before) filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, veggies, salad and soup, rolls and a berry New York Cheesecake.  Granted it was hospital food, but it wasn't terrible. Leif slept in his bassinet again, success!

Soon after lunch a nurse brought by all our paperwork and we were able to leave.

Leif's first car ride

Leif slept the entire trip home-cars soothe him just like his mama!

Once we got home, hubby went into super nesting mode and cleaned/organized the apartment while I sat with Leif.  Both families came over at one point and once everyone left, we tested out the swing my brother Avery and his wife Amy got us.

Snug as a bug in a rug

Our first night home was definitely an adjustment-Leif would cry and we frantically tried to figure out what was wrong with him.  I'd say we got about four hours of sleep total...

Sunday, December 29 & Monday, December 30, 2013
These days were a blur since they felt like weeks ago...I remember hubby was still in nesting mode and kept organizing/cleaning everything.  Families came and went, and Sunday night was the WORST night we had since Leif has been in our life.  First, here are some cute photos of him:

Our Little Man with Viking Hat!

First time he was actually looking at someone

I can't forget to mention what a doll Miles has been through this whole process...he's been so good with Leif and is still adorable as always!  He gives Leif little kisses every now and then.  :)

So Sunday night...Leif would wake up every half hour just screaming bloody murder.  I kept trying to feed him, we'd try swaddling and swinging him, and even tried out pacifiers.  The pacifiers would work for a little while, but he would spit it out and start screaming again.  I think we got about two hours total of sleep that night.  Since Leif was born with a little case of jaundice, the doctor wanted us to set up an appointment with the pediatrician Monday or Tuesday.  We stared at the clock from 7am to 8am and once 8am hit I called the pediatrician.  We were able to schedule an appointment at 10am that morning; we were so relieved because we wanted to figure out why he didn't sleep so well and had so many questions.  We got ready and took off at 9:30am.

Leif's second car ride-the car seat really soothes him

The pediatrician didn't help us out out too much; he asked us routine questions and said I need to feed him every two hours, twenty minutes on each side.  He barely ate ten minutes on one side and my milk had yet to come in!  He gave us some formula and said to feed that to him every three times I breastfed him.  I was still discouraged.

Once we got home, a miracle happened-Leif fed for a long time and I realized my milk finally came in.  Success!

Families stopped by again which was nice considering I was able to take a nap whenever they would stop by.  That night Leif ate a lot, and sure enough he was able to sleep a lot more giving me more sleep in return.  Phew.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Happy New Year's Eve!  Unfortunately this was the last day of the Hovland family's visit, but they were able to stay until they left for the airport.  We miss them a lot!

My folks came over that night as well and shortly afterwards we laid down for bed.  First New Year's Eve where I wasn't celebrating!  I was awake at midnight though, thanks to Leif being hungry.  There were so many fireworks around our neighborhood but Leif didn't seem to mind!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014
And Happy New Year!  Best start to a new year with our new family in tow.  :)

Like father, like son.  How cute is this-they sleep so similarly it's creepy.

While we were changing Leif, we were able to give him some sun since doc recommended it for his jaundice.

That day was my last day my parents were in town and I was very sad to see them go.  They stopped by for a while in the afternoon and then after hubby made dinner for us they stopped by again!  I have to admit I cried a little that afternoon knowing they were leaving-it was so nice having them here for so long.  But they are already planning on returning in the spring, hooray!

Thursday, January 2, 2014
That morning we woke up early and drove back out to the hospital for a breastfeeding support class.  I learned SO much from the lactation consultant and felt so much more confident in what I was doing with Leif.  Afterwards was our second checkup with the pediatrician-Leif reached some new growth achievements!!!  He grew to 21.5 inches in length and a whopping nine pounds.  Super healthy Leif!  He's also in the 90th percentile as far as his length-he's one tall baby!

That concludes Week 1 with our little Leif.  Here are some super adorable photos we took Thursday and Friday:

I'll hopefully update you all on Week 2 before Week 3 starts...being a new mama is definitely a full-time job, but I couldn't be more happier. : )

Week 1: Welcome to the World Baby H, part 1

I left off in my last post with my doc breaking my water on Thursday, December 26th...

So funny story...we were almost out the door of the OBGYN office when I turned around, found my doctor and asked, "Is there time for me to stop and get some food?".  I think this is a legitimate question, for once I'm admitted to the hospital all I would get to eat are ice chips.  She unfortunately said no, I needed to get there right away.  Sigh.

Hubby drove like a madman, almost running a couple red lights.  I wasn't in any pain or feeling anything different, so I don't know why he was driving badly-but I can see how stressful it would be to know your wife's water just broke.  Once we got to the hospital, I was admitted and had an IV hooked up to me along with my blood drawn.  As most of you know, I hate needles, but I took it like a champ.

Since my doc broke my water and no contractions were coming on their own, they hooked me up with Pitocin to bring on my contractions and I played the waiting game.  My first contractions came on and they felt like menstrual cramps; my thoughts, "Bring it on".  But then as time started ticking by, they came on stronger.  And stronger.  By around 5:45pm, I was in PAIN.  Hubby brought up that I could take an epidural at any time, and 15 minutes later I agreed to it-I couldn't take the quick, strong contractions!  The anesthesiologist came to my rescue about 10 minutes after I agreed to the epidural and even though I couldn't see him, I heard his cell phone ring and him actually answer it.  WTF...I'm sitting here in major pain and he decides to answer his cell phone and what sounded like a personal call.  Thankfully the procedure was quick and he delivered the epidural faster than I thought it took.  It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, just felt kind of funny/abnormal.  After about an hour, the meds kicked in and I was in heaven-you can ask my hubby, I think I said "Thank God for epidurals" at least ten times.

We played the waiting game for the rest of the night; with such strong contractions we were sure the baby would come by that evening, but unfortunately we had to wait all night.  I tried getting sleep when I could, but the nurses would come in and move me every 45 minutes so that baby could make his way down quicker.

4:15am rolled around, and I started feeling a little different down there...the nurse said once I feel like I had to, er, poop, it would mean the pushing would start soon after.  4:30am came and I felt a little pain and needing to use the potty-sure enough, I was fully dilated and it was time.

First, to all you moms out there, well done.  Wow.

I pushed for about two and a half hours.  I was crossing my fingers that it wouldn't have taken that long, but Baby H was/is a on the larger side of the "average" baby scale-not by much, but still he was not six pounds like I was.  Pushing a baby out is the worst pain I have and probably will ever feel.  My nurse was the one guiding me most the time-my doc didn't arrive until about 20 minutes before Baby H fully emerged, and I was mad at the time because I would be there trying to push him out but the nurse was quiet and the only person helping me was hubby.  I realize now that they were waiting for the doctor to get there.  UGH!  But all I felt was relief when I was able to make that final push.  Once he came out, they took him to get cleaned and weighed/measured, etc. and hubby was able to watch that procedure.  Meanwhile my doc sewed me up-thankfully I only had superficial tearing, but she was rough with the sewing.

Once they finished cleaning up Baby H, they brought him over to me and I instantly fell in love.  Leif Arthur Hovland was born Friday, December 27th, 2013 at 7:08am at 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long.  My pregnancy was finished, but my motherhood had just begun.

After my skin-to-skin contact with Leif, he got to meet his daddy.

More to come...

Week 39/40: Events Before Labor!

Hello my friends and family,

I'm so sorry I haven't updated my blog in forever.  As you have noticed, some things have changed about my blog which means Baby H arrived!

This post will update you on events before Baby H and then will give you a loooong update on the adventure that is labor and a newborn's first week.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Merry Christmas Eve!

We were on edge since Baby H's due date was supposedly the next day.  But I still had a present for my hubby that I wanted to give him then since I wasn't sure what was going to happen on Christmas.

Expansion pack for Dominion, his favorite board game right now

Since the last couple weeks have been such a blur, I'm going to take a few guesses here and there on what life was like before Baby H...Christmas Eve we spent playing lots of board games and then went out to Chinese with my folks that night.  Yummy food and the place was packed!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013: Week 40
Merry (belated) Christmas!

Christmas was kind of emotional for me...I really hoped against hope that Baby H was going to arrive on his actual due date, and that morning when I didn't feel any contractions or water breaking, I knew he wasn't going to be born that day.  Yes, I got teary-eyed and emotional (damn hormones), but thanks to my loving hubby he calmed me down.  We went to see 47 Ronin with my folks (a movie so bad that it was kind of funny) and then headed over to the "Wakefield Winter Wonderland" not too far from our place.  We got there as early as possible which paid off-we were able to park close and walk over without too many crowds.  It was really festive!

That night we watched a couple Christmas movies and played more games.  Again, I was a little disappointed by Baby H's stubbornness to stay in his cozy home that is my belly, but I wasn't going to worry.

Thursday, December 26, 2013
That morning we got ready for my OBGYN appointment and planned on getting lunch with my folks afterwards.  Since Baby H didn't arrive, we were under the assumption that he would take his sweet time so we banked on a New Year's baby...

Our wait at the doc's office was fairly short and we were taken to a room with an ultrasound-she wanted to check my fluid levels and see how he was doing since he was now at 40 weeks old.  I couldn't see the monitor but hubby was able to see bits and pieces of Baby H.  My OBGYN then said (and I apologize if this is TMI) she was going to thin out my membranes  to see if she could make him come out sooner than later...well, I sat up and WHOA NELLY...I started leaking.  Then gushing.  I told her I think she broke my water-she grabbed a swab and petri dish, dab at what I was sitting in, then left.  As I stood up to put my clothes on, more gushing.  I didn't need her to tell me she broke my water, but she came back a few minutes later and said we needed to go to the hospital right then and there.  I was going to have a baby!!!!!

39 Weeks: Four More Days...?

Happy Saturday everyone!

Just wanted to keep everyone updated on my maternity leave so far.  I have to say, not having to drive my long commute to work and back this week was very nice, but I'm still getting used to maternity leave.  I have been sleeping a lot longer which is wonderful.  But even though I told my folks I wouldn't catch their cold, I think I did-my nose has been stuffed up more than usual the last couple of days.  Sigh.

Anyway, my days are all blurring together, but let's see if I can remember what I did since I last wrote in my blog...

Thursday we took Miles for a short walk in the morning but it started raining hard so we cut it short.  Good thing because it started coming down even more once we got back to our place.  A little later on my folks came over and while my mom watched The Conjuring and Grumpy Old Men, my pa, hubby and I played a couple board games.  And guess who won both-hubby of course.  I told you he's good at games.  Afterwards we took them to our once favorite Filipino fusion restaurant White Rabbit.  I say once favorite because 1. They don't upgrade their combos with boba drinks anymore, which is quite silly. 2. The service was terrible-little teenagers with attitude and 3. The food wasn't as good as it usually is.  So unfortunately, I doubt we'll be going there anymore.  Then we tried to take our folks to this place called "Candy Cane Lane" that was about ten minutes away-and not everyone had lights up!  It was kind of a let down.  Some houses were really decked out, but it wasn't as exciting as when hubby and I stumbled upon it last year.  Oh well-can't win them all.

Friday hubby had to work super early and so my folks came over and we did some last minute Christmas shopping.  I took them to one of my favorite lunch spots "Souplantation" and then after a little more shopping, came home and hung out with the hubby.  We took Miles to the dog park and then played a couple games when we got home.

His favorite corner of the couch now, but Dominion was in the way

Today while my folks visited the Reagan Library again...

Mom got a new haircut!

I did a couple errands around the house which included making Thai Chicken and Peanut Soup in the crockpot and then made lunch.  This is what happens when you have a huge belly and pregnancy brain:

I need a bib.  Mustard tummy.

After a quick post office run we took Miles to the larger dog park and then grabbed last minute food and necessities at Target.

Tonight is a relaxing night of more games and my crockpot soup which is making our place smell super yummy.  Not too much exciting news to report, but let's see if Baby H actually waits until his due date to come out!  I read only 5% of moms deliver on their actual due date-some odds huh.  My lower back was hurting at the park-I think Baby H got a little heavier which I didn't think could happen.  I'm hoping he doesn't grow much more in the next few days, I'm about to topple over!

39 Weeks: Anytime Now!

Happy Hump Day!

I'm still getting used to maternity leave...as hubby and I were talking over dinner tonight, this is my first time I haven't worked since before high school.  I've been working for 15 years straight now; vacations don't count...because maternity leave being about four months, that's a long break!

Baby H is heavy at 39 weeks.  He's putting a lot of weight on my lower back and I have this weird pain on the left side of my back only...I must lean that way to keep him up!  And it's hard to get out of bed in the middle of the night now.  Also the last couple days I'm getting hotter and sweatier, which is apparently normal because my hormones are going haywire.  I sleep with the fan on and no blankets!  I'm both anticipating this baby's arrival and frightened of labor-but I'm just trying to relax and go with the flow.

Having my folks in town has been really nice.  But let me recap my last few days...

Sunday morning hubby and I had our Christmas!

It was neat having our own Christmas so many days before the actual day.  We did well for each other-a lot of necessities (for example, I got hubby new undershirts and socks, hubby got me chapsticks and hair-ties, etc), but we also got fun things for each other, like Zombies!! the game for hubby and canvas prints of our wedding for me.

Afterwards we cleaned up fast and got ready for my folks to come over to watch football.  Unfortunately living in California we were unable to get the Seahawks game on TV, but we watched the A.D.D. Red Zone (where they show every football game that's in the "red zone") and were able to get snippits of the Seahawk game.  I met my folks outside our apartment complex before football and my pa wanted to take a photo of my belly...so here I am.

Facebook friends were generous about this photo...I still feel/look huge!

When half-time rolled around for the Seahawk game, hubby and I took my folks to our faaaavorite restaurant, Salsa and Beer.  We thought it wouldn't be so crowded for lunch, but we still had to wait about 20 minutes which wasn't too bad.  We stuffed ourselves silly and parted ways...and I immediately passed out for a nap when we got home.

Sunday night we broke out hubby's new Christmas present:

Zombies!!

After an intense, long round, hubby won.  What can I say-he's good at games.

Monday hubby didn't have to work so we did our grocery shopping and then took the pup to the smaller doggy park.  We also played Dominion, a really fun game Missy bought hubby.  That's a really neat game!

Tuesday hubby had to work, so after taking Miles for a walk around the block, my folks came over and we got Thai food for lunch.  Then after a quick run to Costco and Starbucks, we watched some TV and they took off before hubby came back from work.  Not much else that night except more Dominion and dinner.

Today we woke up early and drove out to my work to pick up a card/present from the College of Arts & Sciences faculty-every Christmas they collect money and divide it up for the admin. assistants which is really generous of them.  Then we drove over to my OB/GYN office and had my weekly check-up.  Quickest wait ever today!  But I got a little nervous when the OB couldn't find Baby H's heartbeat...took her a few tries and actually pushed him around a little, but she eventually found it.  Phew.  Then she said the obvious...Baby H will probably be around 7.5-8 lbs. and then joked "He's not going to be a six pound baby.  But you never know..."  Yes, I'm huge.  She also said I'm not really dilated and projects Baby H's arrival for next week (unlike my mom who swears he's coming out tomorrow!).

Afterwards we ran a few errands, got lunch nearby and then ran home to get Miles to take him to the dog park.  Took a short nap when we got home and have been playing games all night.

And this is why we take Miles to the dog park...so he can pass out all night!

Back to my thoughts on Baby H.  Pregnantchicken.com says at this point Baby H can come out at any moment so I should probably stop counting the days.  But another website says studies show that the longer baby stays in the belly, the better brain and motor skill development happens.  So even though he's making me rather uncomfortable lately, I'm happy he's taking his time.  I want this baby to be as smart as he can be!

Tomorrow it's going to be rainy, and I think my folks are going to come over to play board games with us and then we're going to take them to our favorite Filipino-fusion restaurant.  Near that restaurant is a street where houses really get into Christmas lights and decorations, so we're going to try and take them to that.  Yay Christmas time!

Week 38: Fun with Family & Friends

Happy Weekend!

Recap of the week so far:

Thursday-Short work day which was nice.  My dad really wanted to eat lunch at the Reagan Museum so we ended up there.  Before we went in, we took a couple photos of my dad...

Lunch wasn't bad and we got a discount for being members (my dad bought me a membership for my birthday).  Afterwards we walked down to see Air Force One which was pretty neat.

Yay Fish-eye lens to help get the whole plane in the shot!

Then we walked around a little more, and I got a neat photo of the piece of the Berlin Wall they sent to the museum.

After we saw some more of the museum, I had to go to my weekly checkup.  So far everything is still good-I gained only one pound, blood pressure is good, was told I can take Benadryl and/or Benadryl Cream for my itchy belly (very minor case of PUPPS, kind of a rash due to stretching of the skin.  My belly is just super red, but no lesions or gross things related), and I'm not dilated.  And still measuring normal even though I feel like a whale.  Overall, good checkup!

Friday-Last day of work which meant everyone pile on everything all at the last minute.  Besides a quick visit in the morning to the President's Office for their weekly "Morning Holiday Cheer", aka free hot cocoa, coffee, apple cider and cinnamon rolls, I was swamped.  I slipped away for a quick lunch with my folks too which was a nice break, but man, I was busy up to the last second of work.  I even left later than I planned on, but I had to leave at a certain time since my folks bought tickets to see the Hobbit at the local movie theater.  My favorite coworker gave me a gift card to Macy's from the whole music department right before I left-and they instructed that it was for me, not the baby.  How nice of them.  But, I'm not going to miss work at all!

The Hobbit was suuuuuper long, but the fight scenes were cool.  I guess I'm just baffled on why they had to stretch it into a trilogy.

Afterwards my folks insisted they follow me back to Santa Clarita to have dinner with the hubby too.  We ended up at El Torito and had a nice meal.

This morning I met up with Jen for a birthday/Christmas breakfast (belated birthday for her!).  I found a yummy breakfast cafe in between our places.

After catching up on life, I ran last minute Christmas shopping errands and headed home to wrap presents.  Now it's time to relax on a warm Saturday afternoon (folks, it's 70 degrees outside.  Mid-December.  Not a bad way to go!).  Countdown remains, 11 days to go!