Two Months With Baby Joaquin

My little baby is a whole two months old this week. I can't believe it's already two months, but I can't believe it's only been two months. Know what I mean? Joaquin is growing so fast and when I say fast, I mean chubby. We have his two month check up this week so we'll see how many pounds he's packed on. I'm guessing he's around 13-15 pounds. He's a chunkers and I just love his jiggly legs that look like they have rubber bands all up and down them and his chubby cheeks that I can't stop kissing. He's eating a whopping 4 oz of breast milk or formula each feeding and any less he screams like...well, a baby.

 

Another fav of mine is hearing him coo and ahh throughout the day. Sometimes I'll even get a loud ahh like he's trying to establish his roar as a human being. Primetime for chats and smiles is morning time and it really takes the edge off of my zombie-mommy state. He is a better conversationalist than a lot of people I've encountered and I can just googoo and gaagaa with him all day! It literally melts my heart every time.

And the question on every one's mind, how is baby boy sleeping? I feel so blessed that he is slowly but surely sleeping longer stretches of time during the nights. Since Week 2, we tried establishing a bedtime routine. I knew he wouldn't follow it just yet, but I wanted to create it early on so that all three of us could get used to some kind of bedtime routine.

His Bedtime Routine: We feed him his dinner anywhere from 7:00-9:00 pm depending on when he's hungry. On some nights, we will give him a warm bath and a lotion/baby oil massage. Most of the time he digs his baths but there are certainly those times where he screams his head off, particularly when it's time to rinse his hair. Then, I swaddle him tightly and rock him to sleep in the rocking chair while Hubby reads a bedtime story. We put on the sound machine (Joaquin enjoys the "crashing waves" channel) and he'll either fall right to sleep or he'll wiggle like a worm for about a minute and then fall asleep. He'll wake up around 1:00 or 2:00 am to eat, fall right to sleep and wake up again at around 4:00 or 5:00 am to eat again and try to chat it up, then fall asleep. I don't give in to playing with him at that hour because one, I'm half asleep, and two, I don't want him to think it's play time. He'll sleep again until about 7:00 am and that's when our day officially begins. He's a good napper as well, which has allowed me to nap, clean, or blog during the day. I'm one lucky momma! ::knock on wood::

As for me, the first month was definitely trying and was filled with hormone imbalances, c-section recovery, the lack of sleep, and my battle with breastfeeding. I felt so guilty that I wasn't "loving it" like people expected me to....like I expected to. My mommy friends reassured me that what I  was feeling was normal. The Baby Blues came and went.

But I'm so excited to report that most of that has passed and I truly, wholeheartedly love it. I love my little baby boy to pieces and I just love being a mother. Sure, there is still the lack of sleep (oh, how I miss sleep!), the hormone imbalances (sorry, Hubby), and my battle with breastfeeding pumping, but when I see my little Joaquin smile at me, my heart just melts to the floor. The good moments with my son outweigh the bad. I don't even mind poopy diapers...that has to say something!

As for my body, I am amazed at how resilient it truly is. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still have a few stretch marks, a very ugly c-section scar, and flab in some places I've never had before, but for the most part I am back to normal. My pre-pregnancy weight was about 130 lbs and while I was pregnant, I ate everything in sight and swelled so much from the summer heat that I gained 50+ lbs putting me at about 180 lbs. Right now, I am down to 145 lbs thanks to breastfeeding, my mother's genes, and not having much of an appetite. I've taken a few walks and plan to start some strength training soon. I don't care about losing all the weight, but I want to be fit and strong.

Before. During. After

     

Overall, things are amazing. My son is amazing. My husband is amazing. My dog is amazing. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Baby's First Visit to Santa

I don't remember ever believing in Santa. Maybe I just have a shotty memory and Mom, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember thinking that fat guy was ever real. I blame this on my Kuya (my brother). Very early on, he taught me that Mom and Dad hide presents in their closet or under their beds. (Really,Mom and Dad? You couldn't think of better hiding places?) My brother and I would peruse the house and gawk at the toys we were getting on Christmas from "Santa." Later in life, when I wouldn't have time to search the house for presents because I was to busy playing house, I would shuffle through the presents under the tree and ever so carefully untape one side, maybe the other, and take a little peekaroo. I may or may not have opened a whole present once and rewrapped it afterwards. This rebellious habit lasted well into my 20's. I stopped because I confessed this to my Hubby and he made me promise I would stop doing that. Luckily, we share a bank account now and I can easily see what I get for Christmas. Nanny nanny boo boo! :p

I hope Joaquin doesn't pick up on Mommy's bad habit. I hope he believes in Santa forever. I pray that he doesn't turn out to be one of those first graders I once had that blurted out "Santa isn't real!" I hated those kids and I would scrambled like hell to divert the conversation before the other first graders asked me any questions about it.

So, this Christmas I will start planning. I will start a plan on how to make my son believe in Santa and find good places around the house to hide the presents so Santa's cover is never blown. Joaquin WILL believe... Or he will teach his younger siblings otherwise. Either way, it'll be fun times.

Joaquin's Birth Story

Every mother has their birth story hell that they like to tell over and over....this is mine.

November 9, 2012

Throughout the week leading up to Joaquin's birth, I tried absolutely everything to induce my labor. It was week 40 and I was ready to see my litte Baby. I tried walking, eating pineapple, eating spicy foods, bouncing on my yoga ball, and yes, even sex. All were enjoyable, but didn't work one bit. Everyone kept telling me to be patient and to walk it out and that only made me more irritable because I was wobbling around like a fat seal. I didn't want to be pregnant anymore!

40 weeks and 3 days pregnant

7:00pm- Hubby and I decided we would go on one last date night and relish each other's company. We decided on Thai food (maybe a spicy curry would do the trick?) and movie night, Skyfall looked pretty bad ass.

At dinner, I started to feel some contractions, but I was having Braxton Hicks all week long and didn't think much of it. After dinner, they started to get a little stronger, nothing I couldn't handle, and a lot closer, about 4-6 minutes apart.

8:10pm- As we settled in our seats for the movie, the serious pains started to hit. I could barely shovel popcorn into my mouth and I knew that was a sign. I whispered to Hubs that I was going to the bathroom and would text him if we needed to leave. I spent about 20 minutes pacing the halls and sitting on the lonely benches when I finally gave Hubby the text.

"Ok, come out now."

9:00-11:30pm- My plan was to try and labor at home as long as I can. We live 5 minutes away from the hospital so I knew this was do-able. I spent the next few hours bouncing on the ball, cuddling with Sonic and my hubby, taking warm showers, and watching Mrs. Doubtfire on the tube.

12:00am-This was the point where I couldn't take it anymore. We calmly gathered our things and headed to the hospital. Turns out birthing balls don't fit in the car. We left it behind. We also called our families and they hurried over to wait for Baby to come.


They say that when you're having REAL contractions, it will take your breath away. This is true. Getting from the parking lot to Labor and Delivery took a lot of stops. Each time a contraction would hit, I'd curl up in pain and beg for Hubby to help me. These pains were no joke.

When we got to Labor and Delivery, the doctor checked me and I was only 4 cm dilated and my contractions were growing further and further apart. The pain was still fully intacted though. Nonetheless, they told me to walk around the hallway for an hour to speed things up.

2:35am- Walking helped, my body responded, and I was finally 6 cm. They finally admitted me and we crossed our fingers that everything would go quickly and smoothly.

I should've crossed my toes because from that point on, it neither went quickly nor smoothly.

4:00am- By this time, I was wailing for the epidural. It turns out contractions make you forget everything you've read about, all the Lamaze class tips, and any sort of breathing techniques. Fuck the breathing techniques! I needed the drugs. Oh GOD, I was THAT girl. I am proud for making it all the way to 7 cm without one, but that was only because it took them that long to send the anesthesiologist. Side note, the lady that put my epidural in was a complete meanie. She was impatient and rude. One rude person can ruin your whole experience. Shame.

But, her drugs kicked in and shift changes happened. I got a new anesthesiologist who was a sweetheart and a wonderful nurse and felt much better both emotionally and physically. Hubby and I managed to relax and get in a few catnaps.

6:30am-Doctor came in to check me and I was still sitting at 7 cm. He told me it wasn't good for my body to be contracting for so long without progress and advised me to let him break my water and put in an internal monitor to track my contractions better. I agreed. So much for letting things happen naturally.

8:30am- Still no change so they started me on pitocin to make my contractions closer together. By now my epidural was wearing off and I asked for them to up my dosage. I couldn't believe I was asking for MORE drugs.

For the next few hours, I went in and out of naps, talked out my feelings with my hubby, and watched him struggle as he tried to put a ponytail in my hair. It was then I realized two things, if we have a daughter and she needed him to fix her hair, she would be screwed, and I love my husband more than anything in this world. He was my rock through this whole thing. He has enough strength for the both of us and he did everything he could to make things good for me. I am nothing without him.

12:00pm- finally at 9.5 cm. It was almost time to push. Our family was in the waiting room cheering me on and I was so excited for this to be over. Oh no, Joanna....it's not over yet.

Both sides and all siblings were there.

1:00pm- Time to push! Suddenly, I was so emotional and scared. I cried hystarically to Hubs and was literally shivering with fear. I was scared of the unknown. I ended up pushing for 2 hours straight. Baby would come down and go back up with each push. It was so exhausting. They could see it taking a toll on my body and upped my dosage (again) and let me rest for an hour.


3:00pm- When we started up again, the doctor finally said we needed to try something else. She tried the vaccuum. I never wanted to resort to that, but in the moment, I just wanted my baby out. It didn't work. By then, I was getting a fever and my body was not cooperating. They gave me antibiotics and rushed me to the OR for an emergency C-section. Part of me was sad that I had to get a c-section but I was happy knowing that THIS WAS IT. I was going to see my baby.

The next hour was a blur, mainly because I was drugged up. I could barely keep my eyes open and that made me sad because I wanted to be alert and awake to welcome baby into the world. We told the doctors to tell us right away if it was a boy or girl. This created quite an excited buzz with everyone and added to our surprise at the end. Hubby held my hand as I cried and then it happened, Joaquin was born. When we heard "It's a BOY!" Hubby and I cried. I've never seen Sergio cry. This was so special. He already loved his son so much. It was so emotional for the both of us.

One thing I felt sad about was the absence of the skin to skin right away. I had to wait a few minutes to even see Joaquin and that broke my heart. I didn't even get to hold him until later because I was so drugged up from the surgery. I also ended up hemorraging, which prolonged everything as well.

On the bright side, Joaquin was healthy and that's all we could ask for. He is finally here.

My recovery was definitely challenging and I'll write another post about that soon, but as of now, things are good. Getting used to being a mommy is...taking some getting used to, but I have my husband by my side and a new son to call my own. Ain't life grand?

30 Weeks and How I Broke the News to Family

Don't worry, we didn't wait until 30 weeks to tell our parentals. It just took me 30 weeks to tell this story. I'm so timely, aren't I?

When hubster and I found out we were expecting, many emotions swirled in my worried little head. For awhile there, all I could think about was the chance of miscarrying. I just thought this was too good to be true. I'm a worry wart in that way. This worrisome thought made me question how long I really wanted to wait to tell the people that were close to me. On one hand, I didn't want to tell my family the news just in case something were to go wrong, but on the other, I would need their support and I would WANT their support if something did. So, we decided to go ahead and tell them. I wanted all the love I could get at that moment.

The Set-up: Sergio and I decided we would tell our families over a fancy dinner at one of our favorite places, Panda Inn. (Their Honey Walnut Shrimp is Orgasmic.) It isn't uncommon for our families to meet together for dinner a few times a year, so they didn't really suspect much. We had to tell my brother on another night because he was working. Boo, responsibilities.

The Props: For our mothers, we placed two pacifiers in ring boxes. Who would ever think that anything but jewelry would be in those purdy velvety boxes? They sure didn't. For the dads and siblings, we found cute bibs to gift to them. For Sebby, we bought him a toy that he would later be able to play with his first cousin. We presented each gift in a fancy $1 Target gift bag.

The big happy moment: Before the wonton soup was served, we thanked our families for coming and began to thank our parents for all the love and support they gave us through the years. We told our families that to show our appreciation, we bought them gifts. To throw them for a loop, we told them that they couldn't say that the presents were too expensive and we said these gifts couldn't be returned.

Our moms opened their ring boxes first and to my surprise, my mom started jumping up and down and screamed like a little girl. (I didn't expect her to scream) My MIL cried sweet tears of joy.

Our dads and siblings all beamed with happiness and showered us with hugs.

And Sebby didn't know what to make of the scary fact that a baby was in my belly. We tried explaining it to him in all sorts of ways, then he got distracted with the toy.

Then the Honey Walnut Shrimp was served and I got distracted.... it was a perfect night.

About a month or two later, we told some of Sergio's family via prayer before a dinner one night. Hubby volunteered to say grace and slipped in a special shout out to the Man above for blessing us with a baby. Everyone was squealing with happiness. We couldn't be more blessed.

30 Weeks....Wowza

How far along? 30 weeks. 6-10 more weeks left! Maybe I should pack the hospital bag soon.

Total weight gain: 35+ pounds. I am shameful.

Maternity clothes? My work attire consists of the same 2 pair of work pants, leggings, and jeans with any top that is willing to fit my growing belly. I finally invested in some good work shoes, too.

Stretch marks? I Heart my Burt's Bees Belly Butter

Sleep: Backaches and heartburn is keeping me up all night.

Best moment this week: Getting my new shoes in the mail. I can wear something other than flip flops now. This is big news for my kankles!

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my back, having energy, my ankles, and NOT being swollen.

Movement: Some days Baby is active.

Food cravings: Sees Chocolates and pancakes. Not together, but that's a great idea!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing at the moment
Gender predictions: Even though everyone says boy, I feel like it's a girl.

Labor Signs: Not yet

Symptoms: Major swelling in my legs still, constipation from my Iron supplements (whoo hoo.), moodiness, and major fatigue.

Belly Button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody and stressed from work

Looking forward to: This weekend. Hubby and I are going to stay with my parents and my mom said she'll pamper me so I can relax and de-stress. How awesome is she? She already took my order for what I want to eat!

Good Bye Vacation. You Were SO Good to Me.

Alas, my winter vacation is over. I enjoyed every little drop of it.
Some of my favorite moments:

Seeing my Grandma. She was very ill and came here from the Philippines for medical care. I'm so happy to report that she is strong and doing well. She was doing so well, she asked me A MILLION times if I'm pregnant and if not... why? Then she proceeded to COMMAND Hubby and I to start trying immediately. I love her.

Baby fever in full effect. For now, I will practice holding other people's cute babies.

Hiking with friends. I only went twice, but that is two times more than I have been in the past six months. Winning! I went to Claremont Wilderness Park with some of my yoga/teacher buddies and then I went for a REAL hike with Hubby and his co-workers. I say "REAL" because this one required climbing, getting duuurty, seeing a coyote, and almost dying of butt cramps. I believe that constitutes as a real hike, no? We also brought Sonic along and he actually made it out alive!

We quickly recovered from our long hike with a couple of good eats! Can't get any better than that!

And tired puppy Sonic recovered with a long nap on the car ride home...or was that me? I don't recall.

Experimenting with new recipes! I've been in the kitchen making my very own recipes. I feel like a mad scientist in my kitchen except I'm not mad, but extremely content. Isn't it weird how food can make you feel like that? I can't wait to share them with you. I have 2 that I will post asap! Get ready to cook some delicious meals!

Stay tuned, friends!

The Vacation of Champions

Belated Merry Christmas, readers! I hope you had a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends, and lots of yummy food.

I am on Winter Vacation and loving every second of it. I have been busy with baking, cooking, and spending time with my family.

Blogging has always been in the back of my head, but truth be told, I really wanted to take a break and just ENJOY life. I heard a comedian once say that if Jesus Christ appeared out of the sky, we would all be on our phones trying to take a picture, or tweeting it, or Facebooking it instead of enjoying and experiencing that joyous occasion. So, instead of living through my camera, cooking with my camera, and eating through my camera, I decided that I wanted to fully enjoy my Christmas through these brown eyes of mine. And that I have been.....

However, I have been Instagraming a bit in lieu of blogging. So if you have Instagram... add me (missjoanna17). I will definitely add you because I LOVE looking at pictures of random things through different types of lenses.

So, here is my break in a nutshell thus far....

I won The Avid Appetite's blog giveaway! I received her yummy treats and just like that....everything was in my tummy!

I also cooked and baked a TON! And just like that.... everything was in my tummy!

Christmas Empanadas

And of course, there were presents. Amazing presents. My family knows me so well.

This vacation is delicious!

• How was your Christmas? Tell me what you got! I'm nosey like that.

 

My Blogiversary

One year ago I started this crazy little blog thing. I kept it private for about a month before I let the little beast run wild and free on the internets. At first, some of my family and friends questioned why I would even want to do such a thing. And in good mommy fashion, my mom was worried that someone would cook my recipes, stalk me, and find me to cut me up into pieces...or something like that. Regardless, I kept on going, starting Project Wifey Wife, continuing my Zelda quest for my "princess" named Healthy McHealthiness, and joining the fun of Bloggerworld.

Check it out!

I never revealed this, but I wanted to blog because my life was a little topsy turvy with being a newlywed, struggling with my job, and considering a career change. These changes were enough for me to throw up my arms and say "CURSES!" or something else that started with an F. This blog became my comfort. I've always been a journal person, heck, I even had a diary in 1st grade (which I forgot the combination to and haven't been able to open since 4th grade). I had a Xanga in college and continued to keep a handwritten one near my bed. Writing is a friend of mine, for sure.


My first header

This blog is my pride and joy. Even with the horrible spelling mistakes and grammar fumbles, (Did I mention I'm a teacher... I... is... so ...smarte!) and the time I let pass between each post (don't look down at the last time) I thank you, reader, for reading about my life and leaving sweet comments. To my friends and family, who now give me so much encouragement, Thank you. And of course, To The Man, The Mister, the Hubby Hub to my Wifey Wife, Thank you for always encouraging me to blog...AND you're welcome for all the food.

Here's to another year....


To celebrate I will cook my first Project Wifey Wife meal:
Boeuf Bourguignon

And just like the first time, I will forget to post the recipe.....maybe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week, I had my students make a poster of things that they were thankful for. To show them what I expected, I made an example showing my own. (Please excuse my crappy drawings!)  It was nice to put down on paper just a few of the things I am so thankful for.I felt like a kid again.

I thank the Lord for all these things.....

I am so thankful for my family and all the love that they show me and for being the source of comfort and happiness in my life. I have the best parents in the world, a brother that I can call one of my best friends, my nephew who is so stinkin' cute, and my husband who is all of these things and more, wrapped up into a handsome little package. I love you!

I am so thankful for all of my friends and for all the happiness and laughter that they bring me. My friends from back home, my college friends,  my bunco girls, my yoga girls,

my blogger friends, and my co-workers Thank you.  

Ruff Ruff! That means I love you in pup talk.

Lord, thank you for providing my family with everything we need.

I am very thankful that I have a job this year,

 one that I  love and can show passion for once again.

I am thankful for each one of my students, past and present.

I am so thankful for all of the blessings in my life, great and small.

I am thankful for YOU!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Now LET'S EAT!