Sunday, July 12, 2009
I'm in love...
...in love, with you, my babe. You give me the warm fuzzies with your wide grin and gleeful giggles. You melt my heart with the slightest frown. That trickle of tears turns me inside out. You make me so proud, you are my shining star as you tranform into a toddler and do your unstable dance. One call and mommy is all yours. I love how you go to sleep on me, your face nestled in my neck. Time, please freeze and let these moments last forever. It's as if you were waiting to hit the one year mark: Now you are speeding toward all new milestones!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Early to rise
Rian woke up at 4:30am for his midnight feed. I prepared the formula, Amit fed him and put him back in his crib. Typically Rian wakes up ~6-6:30am and then I drag him back to our bed, for 2 more hours of snooze time. Today Rian woke up at 6am, but by the time I went to get him from his crib, he was wide awake. Last night I came in after Rian went to bed (beauty parlor appt), and Rian was so excited to see me, he was all smiles and coos :-) cho chweet. I tried to rock him back to sleep, and I usually succeed within 5-10 mins. No such luck today.
30 minutes into rocking, lullabies, silent prayers, some cursing under my breath, and the little one was still awake and giving me the most cute and wide grins. I put him down on my chest and I was lying in bed. Once in a while, he'd pick his head up, come to my lips, pucker his lips and give me a kiss and a wide wide smile :-) Oh I was melting inside ... he he he ...
Finally I gave in to sleep, and handed Rian over to his grandparents at 6:30am for an hr and a half more of sleep. Sigh, missed out on our play time with Rian this morning. Gotta go home & make up for it!
For the record, Rian didn't go back to sleep even after his grandparents tried very hard today. I think he took a morning nap today after mommy & daddy went for work ~9:45am. Reflecting back on this, I was thinking: this is my last month of having Rian's grandparents around. After that I guess I'll be up with Rian at 6am :-) Scary thought!
30 minutes into rocking, lullabies, silent prayers, some cursing under my breath, and the little one was still awake and giving me the most cute and wide grins. I put him down on my chest and I was lying in bed. Once in a while, he'd pick his head up, come to my lips, pucker his lips and give me a kiss and a wide wide smile :-) Oh I was melting inside ... he he he ...
Finally I gave in to sleep, and handed Rian over to his grandparents at 6:30am for an hr and a half more of sleep. Sigh, missed out on our play time with Rian this morning. Gotta go home & make up for it!
For the record, Rian didn't go back to sleep even after his grandparents tried very hard today. I think he took a morning nap today after mommy & daddy went for work ~9:45am. Reflecting back on this, I was thinking: this is my last month of having Rian's grandparents around. After that I guess I'll be up with Rian at 6am :-) Scary thought!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Baby registry
I compiled a list of all baby items for a registry for dear friend of mine. What better place to share it than here, so here goes Copy-Paste :-) from my email.
Some are TODOs:
• Cocoa butter – stretch marks prevention. Start using around now. It didn’t help me but apparently it helps quite a few people.
• Cord blood – You want to do this early. Figure out if you want to store or donate. We had planned to donate it but we were not qualified. Donate here: http://www.cryo-intl.com/
• Babies R Us: My registry is still online. That was my “shopping list”. I often went back and edited it to keep it in sync with what I bought for Rian. Anyways I have some recommendations below too. Start looking from here http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=3200390. Create a registry online or in-store. I heard there are some benefits of in-store registry: some coupons & stuff. Sign up for their coupons in-store. These are different from the online coupons. Also sign up for email deals.
• Watch Happiest Baby on the Block DVD – library or Amazon
• Watch In the Womb – Nat Geo DVD – library or Amazon
• Invest in a Medela or borrow from a friend, then get it tested here: http://www.elcaminohospital.org/Womens_Hospital/Pregnancy_Childbirth/Mother_Baby_Store/. I had http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2815290, this is the newest one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2901995 and this one required medela feeding bras which are too expy http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3214492.
• Sign up for classes for delivery and breastfeeding.
• In the first week, meet with a lactation consultant – I can’t tell you how useful it was, even though Rian had latched and my milk had come in.
Here go recommendations:
Baby Gear:
• Car seat & stroller: we had Graco Metrolite – lightest travel system that Graco has. Two cars? Get a second base if spouse will be doing some doctor visits. In reality: we used our second base maybe 10 times, but loved having the convenience. Once installed, if you don’t have LATCH in your car, the bases are a pain to re-install. Get some toy bar for car seat. I’d recommend looking into Combi. We recently bought Rian a Combi stroller and its very light weight. Heard that Combi has infant car seats that fit in this stroller too. You can do a stroller frame and an infant car seat too, but personally I found it useful to have a “cover” on the baby which the travel system gives me.
• Baby carrier: I can’t stop saying enough about this one, it’s a life saver. I’ve used it since Rian’s 5th week of life, and still use it. I did a lot of research before buying this, and I can tell you it has saved our back and a lot of pain in life. http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/. I picked it up from http://tinytots.com/ in Campbell.
• Play yard: Since we have 2 functioning levels @ home, used a Graco play yard (pack n play) with a removable bassinet and on-board changer. Used this a lot in our family room.
• Gym: Rian started using a gym for tummy time and for lying on his back and music. I had the baby Einstein one and Rian loves it. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2736587
• Bouncer: We bought this bouncer http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265002 and Rian still loves playing with it. Another alternative is an infant to toddler rocker http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3247576
• Swing: there are many types of swings but I got this one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265072. Basically I wanted something with a removable tray. I’ve never used the tray and there are cribs for which you cannot remove the tray – that’s just bad engineering IMHO. Travel swings are an option but I knew we wouldn’t move the crib around. Plus a full swing gives you 2 motions.
Infant Care:
• 12 burp cloths & 12 bibs
• Some cloth diapers – multi-use soft cotton cloths. (get from India)
• Lap pads - (get from India)
• Nipple cream – get Lansinoh or Mother Love (whole foods)
• Breast pads
• Feeding bras – I used the $12-$15 ones from Target. I had a size change too sometime in between. Best to buy one pair for the hospital. Then you should go again in a week after the milk comes in.
• Storage for Breast milk from pumping – I got 3 packs of these containers http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2815289. Absolutely useful, BPA-free. Now I use them for Rian’s formula (pre-measured), his cereal, and soon will use for his finger food too.
• Nursing pillow – I had Boppy with a cotton cover
• Nursing wrap – I had this http://www.bebeaulait.com/ - definitely recommend this over just using cloth as it has a “stand” collar so you can see and position baby. Also makes the cloth “stand” so it does not stick to baby’s face. Rian could not tolerate any sensation of touch on his face else he’d start rooting.
• Bottles – Get BPA-free polypropelene or glass. I have 4 3.5oz glass bottles – sufficient for first 3 months. Then I bought 8oz polyprop ones. We used Dr. Brown’s. I’ve heard learning curve breastflow makes transition between breast and bottle (and back – for working moms) easier. I wish I had used these – call me for related story, too long to type. You may need premie nipples. Rian used premie nipples first 3 or 4 months, then we switched him to size 1. I guess every baby is different. Also buy Dr. Brown’s bottle cleaning brush - doesn’t matter what bottle you buy, this brush has a stand that makes the sponge dry – less bacteria breeding. Sterilization is not required – I did it like once a month if we felt like it. You can boil or use this electric one. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2970575.
• Get a booster like this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2861764 instead of a high chair. Portable, can strap on anywhere, and can carry to restaurants. We have a rainforest one.
• High chair cover: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3436925 when you go to restaurants. Rian chews on the chairs.
• Bath tub – I used this one no problems. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10727396.
• Get 6 washcloths and 3-4 towels.
• In case you have a baby boy, get like 15-20 of these http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3504785 cheap washcloths or you can use cloth diapers – this is to cover their pee pee when you open the diaper – they squirt ?
• Johnson’s baby wash – yellow and pink. Winter baby, consider getting this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2440135 especially if prone to dry skin.
• Few bath toys – small rubber duckies work well.
• Nail clippers – I have http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2792506.
• Hair brush – the American red cross one is very nice.
• Baby Oil – Johnson’s
• Baby massage book – http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Hands-Traditional-Baby-Massage/dp/1557043140/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
• Teethers – 3,4 different kinds
• Pacifiers – experiment, buy BPA-free
• Digital thermometer – I have something like this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2449560. Big read out and soft tip for reading rectal temp.
• Humidifier – I have a cool mist humidifier. Also serves dual purpose of being a white noise machine. Helps baby sleep longer. Must buy for winter baby. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2266321.
• Infant Tylenol (Grape flavor), Mylicon, Little Colds Baby Rub, Trivisol (doctor will tell you this @ 2 month check if baby is breastfeeding), gripe water (from India).
• Diaper crèmes: Big 14oz dubba of Aquaphor, 16oz dubba of A+D cream – apply alternately @ diaper changes to keep rash away. In case rash happens, use Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. Keep small tubes of these in the diaper bag.
• Socks & mittens: get lots of pairs from India.
• Diapers: Pampers swaddlers from Newborn to size 2. After that, you should experiment with Huggies too, as Pampers cruisers tend to bunch up at least for baby boys.
• Wipes: I’ve always used Pampers sensitive wipes. There are wipes with “natural cotton” and Rian got a rash with those. YMMV, some people love these. After baby gets onto formula and poop isn’t sweet smelling anymore, we switched to Pampers Swipers scented wipes. You can carry one of the “refill packs” in your diaper bag, never need those travel wipes cases – they’re useless and only carry 5-6 diapers anyways.
• Diaper bags: your choice. Also get a couple from India. It may have a changing pad. Get a few changing pads from India to put all over the house.
• Diaper pail: Baby Trend Diaper Champ http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3491391. You can use the Costco liners inside these, no need to buy costly refills. Contains smell pretty well.
• Baby monitor – we have Fisher Price 900 MHz – very good. http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Long-Distance-900MHz-Monitor/dp/B000I5RF8C/ but I got it for $38 from Walmart.
• Gates – we have two of these. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2909941.
• Get CO monitors from Costco – two pack.
• Outlet covers, corner guards, egde guards as required. Depends on how mobile baby is @ 6 months.
Nursery:
• Crib: Drop-side cribs are convenient but there have been too many recalls on those. Personally I didn’t find them sturdy enough. We bought a solid wood one from Amazon in Cherry color to match our bedroom furniture http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FT7NXS. You can pick out a crib set of your choice. I had a “sea life” theme going with all my stuff.
• Changing table: we bought a changing pad with a cover and put it on top of our dresser. After 6 months babies become too mobile anyways, so we didn’t think buying a separate changing table was worth the money or space.
• Crib mobiles and toys. I have http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2299139 and old version of this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3565464.
• You may want to invest in a rocking chair. I used my rocker/recliner a lot in early months to put baby to sleep.
• Crib mattress, mattress pad
• Receiving blankets – at least 4. You can get colorful ones from India. Also need Swaddle Me or something like that when receiving blanket swaddle does not work.
• Nursery décor
• Storage solutions. I got the 3 drawer plastic chests from Walmart. Also have some 4 drawer chest from Ikea. Also helps to have the small three drawer chest for items like nail clippers, combs, medicine syringes. Also have a 4 drawer plastic chest for socks, bibs, burp cloths, etc
Clothing and layette:
• Sets of onesies – they come in 5 packs. 0-3 months ka one pack, 3-6 months ka one pack etc. We found onesies very convenient for diaper changes. Get long handed onesies. Sometimes you get onesie and pant sets.
• Get a few body suits since its winter.
• Get a couple of wearable blankets.
• Caps, socks, mittens (socks mitten sets from India)
• Koala baby or Robeez soft soled booties http://www.amazon.com/Robeez-Infant-Toddler-Circles-Pastel/dp/B00119T5CI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1246925217&sr=8-1
Toys:
• These are subjective – pick what you like.
Some are TODOs:
• Cocoa butter – stretch marks prevention. Start using around now. It didn’t help me but apparently it helps quite a few people.
• Cord blood – You want to do this early. Figure out if you want to store or donate. We had planned to donate it but we were not qualified. Donate here: http://www.cryo-intl.com/
• Babies R Us: My registry is still online. That was my “shopping list”. I often went back and edited it to keep it in sync with what I bought for Rian. Anyways I have some recommendations below too. Start looking from here http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=3200390. Create a registry online or in-store. I heard there are some benefits of in-store registry: some coupons & stuff. Sign up for their coupons in-store. These are different from the online coupons. Also sign up for email deals.
• Watch Happiest Baby on the Block DVD – library or Amazon
• Watch In the Womb – Nat Geo DVD – library or Amazon
• Invest in a Medela or borrow from a friend, then get it tested here: http://www.elcaminohospital.org/Womens_Hospital/Pregnancy_Childbirth/Mother_Baby_Store/. I had http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2815290, this is the newest one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2901995 and this one required medela feeding bras which are too expy http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3214492.
• Sign up for classes for delivery and breastfeeding.
• In the first week, meet with a lactation consultant – I can’t tell you how useful it was, even though Rian had latched and my milk had come in.
Here go recommendations:
Baby Gear:
• Car seat & stroller: we had Graco Metrolite – lightest travel system that Graco has. Two cars? Get a second base if spouse will be doing some doctor visits. In reality: we used our second base maybe 10 times, but loved having the convenience. Once installed, if you don’t have LATCH in your car, the bases are a pain to re-install. Get some toy bar for car seat. I’d recommend looking into Combi. We recently bought Rian a Combi stroller and its very light weight. Heard that Combi has infant car seats that fit in this stroller too. You can do a stroller frame and an infant car seat too, but personally I found it useful to have a “cover” on the baby which the travel system gives me.
• Baby carrier: I can’t stop saying enough about this one, it’s a life saver. I’ve used it since Rian’s 5th week of life, and still use it. I did a lot of research before buying this, and I can tell you it has saved our back and a lot of pain in life. http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/. I picked it up from http://tinytots.com/ in Campbell.
• Play yard: Since we have 2 functioning levels @ home, used a Graco play yard (pack n play) with a removable bassinet and on-board changer. Used this a lot in our family room.
• Gym: Rian started using a gym for tummy time and for lying on his back and music. I had the baby Einstein one and Rian loves it. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2736587
• Bouncer: We bought this bouncer http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265002 and Rian still loves playing with it. Another alternative is an infant to toddler rocker http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3247576
• Swing: there are many types of swings but I got this one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265072. Basically I wanted something with a removable tray. I’ve never used the tray and there are cribs for which you cannot remove the tray – that’s just bad engineering IMHO. Travel swings are an option but I knew we wouldn’t move the crib around. Plus a full swing gives you 2 motions.
Infant Care:
• 12 burp cloths & 12 bibs
• Some cloth diapers – multi-use soft cotton cloths. (get from India)
• Lap pads - (get from India)
• Nipple cream – get Lansinoh or Mother Love (whole foods)
• Breast pads
• Feeding bras – I used the $12-$15 ones from Target. I had a size change too sometime in between. Best to buy one pair for the hospital. Then you should go again in a week after the milk comes in.
• Storage for Breast milk from pumping – I got 3 packs of these containers http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2815289. Absolutely useful, BPA-free. Now I use them for Rian’s formula (pre-measured), his cereal, and soon will use for his finger food too.
• Nursing pillow – I had Boppy with a cotton cover
• Nursing wrap – I had this http://www.bebeaulait.com/ - definitely recommend this over just using cloth as it has a “stand” collar so you can see and position baby. Also makes the cloth “stand” so it does not stick to baby’s face. Rian could not tolerate any sensation of touch on his face else he’d start rooting.
• Bottles – Get BPA-free polypropelene or glass. I have 4 3.5oz glass bottles – sufficient for first 3 months. Then I bought 8oz polyprop ones. We used Dr. Brown’s. I’ve heard learning curve breastflow makes transition between breast and bottle (and back – for working moms) easier. I wish I had used these – call me for related story, too long to type. You may need premie nipples. Rian used premie nipples first 3 or 4 months, then we switched him to size 1. I guess every baby is different. Also buy Dr. Brown’s bottle cleaning brush - doesn’t matter what bottle you buy, this brush has a stand that makes the sponge dry – less bacteria breeding. Sterilization is not required – I did it like once a month if we felt like it. You can boil or use this electric one. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2970575.
• Get a booster like this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2861764 instead of a high chair. Portable, can strap on anywhere, and can carry to restaurants. We have a rainforest one.
• High chair cover: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3436925 when you go to restaurants. Rian chews on the chairs.
• Bath tub – I used this one no problems. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10727396.
• Get 6 washcloths and 3-4 towels.
• In case you have a baby boy, get like 15-20 of these http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3504785 cheap washcloths or you can use cloth diapers – this is to cover their pee pee when you open the diaper – they squirt ?
• Johnson’s baby wash – yellow and pink. Winter baby, consider getting this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2440135 especially if prone to dry skin.
• Few bath toys – small rubber duckies work well.
• Nail clippers – I have http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2792506.
• Hair brush – the American red cross one is very nice.
• Baby Oil – Johnson’s
• Baby massage book – http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Hands-Traditional-Baby-Massage/dp/1557043140/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
• Teethers – 3,4 different kinds
• Pacifiers – experiment, buy BPA-free
• Digital thermometer – I have something like this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2449560. Big read out and soft tip for reading rectal temp.
• Humidifier – I have a cool mist humidifier. Also serves dual purpose of being a white noise machine. Helps baby sleep longer. Must buy for winter baby. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2266321.
• Infant Tylenol (Grape flavor), Mylicon, Little Colds Baby Rub, Trivisol (doctor will tell you this @ 2 month check if baby is breastfeeding), gripe water (from India).
• Diaper crèmes: Big 14oz dubba of Aquaphor, 16oz dubba of A+D cream – apply alternately @ diaper changes to keep rash away. In case rash happens, use Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. Keep small tubes of these in the diaper bag.
• Socks & mittens: get lots of pairs from India.
• Diapers: Pampers swaddlers from Newborn to size 2. After that, you should experiment with Huggies too, as Pampers cruisers tend to bunch up at least for baby boys.
• Wipes: I’ve always used Pampers sensitive wipes. There are wipes with “natural cotton” and Rian got a rash with those. YMMV, some people love these. After baby gets onto formula and poop isn’t sweet smelling anymore, we switched to Pampers Swipers scented wipes. You can carry one of the “refill packs” in your diaper bag, never need those travel wipes cases – they’re useless and only carry 5-6 diapers anyways.
• Diaper bags: your choice. Also get a couple from India. It may have a changing pad. Get a few changing pads from India to put all over the house.
• Diaper pail: Baby Trend Diaper Champ http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3491391. You can use the Costco liners inside these, no need to buy costly refills. Contains smell pretty well.
• Baby monitor – we have Fisher Price 900 MHz – very good. http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Long-Distance-900MHz-Monitor/dp/B000I5RF8C/ but I got it for $38 from Walmart.
• Gates – we have two of these. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2909941.
• Get CO monitors from Costco – two pack.
• Outlet covers, corner guards, egde guards as required. Depends on how mobile baby is @ 6 months.
Nursery:
• Crib: Drop-side cribs are convenient but there have been too many recalls on those. Personally I didn’t find them sturdy enough. We bought a solid wood one from Amazon in Cherry color to match our bedroom furniture http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FT7NXS. You can pick out a crib set of your choice. I had a “sea life” theme going with all my stuff.
• Changing table: we bought a changing pad with a cover and put it on top of our dresser. After 6 months babies become too mobile anyways, so we didn’t think buying a separate changing table was worth the money or space.
• Crib mobiles and toys. I have http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2299139 and old version of this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3565464.
• You may want to invest in a rocking chair. I used my rocker/recliner a lot in early months to put baby to sleep.
• Crib mattress, mattress pad
• Receiving blankets – at least 4. You can get colorful ones from India. Also need Swaddle Me or something like that when receiving blanket swaddle does not work.
• Nursery décor
• Storage solutions. I got the 3 drawer plastic chests from Walmart. Also have some 4 drawer chest from Ikea. Also helps to have the small three drawer chest for items like nail clippers, combs, medicine syringes. Also have a 4 drawer plastic chest for socks, bibs, burp cloths, etc
Clothing and layette:
• Sets of onesies – they come in 5 packs. 0-3 months ka one pack, 3-6 months ka one pack etc. We found onesies very convenient for diaper changes. Get long handed onesies. Sometimes you get onesie and pant sets.
• Get a few body suits since its winter.
• Get a couple of wearable blankets.
• Caps, socks, mittens (socks mitten sets from India)
• Koala baby or Robeez soft soled booties http://www.amazon.com/Robeez-Infant-Toddler-Circles-Pastel/dp/B00119T5CI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1246925217&sr=8-1
Toys:
• These are subjective – pick what you like.
Doctor doctor...
It was Rian's one year check up today and we were, as usual, ready with our barrage of questions. We met Dr. Harry Dennis as our pediatrician Dr. Linda Strain was on leave. Dr. Dennis was very patient and answered all our questions. Rian got 4 shots today :-( sob, sob! As usual Daddy distracted him from the pain and all was fine in wonderland after 10 mins of motorboat motorboat go so fast!
Rian's doing well and growing well. He took his first bottle of cow's whole milk today. We'll see how his tummy treats it, then go full force with whole milk, no more formula!
Rian also needs to start brushing his teeth now, twice daily. Mommy will start with Rian too :-) Oh come on, I mean about the night time brushing. Of course Mommy brushes in the morning :D
Rian's doing well and growing well. He took his first bottle of cow's whole milk today. We'll see how his tummy treats it, then go full force with whole milk, no more formula!
Rian also needs to start brushing his teeth now, twice daily. Mommy will start with Rian too :-) Oh come on, I mean about the night time brushing. Of course Mommy brushes in the morning :D
Monday, July 6, 2009
Happy first birthday, Rian
One candle on your cake;
Proud parents stare in wonder
At each new move you make.
As this special date arrives,
For Rian has brought pleasure
Into all our lives.
How you progress and grow,
From the cute and tiny infant
You were one year ago.
Enjoy your presents, too.
The reason for this day
Is a special person--you!
Ready or not... Here comes Rian
I'm writing this post from memory, almost a year later, on 7/6/09. I still remember everything that happened, leading up to Rian's birth, crystal clear in my mind.
30 June
This was my 36 week check with my nurse practitioner, and she announced to us that my cervix had completely thinned out. She warned me to wrap up all my work @ office this week, and hand over everything I had on my plate, which was totally echoed by my boss Aleksey. When I checked with Mausami, she mentioned this happened to her too, at the 36th week, but Mausami delivered Shayona in the 41st week, so I was under the impression that I had time. Per my schedule, 11 July was going to be my last working day. I had planned 2 weeks of leave before my EDD of 28 July.
4 July
My mom came from India on 1 July, and was just about getting over her jetlag. Amit and I were eager to go out somewhere as the long weekend had just started. But mom insisted that we pack the hospital bag. With tidbits of house work here and there, we managed to get the hospital bags (yes, we had two!) packed by 11pm. Then we all relaxed.
5 July
Eager to get out and have some fun, we targetted to go for a long drive along CA-1. We stopped at a couple of beaches, then finally reached Santa Cruz beach. We rested and napped in the beautiful sun, on mats. And then it was back home. Amit was experimenting with his new 50mm lens that he bought in preparation for baby's arrival, and took some super cute photos of me.
6 July
It was a lovely Sunday morning, a 3-day weekend well spent, and a whole day to rest. 9am: The moment I got up from the bed, I felt something, fluid... wet... something like a heavy period... watery... hmm... Hello maxipads, tring tring Dr. Swenson (my OB). Sweetest and most patient OB on earth, she explained to me that my water bag had broken. Since I wasn't feeling any pain, she guessed there were no contractions. This was 3 weeks and one day ahead of schedule. She advised me to go for some walks and try to see if we can get the contractions started on our own, and check in to the hospital in 3-4 hours. I was concerned as I had heard we should "rush" to the hospital if the water breaks. Delivery had to "finish" within 24 hours of water break. The hospital would make sure baby was out before 9am on 7 July by C-section if required. Amit calmed my nerves and asked me to follow along with Dr. Swenson's plan.
Mom had just woken up too. Knowing Mom, Amit had an idea that she would panic. So he just told her to get ready and have breakfast, we were going to Costco to buy some essentials. She was a bit curious, but didn't say anything about all the hurry we were in. Thankfully she had a good night's sleep the night before, and was also refreshed.
Meanwhile, I took a shower and had my breakfast. I'd started feeling nervous already. It was too soon, I wasn't ready in my mind. I hadn't painted the baby room. I had one more work week and 2 weeks of rest planned ahead. OTOH, we were well prepared:
2:30pm: We checked into the hospital and were lucky to get into a Labor & Delivery room, they had just one more remaining after checking us in. Immediately, they had all the monitors connected to my tummy. Turns out I was having contractions all the time, and they were three minutes apart! They started asking me about pain, and that's when it hit me: I had some pain in my back - nothing in my abdomen, but periodic pain in my back. Now I feel foolish to have missed it in the first place. I never thought I'd have cramps in the back instead of pain in the abdomen. The attending OB came in to see me, and it was my lucky day - Dr. Swenson, my own OB was on call. She assured me she would deliver my baby before she went off of her shift :-)
I was 3cm dialated. They checked with an ultrasound to see the baby had engaged in the pelvis and was in the correct position. I suspect his face was up and his back was down - which is why I had back labor. But the OB told me everything was "normal" and not to worry about it. They asked me about pain management, and my plan. I was open to the epi, but wanted to try IV painkillers first to see if that would help with the pain. In any case, at this point I was feeling very little pain.
They started me on Pitocin via IV since the OB wanted to increase the intensity of my contractions. The nurse asked me if I wanted some anti-vomiting medication. Since I wasn't feeling nauseous, Amit and I both decided to hold off on it. I started watching Shrek 3 on the TV screen in the room. (For the record: the movie sucked). Then the Pitocin effect kicked in and the pain mounted. We tried all the breathing techniques. Amit inflated my exercise ball and we labored on the ball for a bit.
4:30pm: I asked for the IV painkiller. In 10 mins, I was floating away in no man's land as if I'd downed an entire wine bottle. The pain sure dulled, but it didn't go away. We tried different positions, but help wasn't coming.
5:30pm: I asked to check how dialated I was. Since my water had broken, they were reluctant to check me for fear that they'd introduce infection. Anyways, they checked and I was still 3cm. I could not believe it. 3 hrs and quite some pain later I was still at 3cm. The pain was wearing down on me. I asked for the epidural. The anesthesiologist had just been called into another room, so I had to wait for ~25 mins. I think those were the worst 25 mins of the pain. Amit tried to distract me from the pain, Mom was being her usual sweet self too. Nausea was kicking in. Just before the anesthesiologist came in, I threw up. Now, I'd never thrown up my entire pregnancy, and here I was, epidural guy waiting behind me, and the throw up just would not stop! It was embarassing.
This was probably a resident at Stanford. I believe he had a supervisor too, overlooking his work. He started to read out all the disclaimers and possible side effects to me. I was so upset I told him "I know all these things, now can you just give me the epidural?" I'm sure he was skilled in dealing with women like me :-) He said to me in a firm voice "You may be aware of these but I am required to tell you, and as you can see I'm prepping you in parallel without wasting any time!" :-) Fine, point taken.
6:30pm: The epidural was in. I was now lying flat on the bed, oxygen mask on my nose to make my breathing easier. The pain was vanishing away. I had started to mentally and physically relax. From what I had read and heard in the classes and from my friends, 3cm to 7cm can take the longest, even upto 12 hrs. I thought of taking a nap.
7:15pm: The nurse checked on me and I was already 7cm dialated. We were all very surprised at how quick this went, from 3cm to 7cm after the epidural. The nurse told me that it could still be a while. She told me I'd reach 10cm, and then I'd feel an urge to push. She warned me NOT to push. Amit and mom had been with me for ~5hrs and they had no caffeine. So I asked Amit to go to the cafeteria and grab some coffee/tea, but keep his cell phone near him.
7:30pm: I felt it. I felt the urge to push! I panicked. Amit was out of the room. I called him back from wherever he was. This was way too soon! We paged the nurse. She came in and sternly told me NOT to push. She started prepping to deliver the baby. I couldn't believe it was going to happen. They alerted the doctor.
7:45pm: The doctor came in and gave me an okay to start pushing. The nurse helped me and encouraged me to "find" the contraction myself. There was no pain and I could feel each contraction. When I'd identify it, she would confirm from the electronic screen and then would ask me to push. 5 to 6 pushes later, it looked very promising and Rian's head could be seen. The doctor had a C-section, which she postponed - she wanted to make sure she delivered my baby first. All hands were on deck. Amit suggested we get a mirror so I'd see the head - encourage me to keep pushing. I confirmed with him: will I get grossed out, or will it truly encourage me. He said, trust me, you wouldn't want to miss looking at this. They also made me touch the head. Several pushes later, 45 mins after I'd started pushing, Rian Butala arrived in this world. 8:26pm. He weighed in at 6lb 3oz, 18.5 inches tall. I held onto Rian, the new love of our life.
It was amazing to have delivered Rian within 6 hrs. Thanks to Amit, Dr. Swenson, Mom and nurse Cecilia for all the help and encouragement. A truly memorable and life changing day for all of us.
(Written almost a year later, from memory, on 7/6/09)
30 June
This was my 36 week check with my nurse practitioner, and she announced to us that my cervix had completely thinned out. She warned me to wrap up all my work @ office this week, and hand over everything I had on my plate, which was totally echoed by my boss Aleksey. When I checked with Mausami, she mentioned this happened to her too, at the 36th week, but Mausami delivered Shayona in the 41st week, so I was under the impression that I had time. Per my schedule, 11 July was going to be my last working day. I had planned 2 weeks of leave before my EDD of 28 July.
4 July
My mom came from India on 1 July, and was just about getting over her jetlag. Amit and I were eager to go out somewhere as the long weekend had just started. But mom insisted that we pack the hospital bag. With tidbits of house work here and there, we managed to get the hospital bags (yes, we had two!) packed by 11pm. Then we all relaxed.
5 July
Eager to get out and have some fun, we targetted to go for a long drive along CA-1. We stopped at a couple of beaches, then finally reached Santa Cruz beach. We rested and napped in the beautiful sun, on mats. And then it was back home. Amit was experimenting with his new 50mm lens that he bought in preparation for baby's arrival, and took some super cute photos of me.
6 July
It was a lovely Sunday morning, a 3-day weekend well spent, and a whole day to rest. 9am: The moment I got up from the bed, I felt something, fluid... wet... something like a heavy period... watery... hmm... Hello maxipads, tring tring Dr. Swenson (my OB). Sweetest and most patient OB on earth, she explained to me that my water bag had broken. Since I wasn't feeling any pain, she guessed there were no contractions. This was 3 weeks and one day ahead of schedule. She advised me to go for some walks and try to see if we can get the contractions started on our own, and check in to the hospital in 3-4 hours. I was concerned as I had heard we should "rush" to the hospital if the water breaks. Delivery had to "finish" within 24 hours of water break. The hospital would make sure baby was out before 9am on 7 July by C-section if required. Amit calmed my nerves and asked me to follow along with Dr. Swenson's plan.
Mom had just woken up too. Knowing Mom, Amit had an idea that she would panic. So he just told her to get ready and have breakfast, we were going to Costco to buy some essentials. She was a bit curious, but didn't say anything about all the hurry we were in. Thankfully she had a good night's sleep the night before, and was also refreshed.
Meanwhile, I took a shower and had my breakfast. I'd started feeling nervous already. It was too soon, I wasn't ready in my mind. I hadn't painted the baby room. I had one more work week and 2 weeks of rest planned ahead. OTOH, we were well prepared:
- the car seat was installed and checked,
- the crib was assembled and bedding was installed,
- the stroller was ready,
- the hospital bag was packed,
- Rian's essential clothes (and even non-essential ones) were washed and neatly folded
- the bouncer was assembled,
- the crib was assembled,
- we had diapers, diaper cream, cloth diapers,
- the bottles were washed,
- we had bath essentials,
- we had the dress to bring baby back home in,
- we had a name for the baby that all of us were happy with.
2:30pm: We checked into the hospital and were lucky to get into a Labor & Delivery room, they had just one more remaining after checking us in. Immediately, they had all the monitors connected to my tummy. Turns out I was having contractions all the time, and they were three minutes apart! They started asking me about pain, and that's when it hit me: I had some pain in my back - nothing in my abdomen, but periodic pain in my back. Now I feel foolish to have missed it in the first place. I never thought I'd have cramps in the back instead of pain in the abdomen. The attending OB came in to see me, and it was my lucky day - Dr. Swenson, my own OB was on call. She assured me she would deliver my baby before she went off of her shift :-)
I was 3cm dialated. They checked with an ultrasound to see the baby had engaged in the pelvis and was in the correct position. I suspect his face was up and his back was down - which is why I had back labor. But the OB told me everything was "normal" and not to worry about it. They asked me about pain management, and my plan. I was open to the epi, but wanted to try IV painkillers first to see if that would help with the pain. In any case, at this point I was feeling very little pain.
They started me on Pitocin via IV since the OB wanted to increase the intensity of my contractions. The nurse asked me if I wanted some anti-vomiting medication. Since I wasn't feeling nauseous, Amit and I both decided to hold off on it. I started watching Shrek 3 on the TV screen in the room. (For the record: the movie sucked). Then the Pitocin effect kicked in and the pain mounted. We tried all the breathing techniques. Amit inflated my exercise ball and we labored on the ball for a bit.
4:30pm: I asked for the IV painkiller. In 10 mins, I was floating away in no man's land as if I'd downed an entire wine bottle. The pain sure dulled, but it didn't go away. We tried different positions, but help wasn't coming.
5:30pm: I asked to check how dialated I was. Since my water had broken, they were reluctant to check me for fear that they'd introduce infection. Anyways, they checked and I was still 3cm. I could not believe it. 3 hrs and quite some pain later I was still at 3cm. The pain was wearing down on me. I asked for the epidural. The anesthesiologist had just been called into another room, so I had to wait for ~25 mins. I think those were the worst 25 mins of the pain. Amit tried to distract me from the pain, Mom was being her usual sweet self too. Nausea was kicking in. Just before the anesthesiologist came in, I threw up. Now, I'd never thrown up my entire pregnancy, and here I was, epidural guy waiting behind me, and the throw up just would not stop! It was embarassing.
This was probably a resident at Stanford. I believe he had a supervisor too, overlooking his work. He started to read out all the disclaimers and possible side effects to me. I was so upset I told him "I know all these things, now can you just give me the epidural?" I'm sure he was skilled in dealing with women like me :-) He said to me in a firm voice "You may be aware of these but I am required to tell you, and as you can see I'm prepping you in parallel without wasting any time!" :-) Fine, point taken.
6:30pm: The epidural was in. I was now lying flat on the bed, oxygen mask on my nose to make my breathing easier. The pain was vanishing away. I had started to mentally and physically relax. From what I had read and heard in the classes and from my friends, 3cm to 7cm can take the longest, even upto 12 hrs. I thought of taking a nap.
7:15pm: The nurse checked on me and I was already 7cm dialated. We were all very surprised at how quick this went, from 3cm to 7cm after the epidural. The nurse told me that it could still be a while. She told me I'd reach 10cm, and then I'd feel an urge to push. She warned me NOT to push. Amit and mom had been with me for ~5hrs and they had no caffeine. So I asked Amit to go to the cafeteria and grab some coffee/tea, but keep his cell phone near him.
7:30pm: I felt it. I felt the urge to push! I panicked. Amit was out of the room. I called him back from wherever he was. This was way too soon! We paged the nurse. She came in and sternly told me NOT to push. She started prepping to deliver the baby. I couldn't believe it was going to happen. They alerted the doctor.
7:45pm: The doctor came in and gave me an okay to start pushing. The nurse helped me and encouraged me to "find" the contraction myself. There was no pain and I could feel each contraction. When I'd identify it, she would confirm from the electronic screen and then would ask me to push. 5 to 6 pushes later, it looked very promising and Rian's head could be seen. The doctor had a C-section, which she postponed - she wanted to make sure she delivered my baby first. All hands were on deck. Amit suggested we get a mirror so I'd see the head - encourage me to keep pushing. I confirmed with him: will I get grossed out, or will it truly encourage me. He said, trust me, you wouldn't want to miss looking at this. They also made me touch the head. Several pushes later, 45 mins after I'd started pushing, Rian Butala arrived in this world. 8:26pm. He weighed in at 6lb 3oz, 18.5 inches tall. I held onto Rian, the new love of our life.
It was amazing to have delivered Rian within 6 hrs. Thanks to Amit, Dr. Swenson, Mom and nurse Cecilia for all the help and encouragement. A truly memorable and life changing day for all of us.
(Written almost a year later, from memory, on 7/6/09)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Bye Bye Baby
A day before his birthday, Rian amazed us with one more milestone: he waved bye bye :-) Daddy was with him, outside our tent cabin in Yosemite valley (Curry Village), and Daddy was teaching him how to wave good bye. That's when I was returning from a shower, and he waved me bye bye :-) Good job, Rian... and great job Daddy.
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