Levi's Birth Story- Part 2

If you missed Part 1- go check it out here.  When I left off, I had just been check at 8:00 PM and was ready to push.  The doctor came in and decided that I would labor him down for another hour and then begin pushing.

At this time, a new nurse was in and she was generally nothing to write home about- mostly impersonal but got the job done.  At 9:00 PM, I started pushing with the help of the nurse and another nurse who we had requested.  My husband and I had discussed the experience we wanted, and it was important for us to have hubby right along me rather than up front and in the action.  The nurse who came in also worked as a doula and she had such a calming presence. At this point my contractions were coming very spaced out and I was getting a lot of breaks in between pushing.  Each push I would get coached by both nurses and this went on for an hour until 10:00 PM without much progress.  I know I was trying really hard but the little guy was not having it.

They gave me some oxygen to breathe into in between contractions since the baby's heart rate kept speeding up and we decided to let me rest again and then try again an hour later at 11:00 PM.  At 11:00 PM I did some more pushing for 35 minutes with the nurses again and the doctor showed up.  It took her about 2 minutes to realize that the little guy had somehow turned sunny side up...not the way he was supposed to be facing for an easy delivery.  I had been feeling mostly back labor and later realized this was the cause.

We were given the option to either rest some more and see if I could push him out- which was highly unlikely given his position and the distress that labor was starting to cause.  The other option was to use a vacuum to assist in the delivery.  While I thought I would be a wreck, we asked to speak alone to make a decision and calmly reviewed the options together- we wanted a safe baby and we did not want a c-section.  The next safest thing was to proceed with the vacuum.

Once we made our decision, it seemed like an army of people flooded the room, including the pediatrician and NICU staff.   The vacuum delivery involved some risks to the little guy and they wanted to be prepared.  The doctor also suited up in a ridiculous amount of tarps, gloves, booties, and goggles...yep, googles.

At this point, things started to become a blur, but I knew we had to get the baby out right away.  I asked how many contractions I got to get this thing done and the doctor told me they give up to 4 contractions before the give up.  My contractions were still running about 10 minutes apart at this time, so the anticipation for the first one was crazy.  My epidural had been turned down so that I could feel the urge to push and I started feeling everything- and everything is no joke.

Once they had everything set up, we waited for my first contraction.  The doctor told me I would do 90% of the work and she would assist with the other 10%.  Between the pain and the fear, I completely zoned out and once I had the first contraction, I pushed like hell.  The first contraction got the head out! I was starting to feel a little more optimistic, but also about to pass out because now I had to wait the 5 minutes until I could push again.  I had more oxygen and was trying to remain calm and save my energy.

On the next contraction, I was instructed to once again push with everything I had.  I had no recollection of the actual pushing or what was going on around me, but I tried again, and as I was leaning forward, I saw this tiny little baby in the hands of the doctor, already whimpering and starting to cry.  I later asked my husband what happened and he told me I growled like a lion and got the baby out.  I still maintain I was a lady through the process, but I honestly couldn't remember those moments.

The baby was instantly brought over to the warmer to get checked and had great apgar scored of 8 and 9.  Hubby ran over to take pictures and I looked over to the side as our perfectly healthy little baby was squirming and kicking, just like he kicked me.  His vacuum delivery gave him a little horn, but he was otherwise unharmed.

We got to hold him fairly quickly and it was a completely surreal feeling.  We just stared at him and  couldn't believe he was ours.

And that's how we became a family ;)

Adjusting to Life

Thank you guys for all the kind words! Hubby and I have been working together to take care of Levi and Chino and we really started enjoying ourselves. I'll be sad when he has to go back to work next week since I won't get to hang with my best friend every day. 

For now, I wanted to share a glimpse of life these days:

Mama and my two boys ;)

I cooked for a lunch guest on Thursday:

Happy to be back in my kitchen:

I'll be back with the rest of the birth story and my new fitness goals soon!

Showered With Love

This weekend we had our baby shower. I've been to many baby showers in my day and it was a surreal feeling to be having my own shower.  I can't think of a nicer tradition- family and friends gathering around the baby mama to support her in taking a huge leap.  I can't believe how many people came out to support us and prepare us for our little man.  The hosts were my mom, hubby's mom, and my sister-in-law and every single thing about it was perfect.

The details were beautiful- my SIL put up baby pictures of us and even baby pictures of what Chino could have looked like (heart melts).

The food was ridiculous- so many dishes to choose from and enough to feed a full army.  The highlight was the dessert table- it was about as big as the dessert table at our wedding.



I'm omitting the pictures of our guests to protect the innocent, but we did capture some family pictures.

And then it was time to open presents.  I'm the slowest present opener ever.  It's a good thing our master of ceremonies was able to assist.

So many cute things!

My aunt in Florida sent a whole package of handmade blankets, booties and hats for the little man- they were so beautiful and I needed a whole crew to help open everything.

As the night wound down and the ladies left, we had an after party and things got a little silly.  We took a picture of our family of three.

And a classic belly shot with our good friends.

And some more family photos.

With 31 weeks down and a house full of baby stuff, we are starting to get ready for our new adventure.  Time has flown by and each day we get closer to meeting our new little man.

I hope he likes hugs, lots of loud conversation, and lots of love because if our shower experience is any indication of what his life will be like, he'll be one loved little guy!

Celebrating the New Year

Hi Kids!  Happy 2012 to you!  This year I woke up without a hangover for the first time in many moons on New Year and we headed off to the beach.  We were well rested since we kinda passed out the evening before.  The first order of business was getting our cawfee on.  Decaf homemade latte for me :)

Then we headed out to Ocean Beach in San Francisco.  The day was gorgeous and Chino and I walked along the beach while hubby surfed.  Chino had to makes sure that he got his father into the water safely.

After our day at the beach, we headed to the Argonaut Hotel, where we got married a couple of years ago.  We wanted to show Chino where is family began and he was happy to accompany us.

Their lunch menu was quite simple.  I almost went with the crab salad, but it had mayo and quickly changed my mind and got the grilled chicken sandwich instead.  Hubby got a tuna melt.  The food was nothing to write home about, but the company was fantastically hot.

And goofy.

And Chino got to sit with us, but he had to be in doggie jail.  We gave him water and I fed him chicken through the little fence, so not all was lost.

Once we were done with lunch, we went inside and walked around the lobby.  We took a family photo in a mirror to remember the day.

There is an old Russian proverb that says "how you celebrate the New Year is how the year will turn out" and if this year is anything like our little celebration, it will be peaceful, fun, and full of love.  I'll take it.  

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Holiday baking is a ton of fun, no matter what the reason.  I didn't actually plan on doing any of my own, but my favorite nephew had to make some treats for his school and I was more than happy to micromanage and help with the task.  I stalked all my favorite blogs and we decided on making Bakerella's Red Velvet Cake Balls.  **Please go to her beautiful website for the recipe and pictures.

Let's do the math people- it's cake, red velvet, chocolate, and balls.  This makes for a winning combination.  You just can't go wrong- plus you get to excessively say 'balls'.  

Benny was on board and his mom had already pre-baked the red velvet cake.  He started with working on his own creation- a chocolate cake.  While he did that, we worked on rolling the balls, and put them in the freezer to set.

Once the balls were ready, it was time to cover them in chocolate (we used candy melts) and then pass them on to the CEO of sprinkles.  The man takes his sprinkles seriously.

I take my chocolate coating seriously.

And our little goober Chino made sure that not a single bite landed on the floor.

As we were getting closer to being finished, we took a picture with our creations.

And the final product looked fabulous- if I do say so myself.  Benny's mom, who also took all the pictures, purchased these adorable containers in Mexico for his teachers.  Don't you just love them?

I had a great time working with my little nephew and his mom.  Looks like we started a tradition- look at our cookie making from last year.  I can't believe how things have changed this year.  He was so little and cuddly, and now he's such a little man!

2010:

What are you baking this year?

Mexico Part 2

When I left off on my last recap, we finished a beautiful hike up to the pyramids.  Later on in our trip, we were invite to Father's Day brunch to celebrate all the dads.  

Anyhoo, our gracious host Benny showed us around the house and then we sat down to eat a delicious lunch with the most amazing cake I ever had in my life.  I wish I knew what was in it, but I'll just have to go back and visit to eat it again.

 Our lovely lunch crowd

 We went to explore the backyard garden and patio and took a few lollipop breaks for a photo.

Our tour guides took us to the university in Mexico City to explore the campus and the boys climbed the snake maze.

I wasn't dressed for a hike, but we spent some time exploring the campus

Benny loved playing with his uncles that day and we loved the structures.  Each corner made taking pictures so much fun.

 Nuestra familia :)

We ended our trip that day walking through cobblestone streets and sat in this awesome square.  Again, loving the squares and people walking out and about.  We took our practice family photo too.

The streets were so charming- cobblestone, beautiful details, mature vegetation, and families walking around.

This part of our trip was so much fun and gave us a really good look at another part of Mexico City.  I knew it was an older city with a lot of history but I didn't expect the charm and unique buildings and streets.  I got to see much more of the city on a city tour, to be discussed on my next post.

Side note- I think I remember why I have been ducking out of working out with my husband.  I just lifted legs and shoulders with me and I can now finally lift my arms over my head, 2 days later.  However, I am still working on sitting, standing, and walking up the stairs.  Walking is still good, so Chino is in luck.  I'm coming back for more though- my muscles hurt so good!

Scenes From a Weekend

Thanks again for hanging in there and coming back to see my blog and to read my trip recaps.  Before I bombard you with another posting of gratuitous photography, I'm going back and doing a regular post.  This weekend was so good, SO good!  I spent time outdoors with a hike each morning, took 3 yoga classes (even one with my mother-in-law!) and worked out with the husband. We ate delicious food, got help on remodeling, and got to see both of our families.  My heart was so happy ;)

These boys- they are obsessed with Angry Birds and ended up playing together for much of the evening.

This boy found a new friend at his grandparents' house and snuggled with him while looking out the window.  I'm just happy he didn't follow his typical dog park behavior on this little stuffed friend.

We took home leftovers and made delicious grilled wraps and I may have hit a new veggie consumption high.  I may have also hit a new popsicle high this weekend too.

My favorite breakfast this weekend was a slice of quiche from Costco with salad.  It worked and I was powered up for the day.  Veggies for breakfast is the new black.

Anything you are looking forward to this weekend?