Announcing Our Little Angel

A safer blog....thanks to kendra! :)

After reading my friend's blog posting about putting safety first, I thought it was time to start making our blog "safer" as well.You can get some useful links from this lady named Urth Mama, who Kendra found about taking steps to make your blog safer. This lady,Urth Mama, actually had pictures of her little girl stolen off of her blog, and the lady who stole them was pretending to be the little girl's mom by posting them on her own blog! Pretty scary huh? I do realize that I could choose to take our blog to private, but like Kendra said....I like that I have had the opportunity to visit many other blogs to learn crafts, recipes, touching stories, digital scrapbooking ideas, etc. So, for now we are staying public and I have quite a few things on my to do list! :)

To Do List:

1. Disable the right click option on your blog: You can go to this site to get the html code to copy and paste to your blog to disable right-click on your blog too! I was able to disable the RIGHT CLICK on our blog successfully today!

2. Make your pictures un-clickable: go here to get directions! I do have to admit that I was able to do this on an earlier posting, but then I tried to go and edit all of maya's newborn pics to make them un-clickable and I somehow messed up the html so badly that my whole blog's layout was ruined....hence, the re-post of maya's pics. So, I still need to figure out how to do this one! :)

3. Watermark your photos....I am still trying to come up with a sweet design for our own personalized watermark!

4. Upload pics to flickr first....it seems like a good idea....but I just don't know how realistic this is for me, it seems like an extra step and I want to be able to keep up with postings! :)

5. The tip on not using your real names, and using nicknames instead seems really hard! We have already disclosed all of our names and I read somewhere that you can somehow save a copy of your blog to your computer and then go through and use a software like microsoft word to replace your names...but that sounds really really tedious!

6. Start tracking who is visiting your blog here are 2 free site you can visit:

stat counter and site meter

7. Read the advice Urth Mama gives here: she is an attorney turned stay at home mom and has great advice!

And of course I couldn't post without posting pictures of our sweetheart!

sitting in her swing...she still isn't quite sure if she likes it!

notice her little hoodie is so huge on her and it is newborn size! :) it comes all the way down to her little thighs! and the lack of booties because she kicks them off ALL the time!

sitting in her papasan chair with her glow seahorse playing her lullabys

I found her like this...with her ears covered! silly girl!

smiley girl

sleeping beauty...just look at those lips!

our little polar bear, so precious

the silbers

wrapped around daddy's finger already!

not quite sure what she thinks about posing for pictures for mommy

P.S. I FINALLY figured out how to make the pics unclickable! (now if I can only figure out how I ended up moving the pictures to the left hand side of the screen instead of the center! argh! somehow the first picture is still centered....hmmmm....maybe tomorrow I can tackle that issue! :)

RE-POSTED...Maya's newborn pics taken by mom!

So, before Maya was born I was determined to be able to photograph her for her newborn pictures all by myself. I did a lot of research, acquired advice from my good friend Ashley who has experience photographing newborns, and thought it would be relatively easy! I rented a portraiture lens for my new DSLR camera and knew that the timeframe for capturing good "sleepy" pictures was within the first 2 weeks of life. Well....it was MUCH harder than I thought it would be! I bought a few things off of Etsy for her to wear, I made sure to feed her to the brim, let her sleep for about an hour to get into a deeper state, turned up the thermostat, had her room set up as my studio, and wouldn't you believe that everytime I took her into her room and removed the blankets she woke up! ARGH! Plus, many of you moms know how hard it is to plan anything with a newborn! I really needed the natural light, so if we didn't plan ahead enough we would miss the daylight! And...the older she got, the more her skin started to peel, and she started getting the little newborn acne....to say the least it was definitely a feat! But...we saved a ton of money and hopefully my skills will only get better from here on out! So...I have a sneak peak of what we got....and I do have to admit that they turned out really well! I am saving some of my favorite ones until I get her announcements sent out!

yay! I figured out how to post to the blog from my phone!!!

sporting one of her many accessories

WARNING: SUPER LONG POST...Maya's Birth Story..

1st family picture

So today my precious little girl is already a week old! I cannot believe it! I remember last week I didn't think she would ever come and now I can't believe she is here safe and sound! I have been wanting to post about her birth and now I have the opportunity while she is napping....

J and I went to the hospital last saturday night and were greeted by a friend of mine, Jillian, who was my antepartum nurse. After placing the fetal and contraction monitor we were surprised to see that I was having contractions...I was just not feeling them! So, unfortunately I was not eligible to receive the cervical ripening pill/gel, so the midwife wanted to move forward with the foley bulb. It is exactly what it sounds like....a foley catheter they place up past your cervix into your uterus and they filled the balloon with 60 ml of water! Ouchie! It was VERY uncomfortable at first....and what it does is mechanically dilates your cervix to about 3-4cm they tape the end of the foley to your leg, creating traction, and they come in and pull on it every hour! argh! and once they are able to pull it totally out, you should be dilated to about a 3 or 4! Well as soon as they placed it, it released a ton of prostaglandins and I started having the painful contractions!

So, the next morning, they started me on pitocin at around 0500, and by 0740 the foley bulb came out! But, I was more uncomfortable having contractions every 4ish minutes and they were super strong! I told myself I wanted to hold off until I was at least 4cm and in active labor before I got my epidural....so I paced and paced and by 1030, I called my nurse in and asked if I could have a cervical check....and I was already at 6 cm! They were totally shocked that I was handling the contraction that well for being so far along in the process! So I got a dose of fentanyl and we moved to our labor suite! My nurse had talked me into trying a warm bath before getting the epidural, so I did that and by the time it was 1130 I was ready for the anesthesiologist to come! Unfortunately the resident tried 3 times for the epidural for a total of an hour, and was unsuccessful. By this point I was not dealing so well! It is so hard to be hunched over, unable to move while they attempt for the epidural, while on pitocin & having super super strong contractions! The tears started to come! Finally, the resident decided I would benefit from getting a spinal, to get me comfortable, and while the spinal was in they could attempt for the epidural again, well he was unable to get the spinal and he finally called his attending, who was able to get it in, and provide me the relief I needed! I was able to relax and rest, though it lasted for only an hour and a half. While the spinal was on board the OB attending came and did a cervical check and I was still only 6 cm and 90% effaced, so she broke my bag of water. Also, while the spinal was on board another anesthesia resident came and attempted another 3 times to get the epidural, but luckily I couldn't feel a thing! About 2 hours later the spinal wore off and they checked and I was 10 cm and 100% effaced and she was at +2 station and everyone was so excited for me that it was time to push! I was so exhausted to be so enthused like everyone else! And, since I was able to feel the pressure needed to know when to push, my labor team didn't want to turn on the epidural! My contractions were coming every minute, so they finally turned off the pitocin! Whew! My body was finally able to do it on its own! I pushed for a little over an hour and was absolutely amazed that it actually felt GOOD to push against all the pressure you are feeling! She did start having some late decels so I had to give her a break during one of the contractions and I think that moment was one of the hardest moments of my life! It is so HARD NOT to push when you NEED to PUSH! I did end up needing an episiotomy because her heart rate was down in the 80s and she just needed to be out...and the rest is history from there! My L&D nurse was my godsend....Claire...someone I will never forget in my life! She never left my side throughout my whole labor and delivery! J was a calm presence, he gets a little squemish, so he mostly just told me to breathe, with his head facing back towards the wall!

She was 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long with lots of brown hair!

he was instantly wrapped around her tiny fingers

daddy and maya

When Maya was born they just took her over to the warmer right away to stimulate her...she was totally fine, just had a little acrocyanosis with apgars of 9 and 9. What an absolute miracle it is to have a baby! They always say that you won't remember the pain you went through when you see their face and hold them in your arms and it is TRUE! The nurses and doctors told me that even though I might not think so, I had a fabulous labor and delivery for a first time mom! They were all shocked I had my baby in less than 24 hours of being induced and that typically an induction for a first time mom takes 48-72 hours. So, they promised me that with my next baby, he/she will just FALL out! :) we will see!

mommy and maya

only an hour old

Maya was born at 4:45 pm and looked absolutely beautiful for a newborn! She latched right away and has been nursing like a champ ever since! She was so awake and alert, and never really went into that deep newborn sleep. We transitioned to our postpartum room after change of shift, and had Jillian again, this time as my postpartum nurse! She was SHOCKED I had Maya before she came back for her night shift! Our first visitors were J's brother Kyle and his girlfriend Brandy, Maya was only hours old!

uncle kyle and maya

mandy and luke came on the second day to visit!
Luke was totally smitten with Maya, it was so cute!

We stayed over night 2 nights in the hospital and got blessed with an early discharge on Tuesday morning (J's mom's birthday...she was hoping we would hold out and have Maya on her birthday). We literally walked home at 11:30 am, and as soon as we were home J left to the SFO airport to pick up my mom!

ready to go home, her polar bear outfit was too big, but she will get to grow into it!

my handmade sling I bought off of etsy, maya is in there! so tiny!

grandma luneburg meeting maya for the first time

kitties meeting maya for first time...they were scared of her and she was sleeping!

as soon as we were home I had to try out the flower!

The original plan was that she would come about a week after Maya was born to give us a chance to settle in, but this worked out perfectly! Those first few days before your milk comes in is kind of rough! Maya felt like she needed to nurse every 1-2 hours! My milk finally came in on the 3rd day and we have been doing fabulous ever since! She only lost 5 oz and by her 4th day of life we went in for a check-up with her pediatrician and she had already gained an ounce back! And....she inevitably became hungry during her appt, so we got to get a pre and post weight and she took a full ounce from just one side! YAY for my milk! I do have to say that I can totally understand why some women choose not to nurse their babies...you do get so SORE and it HURTS initially, until she gets latched on, and then the pain is tolerable.....but it is not EASY by any means. I know it is going to get better and the pediatrician gave me these Ameda soothing gel pads that are AMAZING, so things are better for me! I am feeling great! the crazy thing is that the intial 4 days postpartum it was my BACK that was super sore compared to the episiotomy. And, my back totally looked like a pin cushion.

off to maya's first doctor's appt

my two loves

my little jaundiced baby, she had to get a heel stick to check her bili

My inital plan of getting out for a walk everyday didn't actually start until I was 5 days out...and J and I and little Maya made it out for our first family outing to Golden Gate Park last night! So, that is about all I should bore you all with for now...our first week as a family!

happy as a clam

she is such a good baby

P.S. If I would have had a second chance, I probably would have waited till 42 weeks to induce! It was definitely totally worth it, but I think it may be better/easier on your body if you can wait till they come on their own! :)

NST

Everything went really well! My amniotic fluid level is normal 14.6 on a scale of 8-24. Baby is still head down, facing towards my spine. Her resting heart rate is in the 120s and when she is stimulated awake her heart rate goes up to 140-150s so that was reassuring! Apparently I am having some contractions that I just can't feel...probably braxton hicks since they aren't painful, but at least it is something! The nurse did another cervical check and I was still only 1 cm dilated and maybe 60% effaced, so she stripped my membranes again (that makes 3 times total now). I am thinking this little girl is going to wait until Saturday night to get the ball rolling! I am so blessed to have met such wonderful friends/nurses out here in San Francisco! Ironically, I know a handful of labor and delivery nurses and they are bound to make sure I receive great care! One of my friends has signed up to be my nurse on Saturday night to help explain my options for inducing and provide some moral support. So, I am just trying to enjoy these last few days with Maya kicking and hiccuping because I know very soon I will probably miss these days of being pregnant!

Maya update

40 weeks (you can kind of tell she has dropped some)

39 weeks

38 weeks


So today we went to the Dr. and was shocked to hear that they actually would allow me to go to 42 weeks, but offered me an induction at 41 weeks, so I took it! I was only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced and mucus plug was gone, but that was the same from last week....so, we are scheduled to have a NST (non-stress test) for the baby on Thursday morning, and if that is ok, then we are supposed to wait till Saturday, when we are scheduled to go in for an induction at 8pm! So if she doesn't come on her own time, then we will start the process saturday night, and she will probably be born on Sunday some time! It is so exciting to have an end in sight, but also a little scary since the Dr. talked about "cervical ripening" which my college roommate went through and said it was not so pleasant....something about placing a catheter up into your cervix and filling the balloon with water in hopes to help get you dilated....apparently pretty painful! And I heard pitocin isn't the most fun either....so as I sit her writing I am having some mixed feelings about it all....I just hope and pray that she comes on her own time, maybe I should have given her the 42 weeks??? but....my mom is flying in from Iowa on Tuesday the 26th and would be pretty disappointed to leave on the 30th without seeing her grandbaby! Is that too selfish of us? Ironically, her original due date was the 25th, but because she was measuring a little bit bigger at her 12 week ultrasound they moved us up....so now looks like she will be here right around that original time frame! Either way, we are asking for your prayers to bring this little girl into this world healthy and hopefully on her own time! If we make it to Thursday morning I will post about our NST! :) one last sneak peak at her inside! though her head is down, and we didn't get very good pics of her at her 32 week ultrasound, so we will see! PRAY FOR US!!!

Maya's finished nursery scrapbook page

Well while I anxiously wait for her to arrive I have been able to catch up on her scrapbook...so now all I need is her! I had an appt on Tuesday this week and saw a midwife and I was dilated to 1 cm and 50% effaced....she did strip my membranes, but as you can see 3 days later and no progress! I have another appt on Tuesday the 19th just in case she doesn't come over the weekend like she is supposed to! I am thinking she will be past due...but that is just my feeling...I haven't even had any braxton hicks contractions. So we will see! Hopefully the next post will be her sweet little face! :)

My new obsession....

My second digital scrapbook page! :)