Fiona has visitors!

5 Days Old

Fiona had a busy weekend.  On Saturday, we got her all dressed up to meet her family.  She is still such a little peanut that most of her newborn outfits are a little big.  Even still, we tried to get some nice pictures of her before company arrived.  When company arrived they came in droves.  She met all of her aunts, uncles, and cousins, having lunch with cousin Claire and dinner with cousins Grace, Maddie, Luke, and Bridget.  Plus, Aunt Mary came to visit on Sunday and brought her some adorable outfits including one that we look forward to showing off at my cousin Emily's wedding in May. 

Fortunately, we have started to cue into Fi's needs prior to her visitors.  She is eating well, and we are figuring out her sleep schedule.  It's like we are really parents.  At least Pandora radio seems to think so.  Tim and I stopped dead in our tracks today when we noticed advertising had switched to tell us about sales on kids' clothing at Babies "R" Us.  Thank you data mining?

Purely Delightful Firsts

Enjoying the Rock-n-Play

Fiona has been doing terrific since she has been home.  She hasn't taken to the cradle quite yet, but she is still sleeping well either in our arms or in the Rock-n-Play (thank you Anna).  She is also being very patient with me while we figure out feedings.  

On Thursday, we had her first appointment with the pediatrician for a weight check.   She's lost a little more weight since birth, making her even more of a wee one, but the loss was within the normal range.    

She also had her first bath Thursday night, which was my favorite first so far.  We were preparing ourselves for a screamfest, but she was extremely calm throughout the whole bath. I loved drying her off with those adorable hooded towels we received (thank you again Cornelison's and McShane's).  She promptly peed all over the towel, though I will take that as a sign that bath time was a relaxing success.  

Post-bath

Our other first was a walk in town on this beautiful Friday.  She loved her stroller (thank you Aunt Mary and Aunt Judy).  Fi was a bit wide-eyed at first, but she conked out pretty quickly and slept during most of our one-hour outing.  We are looking forward to more firsts and gorgeous days like today.      

Welcome Fiona Jane Grenko!

Fiona didn't make us wait too much longer, perfecting the art of being fashionably late already.  She was born at 11:00pm on April 22 and lives up to the name Wee Baby Grenko, weighing in at just 7 pounds and 20 inches long.

Immediately Post-Delivery

Labor started Sunday night, although I was able to sleep through the contractions, and I wasn't sure if it was real or not at that point.  Things got real when I noticed the contractions coming every 6 to 7 minutes consistently Monday morning.  By the afternoon, I was trying to sing myself through the contractions.  As a contraction began, I focused on singing the lyrics of whatever song was playing and dancing around.  Tim described it as bad karaoke at a dive bar at 3am because I made up lyrics if I didn't know them or mumbled the tune loudly if there weren't lyrics at the moment a contraction was peaking.  It wasn't pretty but it worked for me.  By the time we got to the hospital, I was 5 to 6 centimeters dilated, which they were very happy with.  I got checked in and admitted to a delivery room immediately.  At this point I had started a new method of pain management: saying the ABCs through out contractions. I don't know where I got this idea, but it was something rote that I could focus on repeating over and over without thinking.  It seems ridiculous now (and even then) but it helped me make it through the birth sans epidural so I won't question it.

Fiona is just perfect and was fortunate to spend a lot of time with loved ones already.  Grandma, Grandpa, and Nana spent most of the day at the hospital with us on Tuesday, and Papa visited us tonight at home.  We expect more visitors this weekend, but for now, Tim, Fi, and I are resting at home.  We have tons of photos of Fiona, but I haven't had time to upload them all yet so stay tuned.

And we wait some more...

 

Still no Baby.  Tim said that I am "in collusion" with Baby to keep things between the two of us; essentially, not sharing Baby with Daddy.  First, who uses the word collusion at 7am on Sunday morning?  Cahoots maybe, but collusion?  Anyway, I can say with certainty that I am as eager as Tim to meet him or her.  We are finding it more and more difficult to keep our minds off the waiting game.  Tim is starting a tab for Baby given all the the unnecessary shopping we did this weekend while waiting.  My theory on the delay is that Baby wanted to be a Taurus and not an Aries.  That is fine by me since a Taurus baby is supposed to be affectionate and cuddly; plus Taurus is a compatible sign for both me (Pisces) and Tim (Virgo).  Interestingly, I read that "Taurus children aren't hurried. In fact, they're downright slow--which you as a parent will need to adjust for in your scheduling."  That totally explains things, right?  You can tell I am grasping at straws when I resort to (and quote) astrology websites.

And we wait...

It's a bit melodramatic, but that cartoon sums up my feelings two days post-due date.  I feel particularly disappointed because things seemed to be moving along Wednesday night.  I started having contractions that were consistent and got shorter over time (going from 10 minutes to 7-8 minutes), but they became erratic Thursday morning and eventually stopped.  Tim stayed home with me on Thursday, but the greatest excitement of the day was the extraction of a less cuddly blood-sucking parasite from my body: a tick!  From my exclamation of surprise and disgust, you might have thought my water broke.  It is the first time I've had a tick since I was little, when my dad would check my hair for them after being in the woods.  Ironically, Tim and I had talked about the need to check Baby for ticks during our walk in the Water Gap.  We should have heeded our own advice.

Due date has arrived, Baby has not

Due Date Walk

Today is the tentative day: the due date.  Unless labor and delivery goes extremely fast, it looks like I will be going past my due date like many others.  At our appointment today, the midwife said I am still doing well, although she scheduled me for a fetal non-stress test on Monday to make sure Baby is fine to wait things out a bit longer.  We will talk induction next week if necessary.  Hopefully, it won't come to that since we are definitely ready for Baby now.  Laundry is done, the nursery rug arrived, and I am even within 100 pages of finishing The Fountainhead.  Tim and I took a 3-mile walk in the Water Gap after my appointment to try to coax Baby out.  It was gorgeous, and we took every opportunity to tell Baby that he or she will enjoy these walks much more outside of belly.  Time will tell how convincing we were.  

 

Nesting

Week 39

Baby gave us another weekend to continue our preparations.  We stocked up on groceries, cooked more meals to freeze, cleaned like crazy, ordered a rug, and hung pictures in the nursery.  Everyone seems to be on baby alert already, but rest assured that there is no news on that front yet.  The consensus seems to be that a Thursday birth would be most convenient.  Tim made just three sandwiches for work this week (one a day through Wednesday) in anticipation.  We will see how Baby cooperates with that plan.  Thursday, April 18, 2013 sounds like a good birthday to me though since it follows a chain of other important dates: April 16, 2005 the date Tim and I "officially" started dating and April 17, 2010 the day we got engaged. 

 

One week to go?

Tim painting

It is just one week until my due date.  During today's appointment, the doctor said I am doing great.  While there aren't any drastic changes to report, she said that doesn't mean much since everyone's body reacts differently.  I just have to be patient . . . and nest.  We have been stocking the freezer with home-cooked meals and cleaning as much as possible.  The cradle has been set up in our room for a while now, but Tim put together the crib in the nursery too.  Other than that, we are just trying to relax, take it easy, and work on some Pinterest-inspired artwork.  The great weather this week has helped keep me calm.  The thunderstorm tonight isn't so bad either.  

So long NYC...for now at least

Empire State Building from 7th Avenue

I commuted to Manhattan for the last time pre-baby this past Thursday.  Although the doctor said I have a ways to go, the mere possibility of my water breaking on NJTransit was enough to dissuade me from continuing the commute.  Plus Baby's feet are really starting to jab me in the ribs when I sit too long on the train.  Fortunately, I can continue working right up until my due date from the comfort of home.  It will help me get away with my limited maternity wardrobe too.  I'm extremely tired of wearing the same pants and shirts, but I refuse to buy anything new at this point.  I am pretty sure that I am beginning to feel Braxton Hicks contractions, and the pressure in my pelvis and pains in my upper thighs seem to indicate that Baby is moving south. Maybe I will be out of maternity cloths soon! 

   

"She's Gotten Big"

Week 37 in OCNJ

...That was my Dad's response to seeing me over the weekend.  He is right though.  I may have been measuring small a couple weeks ago, but I caught up and am most definitely feeling pregnant.  We had a nice Easter down at the shore.  They are busy at work building up our beach post-Sandy as you can see from the diggers in the background of this picture.  It was odd to realize that this was our last visit to Ocean City, NJ without Baby.  This won't be the summer for Baby to enjoy much of the actual beach, but I'm sure we will spend a good deal of time strolling the boardwalk.

Today we had our weekly doctor's appointment.  It is officially two weeks to my due date, and so far, no signs of progress.  My instinct has been that I will have the baby before my due date, but that may just be optimistic thinking on my part.