Lucia's First Easter

Easter was pretty quiet for us...Rafa's family left two days before so it was just us 3 for most of the day.  Later we went to visit Olimpia for a delicious Easter dinner.  We were able to spend and nice couple of hours with her and Pawel and of course my favorite 10 year old Daniel.  It was a nice evening!

Lucia Kate does not, I repeat, does not like her fancy dresses....not yet anyway : )

Olimpia and Lucia Kate...

Delish dinner!

Olimpia and Pawel....

Daniel is a pro with babies, he knew exactly how to hold Lucia and was even singing to her to get her to relax...so sweet!

Figueira Family Visits Us...I mean Lucia Kate : )

Rafa's family came in from Brasil, his mom and sister for 3 weeks and his dad and brother for a week.  It was great having everyone here, especially Etna, Rafa's mom.  She was so helpful to us in the beginning days of having Lucia with us, I can't thank her enough for all the meals she prepared, the cleaning, and of course all the baby holding she did : )  It was sad to see everyone go, but if we don't see everyone again in the fall, we will definitely see them for Christmas and New Years...it will be Lucia's first trip home to Brasil!

Etna and Raquel at the hospital for a visit...

Out and about at Mcmenamins Edgefield and The Old Spaghetti Factory....

Tio Gu e Lucia Kate...

Can you see the joy on their faces?  I sure can....

Lucia Kate 4.21.11

So many pictures and videos of our sweet Lucia Kate...just not enough time to post them all!  For now, here she is at 12 days old....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytdA4gTWwdU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Daddy's Girl

Daddy likes to have tummy time with you in the mornings...you two snuggle up and fall asleep and snore together as if you were one.  And there is no doubt that your daddy's eyes have graced your beautiful face...

Tears of Happiness

Sometimes you'll catch me gazing at Lucia, with tears in my eyes.  No, I am not sad.  I am incredibly happy. I will never be able to describe in words the feelings she has brought to my life.  And one things for sure, I cant stop kissing those cheeks and her eyes, and her ears, fingers and toes....the list goes on and on and on....

Solve It...New family Edition

Since Rafa and I moved into our neighborhood, we have taken part of the Solve It event to help clean up our streets.  This year was no exception.  So with Rafa's mom and sister in tow, and baby Lucia strapped to my front, we cleaned up trash.  It was a cool brisk morning, but at least it was dry and Lucia was asleep the entire time...pretty cozy those moby wraps!  We look forward to many more volunteer events with our baby girl.

Bright Eyes

It seems you have my curiosity already and daddy's big and beautiful brown eyes.  Since day one, you have been so alert and bright eyed.  Even during your photo shoot at 5 days old, the photographer could not believe how alert you were for 3 hours.  You are an Aries after all : )  While you may one day be giving us a run for our money with all that energy, it's when you open your eyes and gaze at the World that I feel so much hope for you.

 

Feet that Pray

Since your birthday, your little feet and legs stay curled like this....I imagine that this is how you laid comfortably in my tummy all those months.  It's so nice to meet you little Lucia.

Birth Story

As you all know, I was completely terrified to be induced. But in the end everything happened as it should and now we are blessed with Lucia Kate...the most perfectly precious, amazing, wonderful, and lovely little human I will ever know in my whole life.

We went into the hospital at 1201am on Saturday morning April 9th to be induced.  When I got hooked to the contractions monitor, we realized I was already having contractions on my own, I just didn't know it.  But we went ahead and put in a cervix softener to see if that would trigger stronger and more frequent contractions.  But that didn't work.  So my doctor came in at 8am in the morning and stripped my membranes (broke my water) and from about 830am until 230pm I had some major bring you to your knees contractions.  However, when the nurses checked my cervix at 230pm, I hadn't dilated past 2cm, which is what was at when I entered the hospital. That was pretty disappointing.  Our nurse Mary kindly suggested that if in 4 hours, I hadn't dilated more that I might want to consider an epidural.  At that point, I was in so much pain, I decided for the epidural right then.  I was so scared to get it that I was shaking.  While it took my pain away by about 330pm, the loss of feeling in my legs, combined with increased heart rate, and the worry about my daughter did not allow me to feel like I could sleep or rest.  The good news was that at about 6pm, I was dilated to an 8pm and we were on our way!  I couldn't believe it and thought the nurse had to be wrong!  At that point though, I stopped dilating at 8 cm and the doctor suggested I get a tiny bit of pitocin to encourage stronger and faster contractions.  I agreed.  By 730pm, little Lucia was already crowning, and then everything happened at lightening speed. The room was all set up, the mirror brought in so I could see the birth, the doctor arrived, and I began pushing at about 750pm.  I pushed about 10 times and little Lucia was born at 812pm!    The nurses and doctor called me the Super Star Pusher for how fast and controlled I was able to be.

There is not one thing I would change about my labor and delivery.  Not a thing.  Rafa and I made all the decisions together, I was able to feel true labor, was able to feel in control of my decisions and of me pushing her out, and in the end, was blessed with a beautiful baby girl.

The nurses at Good Sam hospital were amazingly supportive, kind, loving, informed, and attentive.

And....Rafa was a perfect partner; supportive, encouraging, loving, kind, and I could feel his strength at every moment.  I could not have done this alone, for he is a big part of why my labor and delivery was so smooth.

Here are a few photos...

Bump on the belly and along the road...

It's cathartic for me to write, so here it goes.  I have been 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced for three weeks. My last appointment on Tuesday, I bumped up a whopping one cm.  I am thinking great, success and a bit of progress!.  Let's keep plugging along!   Not so fast.  After my elation, the midwife brings up that my doctor would want to induce me by 41 weeks, which would be next Wednesday the 13th.  Huh?  What did she mean?  I though I had another two weeks to have this baby?  Isn't 42 weeks the magic number?  Not 41?  I mean that's like years of time.  And then surprise again, once I talked to my doctor yesterday, learned that she wants to induce me on Friday night to Saturday morning.  Hold the press....first thought I had two weeks, then one, and now 3 days?  And just like that, in my whole cool  perfectly normal 10 months being pregnant, I now felt terrified, sad, disappointed, and like a complete failure.

And the tears haven't stopped yet.

10 months of anticipation, has accumulated into these last few moments, the possibility that I could be induced, the reality that I AM going to have a baby, and the reality that I will be a mom come this Saturday.  All of sudden everything is going too fast and I don't feel ready.

Life doesn't always happen how we hope, and I am sure this wont be the first time I am confronted with these feelings while embracing my role as mother.

I wish for only one thing...that my baby girl is safe and healthy no matter how she graces herself into the World.

Te amo menina.