First giggle!

Well we had our 2 month check up with first immunizations today, and it went way better than I expected. I was filling out a questionnaire on her growth and progress like grabbing things cooing etc. There was a question about if she has started to laugh, and I checked the box for not yet....then I am finishing up the next page of questions when in her sleep she giggled...twice! It was the cutest thing!! I hope to see more of it soon, but I think it may be a bit considering the shots were not her favorite thing. She turned purple, but was surprisingly consoled the minute I picked her up off the table. They only half let me hold her, so they could control her legs and I would avoid getting stuck with a needle. Understandable. Anyhow...she did well and was so good in her car seat that I was able to get the mail, which is about a 5 min drive away. Then we got home and she took a nap in my arms while I watched a movie...then the pain or something set in...no fever...no boobie, and clean diaper, so I gave her half a dose of what they recommended for her, and she is now sleeping happy in her swing! Oh yes I can finally put her down sometimes in the bouncer or the swing. For those of you who don't know...Sofia likes to be walked....a lot...and sometimes it is the only way to calm her...especially to get her to sleep. Needless to say it has helped me get back to pre-pregnancy weight and I will probably have legs like a speedskater soon, but oh well.
That is it for now...going to get in another movie if I can!

Comfy Couches

Beware...

Burping and Crying

Sofia does not like to burp...in true lady fashion she cries after she burps or gives the quiver lip and pouts! HAHAHHAHA

My new theory is that children are already planning their future sneaking out of the house attempts by making their parents deaf with a certain octave/note or whatever it is called while they are babies. It starts young people....no they are not innocent! HAHHAHAHHA

Trip to the Passport Office

Ok so when Grandma and Bobbie came Grandma's passport was only valid for her trip here...to return she had to get a new one from the Japanese passport office.
This led to a few trips down there needless to say...this is a recap of one of the trips!

So we head out to pick up Hiroshi and Akemi and stop by to drop off the passport application. We planned to do this first and then pick up Hiroshi and Akemi...we planned! We get in the car with diaper bag full (5 diapers, change of clothes etc.) kid in tow. It takes about an hour to get to the office, so we are hoping Sofia will stay asleep for a good portion of the trip. Not so much! We have to stop for first diaper change and feeding midway. That works out ok, but now we need to go to the airport first. We get to the airport and of course diaper change and feeding, but this diaper change requires 2 diapers because she peed in one and then pooped immediately in the fresh one I put on! We are now down to 2...I am thinking we will make it, but....
We get to the passport office and she has peed again. I drop off everyone and they head up to the office. I am changing Sofia in the car in a loading zone. She is crying. She poops. Now my last diaper is used and during all this she also lost her original outfit and is in the spare.Then decides she wants to pee again...Great! What do I use Macgyver?? I remembered that I had a maxi pad for myself just in case I needed it...ok what can I stick this to....hmmm ok I have a baby hat...good enough. So there is Sofia with a maxi pad in a baby hat, and I am crossing my fingers she doesn't go for a while. I am waiting a really long time, so I ask the security guard where I can park. He directs me to another garage across the street. I go and feed Sofia...
We get on the expressway...so far so good. Now all we need is no pee for 45 min. HAHHAHAH yeah right!! So since it is late we decide to stop in at the Kentucky Fried Chicken...and then pee happens....and of course the pad couldn't hold it all and it goes all over her last outfit. Now we resort to the naked baby wrapped in a blanket with a receiving blanket under her bum to absorb anything else that happens! Poor kid!
So we finally make it back to a warm bath, and footie jammies!

At least I can say that being a parent will make you more creative and calm during crisis!
Oh and we now carry 9 diapers for any outing!

5.5 weeks!

This was a post I was trying to write a few weeks ago!

Well Sofia now makes full eye contact with us! She also likes Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keefe that we have above the couch. She is gaining weight, and is breaking my arms and back! Her latest addition is her double chin! It is irresistible!! Picture soon....Tom is on duty and heading to the Philippines on Sat.

Love the Cloth Diapers!!

Ok well Tom was skeptical...I was not sure I would be able to do it, but our cloth diapers from Bum Genius are awesome!!
Since I am staying home for our tour here in Okinawa and I am inclined to do planet and health conscious things I decided to buy 36 cloth diapers = 3 days worth. 12 in the drawer, 12 in the diaper pail, and 12 in the washer. So far it has been not that bad at all!
I do laundry every day is the only downside, but is is manageable. I love that the diapers are chemical free and very soft. We have had no leaks or blowouts...I hope I have not cursed myself by saying that!! They are adjustable, so they should last until she potty trains = very cheap! They were $18 a piece and we also spend .08 cents on diaper liners ( to keep most of the poo off the cloth) per diaper. These liners obviously are for one use only and come from Kushies. We had to use regular diapers until she met the 8 lb requirement for the diapers, and we couldn't believe how expensive they were! We paid like $10 for 3 days worth!! At that rate I figure that our diapers will pay for themselves in 64 days...and if we add the expense of the liner then we are looking at maybe another 3 days each month she is in diapers ( about $30 a month)...WOW! I knew we would save money, but not that much money!
Oh and yeah they are also good for our planet...how about that!?

The Swaddler

These inventions that are a swaddling blanket with velcro are a life saver on the nights when nothing seems to sooth your kid...heads up Stella!! I think you can get them at Babies R Us.

The Launcher

Well I am sort of back on the scene...it has been hard adjusting, but finally Sofia will sleep awhile without me holding her. It is really cute how particular and demanding Sofia can already be at times...when I am holding her and I need to move even just a fraction of an inch there will be protests that are hilarious, which if I can get on tape I will. A really funny thing is when a boobie runs out and she is still hungry (she apparently forgets there is another one) she gets mad, and protests...Bobbie and Grandma witnessed it and we all were laughing! I am really tired, but glad to be getting back into the swing of things!

This is to amend the previous blog...
We have now encountered a new type of poo...we dubbed "the launcher". This is when you are just about to put the diaper on and you think you've got the "all clear" when suddenly poo flies out and hits whatever is in its path until landfall! Holy moly! Items that have been hit include: hands, diaper, diaper pail, wall (4 feet away), changing table, photo frame that I stashed on said wall until we fill with pics of family, laundry basket, and Mr. Kitty lamp. Our real cats have managed to avoid the disasters! Tom and I are not that lucky!!
Cleanup? Forget about it! We are still finding little spots on the wall from the first one, and Mr. Kitty is on his last leg!

Our entertainment

How can something that looks so sweet make such hideous smells? Our new form of entertainment in our sleep deprived state is our daughter...this somehow includes her poop and gas. This has had us in hysterics as we change her diapers! I remember reading or hearing that breastfed babies poo does not smell...oh ummm that person was totally mistaken! This is what we have observed so far...

1. Gas - horrible smell, but somehow causes her to smile and us to laugh.

2. The Streaker - This is when there was a poo earlier, and not all of it was expelled and then a little gas happens, and hence a streak in the diaper.

3. The Poop - This is when you need to be within the same room to hear it, and it is pretty small clean up (maybe 4-5 hot wash towels).

4. The Exploder - This is when you can hear the poo arrive in the diaper from across the house (1300 sq ft. is small, but still...). It generally requires 2-3 firings to be complete. If you are lucky she will do this when you are not holding her behind, but generally seems that she waits until that exact moment to deliver! The clean up of this is an artform generally requiring all hot wash towels from stash. This is why we are doing laundry once a day.

5. Wee - This is generally what is done after you take off the diaper to change #2-4, or has also been known to happen just as soon as the new clean diaper has just been readied for application, but not quite in time to catch the wee and save the changing table from another cleaning and ... changing.

We love you Sofia!

Breastfeeding

So Tom and I are sitting on the couch watching a movie tonight, and all of a sudden my boobs started to hurt. I turned to Tom and told him, and he looks at me and says "you better get the kid on there or grab the pump"...I look down and both boobs are leaking small puddles into my shirt. We both lost it for a few minutes...I then grabbed Sofia! Ah the joys of breastfeeding!

Sofia's first days

So the story continues...
We stayed at the hospital for 48 hours. They discharged Sofia with borderline jaundice and with instructions to put her on a "Bilibed" (phototherapy light bed that you can take home with you) constantly except for feedings. We had an appt. the next day for biliruben level check.
We had a really hard night, as she was sort of inconsolable and was not really happy with the bed situation.
At the next appt. we found out that biliruben levels had not changed much...not surprised as we only kept her down without crying for maybe 6 hours. What did surprise us was that she lost 14% of her body weight from birth. I was breast feeding like mad....nipples totally feeling it, so what was going on? Well were told to supplement with formula, as it was that my milk had not come in yet. Now I know that when your milk comes in your boobs have a mind of their own, and fire at will! Anyhow we supplemented for a few days with formula until my breastmilk finally came in 6 days after labor. Like I said - mind of their own!
Sofia had Dr. appts every day until the jaundice levels were down. We only had to use the bed one day after we supplemented. Apparently satisfied kids sleep well. Poor thing though had to get a heel stick every day as well. At least that is over now! We just had our final visit today, and thanks to breast milk Sofia gained about 3/4 lb over the weekend. We can now feed every 3 hours vice every 2, which can I say is very tiring!
She is starting to recognize us visually, and we had a smile today that wasn't while she was dreaming...it may have been just a coincidence, but I like to think she was actually smiling at me, and not having a involuntary reaction cause it was so heart melting!
Also included here is what happens after pregnancy...I won't even delve into the multitude of things going on with my abdominal area, but let me say it is quite interesting. The swollen ankles and feet were unexpected. I was wrong when I said my feet were swollen before...that was a joke compared to what did happen!
I am so glad to not have the extra weight in front though. I can touch my feet now, and sleep in many positions, and reach to get things without my belly dragging in them....this is in reference to the buffet we went to in which I was scooping out rice, and my belly landed in the water dish with the rice spoon in it. Lovely.

Sofia arrives!

Well "Hi" to everyone, and thank you so much for all the well wishes! We are just starting to get some sleep around here and catch up on things. So I know you all want details so here goes...
So it was my water leaking at 3 am that morning of the 18th. We decided to wait until contractions got bad or at least regular. That never happened, but what did happen scared the crap out of me - at around 3 pm my water broke...no no not even Hollywood style, but holy crap there is a lake around me, and I am on the floor trying to keep some in to cushion the baby! That was my first freak out episode....Tom held it together for me, and kept telling me it was ok, but 5 bath towels later I was really concerned that I had lost too much. At around 4 pm we headed to the hospital where our doula met us....I dripped my way to L & D apologizing to the staff about the floor. Had to walk with a towel between my legs which I am sure looked hilarious!
Dr. examines me and "what?!" I am still only 3 cm. Good news is that now that you can feel the baby better the weight estimate dropped to high 7! Yay! We walk the typhoon ramp between intermittent fetal monitoring, and contractions set in. I think my doula has accurate times, but I think around 5 or 6 am the morning of the 19th I had to start pushing. I could not hold back the reverse vomit that was going on. Pushing contractions are so strong I really thought I was going to be hurled across the room! I was 9-10 cm, but I had a little bit of cervix left - I believe it was called an anterior lip. Anyhow this required that when I pushed the Dr. was trying to push the cervix around the babies head...can I just say "OUCH!".
Ok so Dr. shift change and I get the woman Dr. that I wanted! Yippee! Around 7-8 am after pushing Sofia down a little more the Dr. tells me that she is sideways and this is why we are not making much progress. Since I am on no drugs at this time she tells me there is nothing she can do to turn the kid - I just have to somehow summon superhuman strength after 14+ hours of labor and pushing...oh ok! I tried and tried, but I just did not have it in me anymore (2nd freak out). In comes the anesthesia man from heaven! I ended up getting a spinal just to get through the last 3 or so hours - it was fantastic! Weird to see my legs move and not feel them though! Now that I have drugs the Dr. proceeds to stick every finger possible into my personal space and tries to move the baby around with each push and even sometimes when I am not pushing. Tom stated that he really was not expecting the amount of blood that happened during all this. I didn't look too much down there...I don't even want to know! This is the 3rd freak out because I am pooping at every push, and I was so embarrassed! The only thing that sort of makes it better is that the Dr. said that is how she knew I was pushing right. I officially have no dignity left. At around 10 the Dr. was getting worried about infection occuring as my water had been broken for a while. She started talking about a forcep delivery, and I was not happy because she wanted to give me another 2 shots to help numb my area for that. Enter 4th total freak out/melt down. I kept pushing until I finally had to give into the shots - here comes the Dr. with a 10 inch needle - holy crap! Did not work to numb me, so forceps are out. Luckily...the spinal was wearing off, so I was starting to get some real good pushes in.
The last 4 contractions were the hardest because now is the time you don't push, but you need to push just enough to keep the baby from sliding back up...meanwhile she is literally between your legs....this hurts like hell! I had to get her out, so I was trying my hardest and finally after 4 or 5 contractions she finally made her way out at 11:43 am!
She was blue...her nickname is now Smurfette. They took her over and suctioned her lungs a few times, and did all the other regular stimulations, and finally we heard her cry. Tom was so excited and was telling me that we did it, and I was like crying and saying..."I am sorry, but I don't think I can do this again". HAHAHAHH
The kid decided to have her first poop and wee in the warmer while they were working on her...oh and this was only the beginning!

I think my water broke!

I don't want to get too excited just yet, but at around 3 this morning I had an interesting experience. Will not go into the details, but I have been having trickles of fluid when I lay down and get back up ever since. Probably her big head plugging it up when I sit up. I had intense contractions for over an hour at 6-7 min apart. Then was hungry...went to kitchen to eat, and remembered that I was not thinking this would happen at all - I was banking on Tuesday's induction. We had left all dishes and kitchen dirty, as I was going to clean the house today....so I decided to clean the kitchen through contractions from about 4 to 5. Fun times! Tom was napping on couch through me telling him when a contraction started! ahahhaha! We were able to get a little sleep after the cleaning....and now we are trying to get the contractions back up to pace. Going to shower...my final shower for a while...ewwww, and do the final packing of our bags. We know that when we call the hospital they will want us to come in to verify water breakage, and will probably admit, so they can monitor Sofia. She is still very active, so I am not worried at this stage, and all fluid is clear. We will send e-mails when we leave, and some of you will have to forward if we missed someone. We will try to make a few quick phone calls as well. I really hope this is it!!

Our light at the end of the tunnel!

I was really excited to have my no medical intervention birth, but now I am just thrilled to hear at our appt today our midwife come in and say "we have scheduled you for an induction on Sep 21st".
My cervix has not changed at all. Issue seems to be that Sofia's head will not engage (drop into my pelvis). From what I am understanding them tell me is that contractions and an engaged head are needed to open the cervix. Furthermore something like the head engaging also helps the contractions come regularly. My theory is that the head was too big 2 weeks ago to engage! We will see what happens. Labor still has a chance of starting on it's own, but my gut feeling is that I will be induced, and then have to have a C-section due to head size. Figures that the exact opposite of what I wanted will happen. I think that is what they called character building via life lessons. Either way there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I am very happy about that.

Due day has come and gone

Well Sep 12th is passing by and will be over in a few hours. Still no labor. I had a little mental breakdown and we decided to get out for a bit. We went down to the base beach...very nice, but the amount of trash was disturbing. I am going to write a complaint to the camp commander, and once I am able I will go down and do some pick up myself. No marine corps family beach should look this way. I picked up as much as I could fit in a plastic bag I found down there, so that made me feel a little better. Anyhow...then we decided to get some sushi...yes it is safe here for pregnant women, as in Japan as it is so fresh. There is a 100 yen sushi bar down the street from us, and plates of sushi just go by on a little conveyor. It was delicious! The bar even has hot water spigot, so you can make tea yourself. Then tonight there were 2 different Eisa/Matsuri dances(summer festival dances. Very cool, but not too many places to sit. Tom was able to get some good pictures, and I will post them tomorrow if he downloads them off the camera. I hope the drums were enticing for Sofia. I wish she would figure out (before she hits 10 lbs) that there is way more interesting stuff outside the uterus! Dr. appt. tomorrow to probably schedule induction by the 20th, as that will be 41 weeks.
Off to bed now.