Family Pictures 2008

Isabella loves.....

Her mommy :) She loves sleeping with her mommy too! Sometimes this is the only way I can get her take a long nap is to ly down with her. She also loves her chi-chi! Don't try and give her a bottle, she will adamantly refuse it. It is such a wonderful feeling though, knowing how much satisfaction she gets from nursing. Whether she is having stomach pains, gets a little too worked up, or just having an off day, all I have to do is let her nurse a little while. It is absolutely the best feeling in the world being able to make her so happy.
She also loves her Baby Einstein dvds and cartoons!! The bright colors and contrasts will hold her attention for awhile--at least long enough for me to get the kitchen clean!! And she loves 'talking' to her daddy and listening to Cumbia with him. I have walked into the room before to see her fast asleep after her daddy bounced her around a little to Cumbia, she loves the instruments and beats. She also loves anything she can put into her mouth! And I mean anything!!

She is such a wonderful girl and when I look at her I cant believe I have been so blessed.

Changes

Today Isabella rolled over for the first time! She has also been talking up a storm! I remember the days when she was so little and I would cry when she would nurse b/c it hurt so bad...and the nights when she stayed awake till 5 am. And now all of a sudden those memories are nothing but that..memories. And memories that I love. I have been lucky enough to be at home with her through her crying, laughing, bathing, eating, and everything. I wouldnt trade any of the diaper changers for any good paying job on wall street.

"When a baby is born...so is a mother"

My 2 favorite people

Having a child is the best thing in this world....A few years ago I never would have believed that, but now, I know it is a fact. Before you have a child you live your life only for you, and you do many many stupid things that you don't think matter. You hurt yourself by staying up late, drinking too much....etc....That was my life. I loved bartending. Better yet, I loved the nightlife that went along with bartending. And the one hting I knew is that I DID NOT want children. I hurt my body by ingesting toxins...I include hamburgers and coca cola as toxins as well!

Now fast forward to now. When I found out I was pregnant I was ecstatic. And I have never ate so well in my life. Suddenly I made sure spinach and legumes were in my daily diet. I would not go around people that smoked--afraid of second hand smoke, and I exercised daily. At nine months pregnant I exercised more than I did when I was not pregnant.

And now I have a beautiful daughter. There is nothing I love more than holding her, bathing her, kissing her, and putting her to bed--by 7:30..And these are the best friday nights I have spent. It took her to make me a good person and now my every move and every thought is done with her in mind. I want to be the best person ever---for her. And not to mention Pedro is amazing. He loves me and loves his little girl. So yeah, maybe we arent rich and maybe my life has had a few 'oops' but somehow God has watched over me and I have the most amazing fiance and wonderful baby girl....And I couldnt imagine my life any other way.

2 months old

2 months old....11.8 pounds and 22 inches long!!!!!

Breastfeeding

It is a lot more rewarding and challenging than I thought. But when it gets tough all I have to do is remember that I am giving my daughter the best nourishment and loving bond needed to start her life off right :)

My birth story

Its Thursday Dec. 13th, 2007, and I am 3 days overdue with Isabella. My doctor has decided to induce me so we head to the hospital for a 7:30am induction. When we arrive they put me right into the labor and delivery room and get me hooked up to the monitors. I am already having contractions on my own, but they are not strong or long enough to open my cervix significantly so at around 8:30 am they administer pitocin (drug that induces labor and causes very HARD AND PAINFUL contractions.) Soon after my midwife comes in to do an exam and decides to break my water. Once she does she notices meconium, which is where the baby has its 1st bowel movement still inside of me (very common in babies that are past their due date). What that means is that a respiratory therapist will have to be there during the birth so that as soon as the baby comes out they can suction out her lungs before she cries and inhales any of the meconium. This is when my contractions start coming very hard and strong. And when I say I have NEVER felt something so painful, it is an understatement. Sometimes it felt like I had no time to rest in between them, they were just back to back. I tried to breathe, I tried to focus on something, but man did it hurt. So by this point I am ready for my epidural. It takes the anesthesiologist forever to come in and see me and once she does she is on the phone!!! So she put the 1st epidural in...and it doesn't work. So she puts the 2nd one in and finally she got it right! I would've have been a lot more upset about her being on the phone arguing with someone instead of paying attention to the huge needle and catheter she was inserting into me, but by the time it started working I was just way to happy to be out of pain!! When the doctor comes into check me again I am 9cm!! Almost ready to push!! Then it starts getting a little bad....The epidural wears off very fast, so they come in to administer more pain medicine. It only works on one side, the whole time i could feel right side-so I could feel every contraction. When they come back in they give me more pain medicine which causes my blood pressure to drop extremely low. They have to hurry and give me something to make my blood pressure come back up..which made me nauseous and start throwing up (I haven't eaten or drank anything in almost 24 hours, so it was just a bunch of painful dry heaving). After 3 hours of this, I am still only 9.5 cm. The doctor has me start pushing, when I do this a whole lot of blood is coming out of my catheter into my urine bag and the babies heart rate is dropping. She has me push a few more times, but with all the blood going into my bag and the babies heart rate dropping with every contraction she realizes that baby is stuck in the birth canal. So....after an all day labor, she tells me I will need a C-section.
Once she told me that I looked at Pedro, who looked more upset than I was. I think by that point I was just so exhausted all I wanted was for her to be here. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I couldn't have a vaginal delivery, but I knew that it was the best thing for Isabella.
When they brought me in to have the surgery they had another problem with the anesthesia and it not working on my right side. Finally when they had everything in order they brought Pedro in. He sat next to me, holding my hand until 9:47pm, when Isabella was born and he was able to cut the cord.

Finally she was here and more perfect than I could've imagined.

Holidays 07