Eleanor's mom and younger sister were kind enough to spend their two week vacation helping us care for Isabella. Her mom, a professional daycare specialist, took to the task at hand with gusto. Right from the get go we introduced them to the world of soiled diapers and late night feedings.
Monday, November 27, 2006
It was nice to have some family around during our first Thanksgiving and despite El's insistence I still wanted to prepare somethings for the holiday. I kept it pretty simple with just the basics feeding 5. What's on menu this year? Ginger citrus glazed turkey and stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes; greenbeans and mushrooms with roasted whole garlic; sauteed aspargus, zucchini, squash and carrots; and finishing with homemade sweet potato pie a la mode. Simple and fairly quick if you compare it to Thanksgivings I've done in the past.
Food was great and the red wine made everyone go into a trance. BUT I was determined to do more holiday things. It's traditional at my crib to buy a tree and commence the decorating fro Christmas, but the tryptophan kicked in before we got more done. We got as far as bringing down the decor from the attic and putting up the Christmas lights outside before we called it a night.
The next morning we had brunch at the Celebration diner and then proceeded to pick up where we left off the night before. Before long the tree was. The next couple of days were spent by El tweaking out the details of the house. Tonight the house is completely done and El is passed out in bed to nap before our nighttime vigil with Isa begins anew...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Isa.
It's been over a week since her birthday. There's so much to learn about being a parent and so much more to experience. We're doing our best to soak in every new learning experience and not take things too seriously. Are we nervous about every sneeze she makes? Is she too bundled up? Is she eating too little or too much?
In this short week we've learned so much about this little person who has consumed so much of our lives in the blink of an eye. We know her different cries. We know what small things soothe her. Today I felt like she's starting to know my face and voice. Every moment seems to be a polaroid moment.
Through all the all night crying sprees and soiled diapers she's still a cutie. She makes me laugh with her different faces of frustration. I look at her sometimes and study her face. The nose and eyes are mine. The mouth I suspect is El's (she debates me on that). I even know how she got dry skin. She definitely sleeps deep like her mother. She's absolutely a product of El and I.
I can't wait for those moments when she first laughs or learns to walk or call out for "Dad". It's still hard to imagine that this person is in my life. Corny and cliched I know. Things will definitely change, but I know it'll be for the better and will make me a better person. Patience, understanding and self sacrifice. I'm ready.
Even Bailey, as needy as he usually is, has learned who she is and is quickly learning his place in the family ("no jumping onto the bed, you can smell her feet only, don't lick her face") and sacrificed his beloved place at the foot of the bed to learn to sleep in his new bed by the door. He doesn't even bark when she cries. What a smart dog.
I don't mean to bore you or sound like a Hallmark card, but I'm stunned by her. She'll be a handful, but I can hardly contain my excitement when I think about the person she will grow up to be one day.
In this short week we've learned so much about this little person who has consumed so much of our lives in the blink of an eye. We know her different cries. We know what small things soothe her. Today I felt like she's starting to know my face and voice. Every moment seems to be a polaroid moment.
Through all the all night crying sprees and soiled diapers she's still a cutie. She makes me laugh with her different faces of frustration. I look at her sometimes and study her face. The nose and eyes are mine. The mouth I suspect is El's (she debates me on that). I even know how she got dry skin. She definitely sleeps deep like her mother. She's absolutely a product of El and I.
I can't wait for those moments when she first laughs or learns to walk or call out for "Dad". It's still hard to imagine that this person is in my life. Corny and cliched I know. Things will definitely change, but I know it'll be for the better and will make me a better person. Patience, understanding and self sacrifice. I'm ready.
Even Bailey, as needy as he usually is, has learned who she is and is quickly learning his place in the family ("no jumping onto the bed, you can smell her feet only, don't lick her face") and sacrificed his beloved place at the foot of the bed to learn to sleep in his new bed by the door. He doesn't even bark when she cries. What a smart dog.
I don't mean to bore you or sound like a Hallmark card, but I'm stunned by her. She'll be a handful, but I can hardly contain my excitement when I think about the person she will grow up to be one day.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
An Early Delivery From The Stork...
If you're ever in the unique position of about to have your first child and thinking you can knock back a couple of drinks at the bars with the fellas a week before she is due to celebrate what's left of your
social life - DON'T. You don't want to be that guy racing home at 2:00am after 2 beers, 3 Jack and Cokes and a shot of Happy Time and stinking of cigarettes to pick up your wife after you've hosed off in the shower to drive her to the hospital as her contractions are
only 5 minutes apart. Don't be THAT guy.
With that being said El and I were at Winter Park Hospital where we were checked in quickly and given a birthing room for her to change into and me to unload our baggage - literally. As soon as we got there her contractions had shortened to 4 minutes apart and I was feeling excited that our big day had arrived, although one week early. After an hour her contractions were hurting her so much she was literally wanting to drop her knees. Where was the damn anesthesiologist???
social life - DON'T. You don't want to be that guy racing home at 2:00am after 2 beers, 3 Jack and Cokes and a shot of Happy Time and stinking of cigarettes to pick up your wife after you've hosed off in the shower to drive her to the hospital as her contractions are
only 5 minutes apart. Don't be THAT guy.
With that being said El and I were at Winter Park Hospital where we were checked in quickly and given a birthing room for her to change into and me to unload our baggage - literally. As soon as we got there her contractions had shortened to 4 minutes apart and I was feeling excited that our big day had arrived, although one week early. After an hour her contractions were hurting her so much she was literally wanting to drop her knees. Where was the damn anesthesiologist???
An hour and a half later he arrived to give her an Epidural Anesthesia. 20 minutes later she was golden. She couldn't even feel them anymore and was soon chatting on the phone spreading the good news to her family. I, on the other hand, was completely wiped out from working outside all morning through the night until the guys thought it a good idea to have a few drinks downtown. It was around 5:30am and only the rush of excitement kept me sober and awake. That and they knowledge that El was in excruciating pain. By the time she got her epidural and in good spirits I commenced to pass the hell out until about 8:30 am as the new nursing shift changed and burst through our doors to run more tests. Screw it - I may as well get up and gear up for the big day.
I thought Isa was going to be born that morning- maybe 9 or 10am. Not so. The epidural slowed down the dilating and contractions considerably and prolonged the whole process even more. By this time Dr. Dukes let El know she had dilated 8cm and was waiting for Isa to drop more. This was the home stretch and El was stoked. So was I.
By 12:15 I was growing impatient and bored. TV can only entertain for so long and it was quite obvious that no one cared if I was there or not. El was the center of attention and rightfully so. A lot of things ran through my mind in preparation. In LaMaze classes I thought it too graphic to watch the actual labor and the discharge of the placenta. Was there going to be blood and gore everywhere? What kind of weird smells was I to expect?
Apparently, while I dozed off Dr. Dukes gave El some Pitocin to further encourage the final stages of labor and by 12:30 it was game time. Dr. Dukes started her off with some light pushing to get her going, but it took nearly three hours to finally get somewhere
interesting - the crowning of Isa's head. All I could see was some hair from her little head. Because if the epidural, though, El had a hard time feeling Isa moving down and visualizing what she had to do to get the job done so a mirror was brought in. This helped eventually and once she saw the top of Isa's head she was a woman on a mission. A half hour of focused pushing and Isa slid out - conehead and all.
Like I said earlier, I didn't know what to expect and thought I'd hang by El's upper torso for moral support. This all changed as Dr. Dukes encouraged me to see the crowning of Isa's head. There was no weird smells. There was no gore and blood everywhere. All I saw was my little girl trying to get out and that was encouragement enough to keep me cheerleading for El to keep going.
interesting - the crowning of Isa's head. All I could see was some hair from her little head. Because if the epidural, though, El had a hard time feeling Isa moving down and visualizing what she had to do to get the job done so a mirror was brought in. This helped eventually and once she saw the top of Isa's head she was a woman on a mission. A half hour of focused pushing and Isa slid out - conehead and all.
Like I said earlier, I didn't know what to expect and thought I'd hang by El's upper torso for moral support. This all changed as Dr. Dukes encouraged me to see the crowning of Isa's head. There was no weird smells. There was no gore and blood everywhere. All I saw was my little girl trying to get out and that was encouragement enough to keep me cheerleading for El to keep going.
I know it's so cliched to say it, but this was probably one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. After she was born the doc offered me the cord to cut. I accepted wholeheartedly. After which Isa was rushed over to the awaiting "fry warmer" to get wiped down, weighed, footprinted and measured.
Our stay at Winter Park Hospital was great in the day and brutal at night. It's true about parents experiencing some hardcore sleep deprivation, but by night two we had a decent system that seemed to work. El's job was the nursing and comforting of Isa and mine was the comforting of El. I know I felt helpless to do anything to make Isa feel safe, so I did what I could.
I, at least, had the luxury of being able to drive out once in awhile to run errands and shower at home. I made my time at the hospital count and did what I could so El could have some time to herself, eat a good meal (hospital food is terrible so I offered to pickup anything and everything she wanted) and feel like a human again with a hot shower.
***NEWS FLASH***
For three days we had been concerned that Isabella had not had a decent poop at all. We knew this was crucial to her body kickstarting itself and I was starting to panic and telling El we needed to call the pediatrician today. She had been crying all day and night for the past three days. By lunch El decided to take a long shower and relax. Meanwhile, Isa had finally been coaxed into a nice quiet nap in her new crib when she started to cry out. Was she hungry AGAIN? Did she wet herself? Was she hot? Nope. She pooped. A quick check in the diapers checked out to be a huge, blacky sticky mess and I couldn't have been any happier. Once again, most people would think it's gross until it's actually one of your own kids and you fully appreciate it and not wig out.
I was so happy I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty and her cleaned up and in new clothes. A quick dance around the den with my little girl and waltz into the bedroom to inform mom that we didn't need to cal the doctors anymore. And in true comic timing she pooped again. "Thanks for the poop, Isa! You're making me happy!"
She sleeps better now. Eats only every 2-3 hours instead of every 45 minutes to an hour. She doesn't cry as much. And she generally seems much more comfortable. I love her.
For three days we had been concerned that Isabella had not had a decent poop at all. We knew this was crucial to her body kickstarting itself and I was starting to panic and telling El we needed to call the pediatrician today. She had been crying all day and night for the past three days. By lunch El decided to take a long shower and relax. Meanwhile, Isa had finally been coaxed into a nice quiet nap in her new crib when she started to cry out. Was she hungry AGAIN? Did she wet herself? Was she hot? Nope. She pooped. A quick check in the diapers checked out to be a huge, blacky sticky mess and I couldn't have been any happier. Once again, most people would think it's gross until it's actually one of your own kids and you fully appreciate it and not wig out.
I was so happy I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty and her cleaned up and in new clothes. A quick dance around the den with my little girl and waltz into the bedroom to inform mom that we didn't need to cal the doctors anymore. And in true comic timing she pooped again. "Thanks for the poop, Isa! You're making me happy!"
She sleeps better now. Eats only every 2-3 hours instead of every 45 minutes to an hour. She doesn't cry as much. And she generally seems much more comfortable. I love her.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
And The Nesting Begins...
These last couple of week weeks have been anxious for me. A lot has happened. I've started the new gig doing design/animation for The Golf Channel and the hours are very different (12PM-9PM Sunday -Thursday). Plus, I have to learn a whole new software package (Adobe AfterEffects). The guys have been great - very helpful and supportive. I'm learning something new everyday and pretty wired to get to actual show package designing, but I know that'll take time before I learn all the new tools and skills. I'll have to slide in some shots of my new crew when I get a chance.
The real anxiety has been the daily countdown to El's big day. Dr. Knight projected her due date at November 17th, but personally I think she won't make it past this week. She looks ready to burst. All week friends and family have been calling us to check on our progress. Even my cousins, Lester and Mark, in the Philippines periodically check up thru IM to get the latest.
This past weekend was spent "nesting" for Isa's arrival. Car seat installed? Check! House cleaned top to bottom? Check! Bags packed? Check! Isa's room squared away? Check! We're ready for the most part. A HUGE thank you to all our friends and family here in Orlando, Charleston, and afar for all the fantastic gifts. It was very generous of all of you.
Happy Halloweiners!
Halloween here in Orlando is a BIG deal. Lately the idea has been to have someone throw a costume party at their place and then everyone heads off to downtown to where the real shenanigans go on.
Ed and Erin hosted this year's costume party and did a great job decorating the condo. Cutouts in the windows, brainy food and great costumes. They spent a good bit putting that together. I know how hard it is to put together a shindig so I truly appreciate their efforts. After hanging out at the casa we made our way as a group to downtown.
Actually it's just a chance to see hot girls half naked out on the street. The OPD close off Orange Avenue so Halloween revelers can wander and see what clever costumes have made it out. It's typical to see the Hot Policewoman, Hot Schoolgirl, Hot and once in awhile you get to see something truly unique and original.
Magnum, Larry Bird, Hibachi Chef in Training, and Pseudo-Maverick
Originally uploaded by erickpineda527.
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