Club Mom November 2, 2009

I’ve been indoctrinated into one of the oldest clubs in the world… Club Mom.  There are only 2 qualifications for entry into this sorority.  You must be female and you must be a mom.  Like any other sorority, the senior members look out for the junior members. I’ve experienced this big sister/little sister in 2 separate instances in recent weeks.

At the beginning of October my cousin got married in Louisiana.  My aunt kindly agreed to transport my gift, so I needed to drop it off at the church where my uncle serves as pastor.  There was a cold front heading into town so  had about 1.5 hours to get my gift wrapped & dropped off on the other side of Houston before it started raining and the temp dropped 2o degrees.

I picked up some wrapping paper & supplies and headed across town.  When I arrived at the church I got the baby, the gift and wrapping supplies out of the car and headed inside to get things wrapped.  I could see the storm approaching quickly so I was frantically trying to get this gift wrapped in the lobby.  Julie was having a rough morning and ended up screaming in the lobby of church while I wrapped the gift. I changed her diaper and she continued to scream so I got her out of her seat and started holding her.  I’m frantically wrapping this present with one hand while holding a screaming baby in my other arm.  By this time the sky was completely dark and the wind was blowing like it was going to be the end of the world. 

I finally finished wrapping the gift (very sloppily) and was attempting to located the church office with a screaming baby in tow… At this frantic moment, a member of Club Mom appeared out of no where.  She showed me how to get the church office (which happens to be upstairs) and then she offered to sit with my screaming child so I could quickly offload the gift with my uncle.  This miracle mom not only sat with the baby, she somehow got Julie to quiet down so I could get her in the car and get back on the road.  We ended up making it home before the front made it to Pearland.

Then last week I had just finished shopping at the grocery store with Julie and Juan.  There was a terrible storm outside dropping tons of rain.  Juan ran out in the rain to get the car while Julie and I waited under the ledge.  During the time that Juan was getting the car, two different members of Club Mom offered to stay with the baby so she could stay dry so I could get the car.  It renewed by faith in humanity that 2 complete strangers would be willing to help me out to protect the baby.  I chalk it up to Club Mom membership.

I can’t wait until the day when I’ll get to be the big sister helping out a new mom. 

Baby’s first smile October 19, 2009

Julianna smiles at Juan on Saturday morning

Last week Juan was working nights and we suspected that Julianna was smiling at him in the morning when he arrived back home.   It was a little hard to tell whether this was a legitimate smile at Juan or a cooinsidental face that she happened to be making when looked at her…

Julianna with mama and great grandparents

On Saturday while we were packing up to see Julianna’s great grandparents, Juan was playing with her and she undeniably smiled as a result of his interactions with her.  It was so exciting!  We spent the next 30 minutes coaxing her to smile at us.  At first she only had smiles for her daddy, but after a couple days to she eventually gave up a smile for her mama. 

It was lots of fun getting to visit with my grandparents (Leon & Mary Jo Hutchison) and Aunty Helen  in Nacogdoches.  It’s amazing to see  all the generations together.  My grandmother loved getting to hold the baby and even got a little misty when she first saw her.  It was sweet.

got milk? October 1, 2009

It’s been really entertaining watching my 1 month old newborn learn about feeding time. The following list was dictated to me by Julianna to assist her newborn peers with figuring out the the first step in breastfeeding process.

Items that do not produce milk:

1. Daddy’s arm
2. shirts
3. fingers
4. blankets
5. pillows
6. towels
7. pacifiers
8. empty bottles

Of Bulldogs and Babies September 24, 2009

Before we brought Julianna home I was very concerned about how Brutus, my 4 year old French Bulldog, would respond to the new addition to our family.

It would be an understatement to say that my dog is a little on the spoiled side.  Juan and I got Brutus the weekend after we got married and he’s been our pseudo-child.  It was very important that we did whatever we could to ease his transition to the updated version of our family that included Julianna.

It’s been so cute to watch him with the baby.  When we first got home from the hospital Brutus didn’t quite know what was going on, but he definitely knew that something new and strange was in the house.  I was sitting on the couch with the baby when Juan brought Brutus into the house for the first time.  The Bru quietly & cautiously circled the couch & the kitchen.  We picked him up & let him smell the baby and I believe that like Juan & I, it was love at first sight.

When Julianna cries he gets up to make sure that Juan & I know that she’s upset.  If we would let him,  he lick her all day long.  This apparently is how dogs comfort & show affection to their puppies.  I like the idea that Brutus thinks of Julianna as his pup.

Brutus licking Julie's toes

ESPN Host in Training September 13, 2009

Over the last week, I think that I’ve watched more ESPN/SportsCenter than I’ve watched in my entire life.  You’d think that we were prepping Baby Julianna to be the next sports commentator.   

I’m looking forward to the next time that we hang out with my friend Matt so I can impress him with my vast knowledge of the Astros farm system and my color commentary of Micheal Jordan’s Hall of Fame induction speech.  Give me another day and I’ll be able to make educated picks for next week’s college football schedule. 

I must confess that I’m actually enjoying getting to talk to Juan about all the sports happenings.  I give him a really hard time about all the sports TV, but in reality it doesn’t really bother me as much as I like to say it bothers me.  That being said, this is the first week of college football & regular season pro football so I might be singing a different tune after a couple weekends of spending every Saturday watching multiple college games followed by a Sunday full of professional games.  (Lucky for me, the Texans are playing really bad this year so that will probably lessen the amount of Sunday football.)   

It’s super cute to see Juan and Julianna watching sports together.  She curls up in a little ball and sleeps on his chest while he watches the game.  He cheers a little less exuberantly in an attempt not to upset her.  Although I seriously doubt that anything could wake that kid once she knocks out; it’s sweet that he’s so respectful of her.

Milk-induced intoxication September 11, 2009

Feeding time at the Mendez house has become one on the most entertaining experiences of parenthood.  We never know what to expect.  Sometimes she latches on without any issue or problem.  Other times it’s a huge ordeal filled with screaming and stress. 

The best part about feeding the baby is when her belly gets full.  She starts acting like she’s drunk.  Her little arms & legs flop around, then she rolls her eyes back in her head like she’s about to pass out.  It’s extremely amusing. 

The pediatrician said this response was completely normal and that almost all babies go into this milk-induced semi-conscious state at the end of a feeding. 

He also mentioned that she’s back to her original birth wieght and is looking really healthy.  We were a little concerned because over the weekend she lost interest in eating.  We paged the pediatrician and were instructed to wake her up every 2-3 hours to force to her feed.  It’s been a challenging and frustrating endeavor.  Fortunately, since she’s looking good we can start letting her sleep until she’s ready to eat.  This is going to be especially nice at night when she could easily sleep 4-5 hours between feedings.  (Mommy & Daddy are really happy about this!)

Today was also momentous because for the fist time in months I was able to wear regular clothes!  I wore a pre-baby t-shirt & pair of jeans.  Ironically, the waist band on the jeans was a little tight, but everything else was really baggy.  According to the scale in bathroom, I’ve lost about 20 lbs. from my original pre-baby weight.  It’ll be interesting to see the clothes that I’ll be able to wear from my original wardrobe.

And then there were three September 7, 2009

Today official marks Julianna’s 1 week birthday.  Wow, I’m not sure where to start… so much has happened in such a compact span of time.

This time last week, Juan and I were in the labor & delivery room and I was hooked up to an IV of the Pitocin.  Generally speaking the birthing process was not as hard as I thought it would be… In typical Robyn-fashion, I’d built up the experience in my mind to be something much larger than it was in reality.

We ended up deciding to take the pain medication & epidural during labor.  I know this is a controversial decision and I really agonized about it, but this decision ended up being a life-saver for me during the pushing phase of labor.   Typically once you start pushing, the baby is delivered within an hour… I ended up pushing for three hours and I believe having reserved my energy early in the labor process probably helped avoid a c-section.

Back to the story – The doctor came in the room to check out the progress of things around 5:00 pm.  My mom & grandfather were in the room visiting.  It was clear that the doctor was expecting to come in take a quick peek and come back in a couple hours…  Surprise!  I was fully dilated & 100% effaced.  Time to start pushing!  Everyone in the room was shocked by this news, Juan and me most of all.  He instantly got on the phone so his mom could get to the hospital ASAP.

Juan was so amazing.  He was by my side the entire time encouraging & supporting me.  I’m so blessed to have such an amazing man in my life.  Going through this experience has strengthened our relationship in ways that I could have never imagined.   I already really loved my husband, but the arrival of our child has demonstrated the depth of his loving & caring nature. (Side note:  On top of dealing with the arrival of  the baby, he has also been gracefully juggling a close relative in the hospital.

That the third hour of pushing was mentally and physically the hardest part of the process.  After the first two hours of pushing, I felt like we had not made any progress in terms of the birth.  I was just waiting for the doctor to call it quits and order a c-section.  At this point, Juan and I brought in reinforcements – my mother.  She joined my cheering section and helped out by pushing on my back while I was pushing during contractions.

At 7:57pm, Julianna Marie Mendez was born weighing 7 lbs 14 oz at 20 1/4 inches long.  There was some concern that her shoulder may have been injured during delivery so she was almost immediately taken to the NICU for an examination… Fortunately, everything was ok and she within 5 mins was released back to the labor & delivery room so I could finally see & hold her.

It was amazing… Love at first sight.  I think this could only happen with your children and maybe your grandchildren.  (The super moms/grandmas are pretty gaga about Julianna also.)  Sitting here now, I’m getting a little misty thinking about how much I love this little girl and our family.

Check out photos of Julianna’s first week

Week 36.9 Update: T-minus 22 hrs & counting August 30, 2009

I’m sitting at my desk for the first time since Thursday.  Juan & Brutus are both still asleep and the house is quiet.  I’m enjoying this last moment of silence.  It’s the calm before the storm.  (I’m tempted to make this moment absolutely perfect by getting myself some hot tea with orange blossom honey, but figure I should resist the caffeine/sugar surge on my last day pregnancy.) 

The last couple days have been a whirlwind of activity preparing for Julianna’s arrival.  Juan ended up taking off this weekend to help out, which I really appreciated.  We spent the day finishing up all our last minute tasks like installing the car seat base,  washing the last loads of baby laundry, cleaning out a space in the kitchen for all the baby necessities and finishing up all the final details in the nursery.  It was weird because I felt like I woke up at 7:00 am, then looked at the clock at it was 1:00 pm, then looked again and it was 10:00 pm.

Our goal was to get as much done yesterday so that we could have a leisurely day today, in preparation for everything that is going to happen next week. 

This goal is a little amusing because I typically do not do “leisurely” very well immediately preceding a huge event.  The planner in me keeps coming up with tasks that I need to accomplish prior to the huge event, or in this case Operation Julie Drop.  Thank goodness I’ve got Juan home to prevent me from acting like a crazed monkey that just broke out of her cage at the zoo.

Today’s task list is pretty low key:  Pick up last minute essentials at Target, meet my parents for lunch, get the car washed, attend session 2 of childbirth class and watch True Blood on TV.   

Tomorrow’s task list:  Go to hospital.  Have a baby.

Week 36.5 Update: The countdown is on! August 27, 2009

Operation Julie Drop is scheduled to commence on Monday, Aug 31, assuming that I don’t go into labor anytime between now and then. 

This news came yesterday following an ultrasound & visit with the doctor.  I became a little suspicious that something was up when the ultrasound technician took the results to her supervisor… then came back with him in tow to redo the ultrasound measurements. 

The ultrasound told us that Baby Julie is still a chunky money with an estimated wieght of over 8 lbs.  Additionally we learned that I’m a little low on amniotic fluid.   The doctor was very concerned about the low fluid levels & a minor increase in blood pressure.  Before she even did the pelvic exam, she casually asked whether I wanted to be induced today or tomorrow.

According to my mother, who accompanied me on this trip, my less-then-eloquent response was, “TOMORROW?  Tomorrow is like Tomorrow!”  In my mind, today completely out of the question… Juan was at work and I had been up since before 6am and was in serious need of a shower before I committed to go into the hospital for a couple days.  After the doctor’s exam confirmed that I was not actually leaking amniotic fluid, she was willing to compromise with me on Monday.

There are several reasons why Monday is great…

1.  It’s not tomorrow
2. Julianna will have officially reached 37 weeks, which is apparently considered full term and the potential for problematic health risks is significantly decreased
3. It gives me the weekend to take care of all the stuff that I need to take care of before she actually arrives… important stuff like cleaning out my closet, getting a hair cut & mani/pedi. 
4. She’ll have an August birthday, which will give us the freedom down the road to decide whether or not she should start school or wait an additional year. 
5. It’s NOT Tomorrow!  At least not yet! 

One more note, I’ve officially stopped working.  My last day was yesterday.  I figured that if I saved up 4.5 weeks of vacation for little Julie that it was ok for me to take 2 days off work to enjoy on my own before her grand arrival.  I realized this morning that I have not taken a day (or half day) off since December when I wasn’t at a doctor’s visit.  Crazy, huh?

Week 36 Update: Prep for Operation Julie Drop August 22, 2009

This week I started having serious Braxton-Hicks contractions, which is my body’s way of working out in prep for the actual birth experience… or “Operation Julie Drop” as my husband would say.

On Thursday afternoon I found myself in the middle of a pretty stressful situation.  In the middle of a call to discuss the stressful situation, I started having contractions.  In 20 mins, I had 3 contractions, the second of which was pretty painful.  In my head I’m thinking, “OMG, Am I about to go into labor right now?”

Thankfully, Juan was sleeping in the next room… I IMed a co-worker that something was going on and hobbled my big self into the bedroom to wake him up.  As I was talking to him, I had another contraction.  We immediately called the nurse at my doctor’s office, who said I was done working for the day and needed to take a hot bath and rest with my feet up until tomorrow.

Things generally settled down.  Juan went to work and My mom brought over some diabetic friendly dinner.  Around 9:00, I had another round of 3 contractions within 9 mins of each other… I’m starting to seriously get concerned that I’m about to go into labor.

The less-than-rational side of me begins to worry that I have not packed a bag for the hospital.  If I really am going to have this baby in the next couple hours, I need to have all my stuff packed.  Then I realize that I have no idea what I should be packing… this is not a business trip so my standard items are probably not the most appropriate for the situation.  I seriously doubt my patent leather pumps will help motivate me to push harder because of their overwhelming cuteness factor.

I call my friend Lindsey (who is another one of my super moms) and she gives me the run down of all the items that I need to include in my bag.  She then starts asking me why I’m calling her so late asking about packing bags for the hospital.  Lindsey’s dad works with Juan so she already knew he was at work.  I fess up to what is going on and she reassures me that everything is ok… and that if my water breaks overnight she’ll come pick me up and take me to the hospital.  (That’s real friendship!) 

Out of this conversation about packing, Lindsey also mentions how important nursing PJs are in the hospital.  I don’t have any nursing PJ’s and seriously doubt that they have any PJs that I could just pick up at the store in my size.  (Read my post about the nightmare of finding plus size maternity clothes.) 

Now I’m thinking, “OMG, I don’t have nursing PJs.  In fact none of my clothes are clean, I need to start the laundry washing RIGHT NOW before the labor gets so bad that I can’t get them in the dry before I have to leave to the hospital.”   

I called my mom and she assured me that the world would not come to an end if I didn’t have a bag packed for the hospital and that I needed to obey the nurse and get my happy self back in bed and relax rather than rush around my house trying to figure out what articles of clothing would be an appropriate substitute for nursing PJs.  She also promised that she would personally help Juan pack my bag, if it was necessary.  As always, she was right.  I got back in bed.

Fortunately, I did not go into labor that night and have made it to Saturday morning with only minor normal contractions.  My hospital bag is now packed with clean clothes and I’ve got some overpriced nursing PJ’s on order for the moment when Operation Julie Drop does commence. 

It’s hard to believe that we are already at this point in the process!  It seems like yesterday that I was complaining about first trimester exhaustion and now I’m about to have a baby.  I’m so excited that Julianna is almost here!