Month: July 2011

favorite baby products (so far)

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Seasoned parents will tell you that there is not a lot you actually need when your baby arrives. As much as that seems to be true, having a few fun gadgets can sometimes make your life a little easier. Case in point, the Snuza. Before Jax was born I wrote a blog post about different baby products I was excited to try. The Snuza was definitely on the top of my list because I predicted that little device may eliminate my intense desire to stare at my son to make sure he was still breathing at night. Boy, was I was right. The first night at home we didn’t use the Snuza because I was all “I didn’t need it in the hospital, I got this down.” Cue the first bedtime. I spent the entire time he slept popping up out of bed to watch his chest rise and fall. It is funny because I have been trying to take a pretty laid back approach to caring for Jax because I am hoping this behavior will result in a laid back baby. But as it turns out, I am still a bit of a control freak with his sleep. The Snuza works perfectly and gives me the piece of mind to get some rest while my baby sleeps. And I didn’t get paid to write this. I really genuinely love this product.

Now when I ask Reg what his favorite baby device is, he will easily say our Pack ‘n Play. Seeing as I am still not supposed to be doing any lifting, Reg does the majority of the diaper changes.
We keep it in our room next to our bed and it is not a total eyesore. It has a basinett and a built-in changing table with room for diapers and wipes so everything we need for middle of the night changes is right there. Plus it has built in lights, sounds, and vibration that little Jax loves.

Another product that is great for nursing mamas:

Motherlove Nipple Cream

Even though Jax is only a week old, I am already reading to him each night. My favorite book to read to him is Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. My good friend Brian gifted us this book because Reg works in construction industry. But even if he didn’t work there, I would still read it to him all the time because I love the way the whole book is written and illustrated. SO cute!

xo

the first week

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I still cannot believe I am a mama. My baby is a week old today. Well not quite. I am not giving him one week old status until 11:01 tonight. I am just not ready for it, okay?  Every day moves so fast so I am really trying to soak in every moment. The past week has been filled with so much joy and emotion. Post partum hormones are so much more intense than I ever imagined. I find myself looking at Jax and just crying. It is not that I am sad.  It is just that I was in no way prepared for how full and heavy my heart would be filled with love. Every moment–even the ones where he nurses all night and my nipples feel like they might fall off– are perfect. I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I know I was made to be a mom, his mom.

Being a parent is easily the most challenging job I have ever had. The good news is that Reg and I are starting to get into a rhythm as new parents. My husband has been absolutely incredible. Since I ended up needing a C-Section (more on that later) I can’t really do much other than breastfeed and hold the baby while sitting down. Just as I imagined, Reg has taken on fatherhood with so much enthusiasm. He is up with me at every feeding, changing almost every diaper, making all the meals, doing laundry, and burping the baby. He even made a custom spreadsheet for keeping track of breastfeeding and wet/dirty diapers. Seriously he is incredible. I have fallen even more in love with him. The way he looks at me with so much love swells my heart but the way he looks at our son is downright magical. I feel so lucky to have married such a wonderful man.

And he gave me my sweet little boy. So far, Jax is easy going. Sure, lots of crying ensues when diaper changing and bath time approaches but mostly he sleep and eats. Well he sleeps for small increments in between feedings. Speaking of eating, breastfeeding is really challenging. I know everyone says this but seriously it is really, really challenging. At least it was for me this week. Going into breastfeeding, I thought that milk production was going to be my biggest hurdle. Turns out, I have plenty of milk but a baby that has some latch issues. He hated my left boob for the first three days of his life but he seems to be coming around. As natural as breastfeeding should be, it is still something that needs to be learned–by myself and the baby. I don’t know why I didn’t fully wrap my head around that while I was pregnant. Fortunately, the hospital where I delivered is incredibly supportive of breastfeeding mamas. In fact, it is almost assumed that you breastfeed so there was never a shortage of people available to help me out. Without the support of the nurses and Reggie, I am not sure if we would still be exclusively breastfeeding. I spent a lot of time crying this past week but I am so glad I did not give up. In fact, nursing has become something that I really look forward to and I know Jax does too. The bonding time is priceless. And I sort of live for the the milk drunk face that comes at the end. Kills me everytime. Other than my boobs, his other loves during his first week include making funny faces and meeting all of his new family members. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

xo

meet jackson

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Jackson “Jax” Kalamaku’okano’eau

Born July 20, 2011 at 11:01 PM

8 lbs. 2 ounces, 19.5″ long

Last Wednesday night, our son made his dramatic arrival into the world. I am working on posting his full birth story but I am finding that the whole day is really emotional to write and I am having a hard time putting the whole experience down into words. All I know is that I am experiencing a type of love that I never thought possible.

xo

it’s time

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Well, after eating all of the spicy food I could handle (including a ridiculous pizza that is known to induce labor), lots of fresh pineapple, walking/waddling everywhere, and  bouncing on my yoga ball, baby boy has decided he does not want to come out on his own. I am scheduled to check into the hospital tonight to start the process of inducing labor.

Hopefully, tomorrow at this time I will be in active labor about to meet my son for the first time. When I think about how that moment will feel my heart swells with happiness that it feels like it might burst out of my chest. I am crying a little bit right now as I write this. And then I think about not being pregnant anymore and how that will feel. For the past 41 weeks he has been inside my belly where I can keep him safe. Now I have to share him with the world and all of the craziness that comes with it. And then I cry again. But I compose myself and think about the adventure that I am about to partake in and how much more exciting, beautiful, and full of love my life is about to become. I have become more in love with my husband throughout this whole pregnancy. Every time I feel sad or nervous about this pregnancy being over, I think of him holding our son for the first time. If it feels this great in my imagination, I cannot imagine how beautiful the experience is going to be in reality.

xo

PS: I plan on blogging about my birth experience but if you want to find out exactly when baby boy is born, I will most likely announce it here first.

my birthday

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Today is my 27th birthday making me the exact same age as my mother when she had me. I love that. I plan on spending the day with Reggie relaxing, eating my favorite foods, and maybe seeing a movie. Oh, and maybe having a baby. Until my little one decides to grace us with his presence, I will leave you with a picture of me when I was a baby. This was taken shortly after leaving the hospital. Told you I was huge!

xo

why i don’t have a birth plan

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Today is my due date and while most women do not give birth on their actual due date, I thought today would be a good day to talk about my plan when the big day actually arrives. I know many women walk into their labor and delivery room with a list of things they want to happen. Dim lighting, no IV, drugs/no drugs, walk around during labor, etc. To be clear: I respect these women immensely. I am simply not one of them. I have never written out a formal birth plan and I have no plans to do so for this pregnancy.

27 years ago today my mother went into what she thought was labor with me. How is that for full circle? She went into the hospital after what she thought was her water breaking but something did not seem quite right. I am not going to speak for her or tell too many details of her story because it is her very personal story to tell but to say the image she describes is unsettling is an understatement. For some reason the hospital sent her home despite her symptoms.  Hours later, she returned to the hospital because she knew something was not right. She trusted her instict that something was wrong. Moments after arriving at the hospital for a second time, her doctor realized that I was in distress and she was rushed off into surgery for an emergency C-Section. I was a large baby—over 10 lbs and for the 1st couple moments seemingly healthy. They hurried me off to the nursery to be cleaned up while they finished my mother’s surgery. Soon after arriving in her recovery room a young nurse walks into my mothers room shaking and can barely utter the words that I stopped breathing several times and they needed to air lift me to Boston Children’s Hospital. Turns out, I had aspirated meconium. Moms out there know that it is a sticky, tar-like substance so imagine that in a newborn baby’s lungs. I was diagnosed with double pneumonia and was in the NICU in Boston for the first month of my life. All 10 lbs of me. I barely fit in the incubator. Nowadays when this happens, it is certainly not ideal but doctors are far more skilled at identifying the problem quickly and getting the baby into the NICU. This was not the case the day I was born. My mother’s voice still shakes when she tells the story. Scariest moment of her life she always says.

I am not saying this to scare anyone. Keep in mind my mother was over 2 weeks late which most doctors would never allow anymore mostly because situations like this are more to happen when the baby goes a long way past their due date. But my feeling for my personal situation is that I have no clue how my body is going to react to labor or if I will even go into labor on my own. My parents took a long 8 week childbirth class with every intention of having a beautiful natural childbirth. But things obviously did not work out like they wanted. My mom told me from the beginning to be open minded about how my son comes into the world. I may not listen to all of her advice but that is one area where we certainly agree. In the end all that matters is a healthy baby. Yes, it is cliche but I think we can all agree that it is true.

So I guess I do have a birth plan but it is simple: healthy baby. And the sooner I can get skin to skin contact and breastfeed, the better. That is it. I firmly believe in being educated on your options for child birth. I have read all the books. Reg and I took a childbirth class. My feeling is that I would like to avoid a C-Section because it is major surgery. But I am 100% aware that I may have no say in that matter and that is okay too. I just want to meet my son.

xo

baby gear

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You know how I posted about how great I was feeling on Monday? Hilarious! I woke up yesterday feeling awful and wanting to have the baby NOW. I keep reminding myself that 1) I am not technically due until tomorrow so I should probably take a chill pill and 2) the longer he bakes, the more time he has to develop and grow.

In the meantime, I am staring at (and occasionally playing with) all of the wonderful baby gifts we received over the last nine months. When I selected items for our registry, I spent a lot of time researching each item. I probably spent too much time doing this but I had a lot of time on my hands. I highly recommend the book Baby Bargains when creating a registry or for buying any baby item in general. This book is filled with bias free reviews for just about every brand out there. Here are some of the items I am looking forward to using the most:

aden + anais Swaddling Blankets

Made with bamboo and super lightweight for my summer baby. These are so soft that I want to be swaddled in them. Seriously.

UppaBaby Vista Stroller

This was a big ticket item for us that my parents generously purchased. I became a bit stroller obsessed when I found out I was pregnant, asking every mother I saw about her pick. No question, the UppaBaby was the most highly recommended and since we live in a place where we walk a lot, I know it was worth it. Plus, it is incredibly easy to use with one hand and made with eco-friendly materials. Mama like!

Graco SnugRide Car Seat

This was an easy pick: high safety rating and holds a baby up to 35 lbs. or 32″ so we should be able to use this for almost a year. Yes, it is a little heavier than some of the other car seats out there but I am just looking at that as an opportunity to work my arm muscles a bit more. Hopefully I won’t be cursing this decision later.

I have to mention this… people are always talking about how challenging car seats are to install but Reg installed this one perfectly the first time. We had it checked out at the hospital and even the staff was impressed with his skills. He was so proud. It was really adorable!

Planet Wise Diaper Pail Liner

I am pretty excited about these diaper pail liners because I can throw them into the wash with the cloth diapers and I didn’t have to buy a fancy diaper pail.

Snuza Halo Baby Monitor

I am really looking forward to using this product the most because it monitors the baby’s movement. This little device fits in the palm of my hand, clips onto the front of his diaper, and detects even the smallest movements. The Snuza uses vibration stimulation to gently rouse the baby if movement is not detected after 15 seconds. If no movement is detected after 3 vibration attempts, an alarm will sound. I like this because the baby does not need to be in the crib for us to use this monitor like the Angelcare version. He could be taking a nap anywhere. The Snuza was definitely pricey but I can’t really put a price on peace of mind. I have another monitor to use when he moves into his crib but for the those first couple weeks, this one should be perfect.
Humidifier

I love having a humidifier in my own room just because it is so dry in California. Plus, the white noise is highly recommended to simulate noise from the womb and help the baby sleep more soundly.

Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bag

Originally, I did not want one of these Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bags because they are EVERYWHERE. Seriously. But then I picked one up and played around with it. There are so many pockets and it is so comfortable even when full. I practiced using it with my squirmy pug and it was still really comfortable and easy to use. I told you I had way too much time on my hands.

Obviously baby boy is not here yet so I haven’t actually had a chance to use any of these yet. I will provide a follow up review for everything and of course include anything that made a huge difference that is not on this intial list.

Question to the mamas out there: What is your list of must have baby gear?

xo

(almost) 40 weeks

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Forgive me for the gaps in posts.  I have been busy staring at my hospital bag in hopes that a whole Field of Dreams thing would happen–ya know, “If you pack it, he will come.” Yeah, not so much. I do not feel like I am ever going to go into labor. In fact, I feel pretty good. I can’t believe I just wrote that but it is true. Sure I am not sleeping more than an hour at a time and my throat feels like it is on fire if I am not constantly chugging water but it is not that bad. Honestly, I felt much more uncomfortable last week. Now, my mother and mother-in-law seem to think that feeling great is a sign I am about to go into labor. But last week feeling nauseous every day was a sign I was about to go into labor to them. Using their theories I concluded that I am going to be pregnant forever. 😉

Last week when I went to my 39 week doctor’s appointment, we did confirm two things: my baby brings a whole new meaning to “baby got back” and my cervix is C-L-O-S-E-D for business at the moment. That’s right. Not even a measly centimeter. And my bump is as high as Cheech and Chong (minus the drugs, of course). Seriously I am showing NO signs of labor other than the occasional Braxton Hicks contraction. I did, however, have my first “sneeze pee.” That was fun.

If I don’t go into labor by Thursday, my doctor wants to schedule an induction for next week sometime. Until then you can find me staring at my hospital bag, eating all of the pineapple and spicy food I can find, and taking the occasional waddle walk.

xo

the hospital bag

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I am about to head to the doctor’s for my 39 week appointment so I will definitely be blogging again soon with an update. I am a little nervous my little guy flipped back into the breech position so I am definitely twiddling my thumbs waiting to get there and find out if he turned back. Speaking of twiddling my thumbs, I started packing my hospital bag weeks ago in anticipation that I would go into labor soon after the ECV procedure. Yeah, not so much. My little dude is not ready to arrive yet. I don’t really blame him. His current home is like a 24 hour buffet while floating in a warm pool. I might want to stay too. But when he arrives, I want to have all I need at the hospital with me so Reg doesn’t have to take any trips home.

I have most of the basics that experts recommend: nightgown for me, nursing bras, going home outfit for baby boy (and me), camera, toiletries, slippers and socks, receiving blankets, chargers for cell phone and camera.

Now I need a little help from my fellow mamas out there. What do you wish you had brought to the hospital? Was there anything you brought with you that you absolutely did not need? If you could help me out, I would really appreciate it. Thank you 🙂

xo

UPDATE: Baby boy is still head down. We have also confirmed that he has a huge booty, thus my confusion. He is bringing a whole new meaning to the saying “baby got back.” 😉

baby update

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via

First of all, Happy 4th of July! I hope you are enjoying your time with family and friends and have some fun plans with yummy eats. We are laying low over here but more on that later. Second, thank you for all of your kind words on my last post. The whole experience was scary but it made me appreciate this pregnancy even more and fall even more in love with my baby. I am happy to report that baby boy is healthy and thriving.I had to go back to the hospital for a non stress test but he passed in about 30 minutes. Now I am just waiting to go into labor.

In the meantime, I came down with a horrible cold since I left the hospital and have barely been able to get out of bed (or blog apparently). After spending the last 4 nights with a humidifier and Vick’s rub all over my chest, I am finally starting to feel better. I really want this cold to go away because I feel like I could go into labor at any moment. In addition to feeling really weak from my cold, ever since we left the hospital I have been having infrequent contractions, intense low back pain, and nausea reminiscent of the first trimester. Plus, it is 100 degrees outside and anytime I leave my house I feel like I am going to pass out. I have loved being pregnant–truly, but I think at this point, I am ready to have this baby. The nursery is done, the car seat is installed. Everything I could possibly organize has been organized and then organized some more. We are ready when you are baby boy.

xo