Thursday, November 27, 2008

A Day of Firsts

Aunt Dani came yesterday to take us to the mall for a bit of holiday shopping. In honor of Joey's first trip to the mall, I decided to give him his first bath (well, sponge bath really). He tolerated it surprisingly well, but I had to wrap him in 87 blankets after because he was FREEZING. I'm sure there's a trick to the whole bathing thing, but we haven't figured it out yet. In the meantime, Joey didn't seem to mind being wrapped up in all those blankets.


Post-bath wrap up.
And here he is all bundled up for his first trip to the mall.
It was a long day (for both of us), but I'm glad to say we got a few key gifts out of the way. If I can just get them wrapped and under the tree next week, I will be feeling so ahead of the game.
PS - I realized early this morning that this was our due date. Crazy that Baby J has already been here for almost two weeks!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

1 Week Old


Dear Baby Joey,

A week ago tonight, we were getting ready to spend our first night in the hospital with you. We didn't yet know your funny little personality or that you have distinct cries for your different needs. In the last week, we have learned that you don't tolerate milk well, that you love to be swaddled when you sleep, and that you are constantly interested in knowing what is going on around you. We also discovered that, despite the many expensive bottles (BPA-free, so Aunt Dani doesn't yell at us) we bought you, you prefer the old school Gerber kind with the recylced hospital nipples. Watching you sleep has become our favorite past time and we are thankful that you are such a good sleeper. Everyone who meets you tells us you're perfect and we couldn't agree more. We are looking forward to watching you grow and change, but the tiny person you are today will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

With love always,

Mommy and Daddy

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Baby J is Here!!

So, apparently, there really isn't a science to when babies arrive. Just ask the doctor who ASSURED me on Friday afternoon the it would be a while . . .
After my appointment, I had plans to have dinner with my dad and Wendy. I decided to walk around the mall and see if I could find any comfy clothes to pack in my hospital bag since it was going to be a while before dinner. I noticed while I was wandering around that I was having some mild cramps, low in my abdomen. Since the doc had done an internal exam, that didn't seem so strange. I think at some point during dinner, I even commented to Wendy that was crampy. It didn't hurt, really, but it was something.

When I got home, I did my usual hanging out on the couch/playing on the internet/watching TV thing and the cramps got more and more uncomfortable. I looked up "contractions" and "labor" in all my pregnancy books, but what I was feeling really didn't seem to fit the description, so I figured it was just related to the exam. I went to bed around 11 when Sal got home from work and was able to sleep fairly well until about 3 am. At that point, I was feeling super uncomfortable and restless, so I decided to go out to the living room so I wouldn't wake Sal.

When I got out to the living room, I laid on the couch for a while and listened to the neighbors have a VERY loud party while watching TV. The "cramping" was definitely getting worse at that point. On one of many trips to the bathroom, I discovered I was also having some bleeding. I pulled out my labor instructions from the doc and decided I should probably call. When I explained my symptoms, the on call doctor assured me that I was NOT having contractions. Since she has more experience with the whole thing than I do, I decided to believe her.

I think I ended up falling asleep some time that morning, for a few hours. I had been planning to go to my cousin Mia's birthday party later that day, so I called Dani and Rob to pick me up. Sal thought it was weird that I still wanted to go even though I was feeling super crappy, but I figured it was better than staying home alone all afternoon. Dani and Rob picked me up around 1 and by that time, I was practically doubled over in pain every time I had a "cramp". When we got to Aunt Jacque's a bit later, it was even worse. A couple of people came up to me right away and wanted to touch my belly. I was having none of that.

In fact, it was only about an hour before I went to hide in my cousin Billi's bedroom. Wendy came in to check on me periodically, but I still wasn't convinced that this was it. At some point, I decided I needed to have something to eat. Right after I served myself some food, I had a contraction that literally had me in tears. I went down the hall (didn't want any of the little ones seeing me that way) and cried in the bathroom. That's when Wendy decided we needed to go to the hospital. If I wasn't in labor, there was definitely something wrong.

I think Sal called during all this and Wendy told him we would keep him posted about what happened at the hospital. We hopped in the truck and headed down south. I called the doctor (a different on-call doc) and told her what was going on with me. This doc was also not convinced that I was in labor, but said I should go ahead and come in.

When we got there, the nurse also wasn't convinced I was in labor, but she went through all the motions of getting me checked out and was super sweet about the whole thing. When a contraction finally hit, she looked at me and said, "THAT looks like labor to me." I was dilated 1 cm.. After about an hour (or maybe two?), I was dilated three centimeters and and they gave me something to take the edge off the pain in preparation for the epidural. Then we were transferred to a room.

Sal got there shortly before the epidural and then things seemed to really fast from then on. This part is all a little foggy, but I know that there were quite a few people in the waiting room next door. I took a few short naps while we waited for my body to do its thing. Some time around 1 am, the nurse checked me and I was dilated to 9 cm. She went to check in with the doctor who said we needed to wait a while because Baby J was still really high up and it wouldn't make sense to start pushing for a while.

At about 2:30, I finally couldn't take it anymore (the epidural had worn off), so Sal went to get the nurse. She came back in and went over the pushing technique with us and we practiced while we waited for the doctor to come. At about 2:45, we started pushing for real. For the most part, I think I did okay, but there were a couple of times when I was ready to give up. It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The doctor ended up having to do a bit of adjusting, because the baby's shoulder had gotten in the way. Once that was fixed, we were on our way. Joseph Henry Ferrara entered the world at 3:22 am on November 16. At that exact moment, his mother told the doctor she could no longer push and was giving up. I'm such a wuss, but I did it.

When they held him up for me to see, I couldn't do anything but cry. The whole process is so amazing. I carried that baby around with me for 38 weeks and suddenly he was his very own person, living outside of my body. And Sal was awesome through the whole thing. He was so super supportive and did a great job of keeping the people posted on the happenings in the labor room. He should get a medal. Or something.

Friday, November 14, 2008

13 Days


Here is my latest belly pic for your viewing pleasure.
I went to the doc this afternoon and she told me she fully expects that Baby J will stay in until Thanksgiving weekend since not even a tiny bit of progress has been made. It appears that I have developed gestational hypertension, but she doesn't seem worried since my blood pressure goes down after laying for bit on my left side. Other than that, there is nothing new to report.

Haiku Friday

Countdown has begun
Less than two weeks remaining
Until the big day
**
Still so much to do
Things to be assembled
One more laundry load
**
Probably a trip
Or two to Babies R Us
Maybe Target, too!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Baby Wash

My stepmom Wendy and Aunt Steph threw us a really fun family shower this past Sunday at Aunt Jacque's house. It was super relaxed with homemade soups and breads for lunch. There ended up being quite a few people there - some old friends mixed in with all the relatives made it extra special. We got a TON of great gifts, including some handmade blankets, piles of clothes, fun baby toys, and quite a few essentials (bottles, diapers, teethers). We also got the jog stroller I have been lusting after for months (thanks Aunt Dani and Uncle Rob!), a travel system, crib and mattress, and the very important play yard. Oh, and then there was the diaper bag of my dreams from Aunt Steph, Uncle Rick and the cousins.

Here are the handful of pictures I found on my camera. Note to self: do not trust Wendy with the camera - she is way too easily distracted.




Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Happy Veteran's Day

Some of my most favorite people are vets, so I thought I would post a few photos of people near and dear to me who have fought (and are fighting) for our country.

My cousin Jack (with his son Jack) just returned from a 6 month tour in the Gulf with the USN.


My Gram's whole family served in the military in various wars, including WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. From left to right - Uncle Dean (Merchant Marines), Uncle Dwayne (USAF), Uncle Dick (Coast Guard), Uncle Bob (Coast Guard), Gram (USAF), Great Grandpa (USN), and Uncle Bill (USAF).

Because he lost his eye early on during training exercises, my Grandpa Olive never saw any battlefield action in the Marines, but he did serve during the Korean War.

My Grandpa Valencia served in both the Navy and the Army beginning at the tail end WWII and continuing through the Korean War.

And last, but not least, my dad served in the USN during Vietnam.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Haiku Friday

My baby sister
Turned twenty-five this week
Cannot believe it
**
Yay for Obama
New and different for us
Let's see what happens
**
Big fun this weekend
Baby shower with the fam
Lots of little stuff

A New Home

I was never quite able to figure out Wordpress and got super frustrated with it, so I am back here on Blogger after a LONG absence. I only started this new "family" blog at the end of September, but if you want to catch up with what has happened since then, you can do it here.