Growing Up Too Fast

I have heard it so many times now - "They grow up so fast," and it's so true. Bebe is so big and is about to outgrow her carseat. Already, after 8 weeks of life, Bebe has grown up so fast. I know this sounds corny, and it could be the hormones, but it makes me cry. I think God should've made our childhood last longer, maybe even double its time, especially now that people are living well into their 80s now. I mean, think about it... adulthood is way longer than childhood, does that make any sense? :)

Bebe is really starting to make new sounds now. Instead of the sound of crying similar to what we heard when she came out of the womb, now it's shorter spurts of cries. Then there's the coo'g, of course. Thinking back on when we first brought her home, it definitely has gotten easier, just like everyone who's done this before said it would.


The Night Before Bebe's Birth Day
On the evening of July 13th, my water broke. Catherine, Mom-n-law, came on July 11th to help us and I definitely would not have been able to get through it all without her. Dr. Stubbs told us that we would have to have an emergency cesarian due to shoulder dystocia since Bebe's size was above average throughout the pregnancy. He scheduled it for July 14th. On the night before, I got everything packed and ready to go before laying down to sleep. It was after midnight when I laid next to Mike and turned on the light to read a little before dozing off. Not minutes later, I felt a "gush" and immediately thought, "My water broke!" I got up quickly and gasped as I ran for the bathroom. Mike woke up and asked me if I was ok. I told him, "I think my water broke!" I sat calmly on the toilet seat and showed Mike the "plug" that we're supposed to look for when a woman's water breaks. As I sat there, Mike walked over to Catherine's room and woke her up. She came in and calmly talked to me. We then called the doctor's office.

The nurse on the phone told us to go to the hospital. I must have gone back to the toilet three times because the water came out in spurts. We got into the 4-runner and I sat in the front seat, Mike drove, Catherine in the backseat. I had a pad on underneath me to catch the water and I even loaded it with a couple of hand towels. Half way there, it really started to come out and thankfully, although very soaked, the towels helped tremendously! We just couldn't believe that Dr. Stubbs guessed the right date of Bebe's arrival. Mike was driving so slow, Catherine commented on his driving because he slowed down at a yellow light in the middle of the night! Catherine was like, "Run that!" I wasn't in any pain, felt some contractions, but it was nothing really painful, so I told Mike not to worry. Dr. Stubbs even told us a long time ago that even though we lived in Lehigh, 45 minutes away from the hospital, it wouldn't be a problem.

We got to the hospital (Health Park of Ft. Myers) at about 230AM and at first, we weren't sure of where to go. Mom was nervous because she talked to Ethyl, Mike's grandmother (who's formerly a OBGYN Nurse and has delivered her fair share of babies!), and whatever Ethyl explained to her really had her worried. I signed us in and sat in a room. The nurse checked to see how dilated I was. It was about 3 cm, I think. She said that another doctor other than Dr. Stubbs would be delivering the baby. I wasn't happy to hear that at all because our scheduled appointment was at 730AM. I asked if there was any chance that we could wait until Stubbs was available. I already knew of women being in labor for hours, sometimes days, before actually having to push. I also knew that after one's water breaks, you have 24 hours to get the baby out or otherwise face the risk of infection to the baby. The nurse left, and when she came back, she said that they were going to move me to a room where I would wait until my scheduled time and Stubbs would be the doctor. I was happy to hear that. The nurse gave me something to slow down the contractions. I felt really relaxed.

I could see that Mike was really tired, he needs his sleep. We went from sleeping 8-10 hour nights and now, our lives would change forever, especially our sleep schedule. Looking back on that night, I remember it as if it was last night. I'll never forget it. Mike was so supportive and loving. He did everything he could for me. They moved me from the 'registration' room to another room where another nurse would attach my IV and draw blood for the Cord Blood Registry package. Yes, we signed up for CBR. After what we went through with my father and his neurological disorder, I told myself that I would store the cord blood for its stem cells. Speaking of my father, I thought about my Dad the entire time. Everything I went through, I reflected back and thought about what my father went through. I really, really miss him terribly. I still cry daily.

Well, that's it for now. I will try to pick up where I left off. I want to type this down somewhere so I can print it out and show it to my daughter. I love my life. I love my daughter. I love my husband. God has truly blessed us tremendously and I am so grateful. I don't take anything for granted and cherish every second I have with my family.

8 Weeks

Bebe is now 8 weeks old. We went to the doctor's on the 9th of Sept. and she's up to 16lbs, 12oz, and is 26 inches long! At birth, she was 9lbs 12 oz and 21 inches long... She's so strong, too. We have some videos of her already. Go to www.YouTube.com/LiLpaXson and see her progress.

The Best Thing That's Ever Happened to Us

Beatrix is the best thing that's ever happened to us. Today, Beatrix turned 7 weeks old. I have been extremely busy since the day she was born. I've been so busy that I haven't had any time to report on it. I have another website dedicated to our child at LilPax.com but it's so complicated to get signed into that to update it, it's been neglected due to a lack of time! At least here at blogger.com, I can easily sign in and record our experiences here so that one day, Beatrix can look back on this and read all about her life from the beginning.

I wish I would've had time to type what took place on a daily basis from Day 1 starting on July 14th, the day Bebe was born. Unfortunately, Bebe came first! I have to admit, however, that although having Bebe in our lives was a dream come true, my hormones did get the best of me. I was in tears daily about breastfeeding because initially, it was very difficult. Now, in my 7th week with her, it doesn't hurt like it used to, but in the first month of breastfeeding, it was very painful and I didn't think I would be able to make it through.

Right now, it's almost midnight and Bebe's sleeping on our bed. We had a bassinet for her to sleep in during her first weeks of life, but that didn't last long. We looked into getting a special sleeper for her while we co-slept, but that only lasted two nights before she fussed. Now, we just let her sleep in between us. We leave the television on so we can see her. I sleep with one eye opened, but I am used to the change in the sleep schedule.

There's so much to share and I have alot of catching up to do. For now, I will just start reporting on what is going on right now -

Bebe's been very fussy lately and it's been difficult to get her to sit alone. In other words, all she wants to do is be on the boob or in someone's arms. Now, you can't just cradle her in your arms, either, she wants to be held upright and over the shoulder. Perhaps it's because she's got gas? She's not what they call "colicky", she's not crying constantly because she stops crying once we hold her in our arms (unless I'm misinterpreting what colic means). I love being with her, but I know that holding her constantly can't be good for her. I'm worried, too, that it will be difficult for us to get her to sleep in her own bed. We're hoping to get her into her own crib by 6 months of age, but I'm thinking we should get to that sooner than later.

She feeds every hour during the day, it seems. At night, however, she gives us 2-3 hours at a time in between feedings. She likes to sleep on her side, too, but of course, we try to get her to sleep on her back most of the time because of the SID Syndrome fear.

My back, neck, and butt hurts from being in this chair for too long. I feel like I'm permanently attached to this chair because of the demands of breastfeeding! Please know that I love my new job as a Mommy, but I can't pretend that it's not a tough transition into Mommyhood. I have to reflect back to when I moved back to Florida from California to take care of my dad on a full-time basis before his passing in November of 2008. I remember then how difficult it was to change my way of life to be with him before he died. But, I did it because I loved my father so very much and in the last years of his life, we became the best of friends and the closest we've ever been together. Even during the time I was taking care of my dad, I was still traveling at least once a month for paintball so I could still have a life of my own. When Dad died in November, I was already pregnant and Dad knew this because I told him before he passed. The traveling came to a complete halt when I was with child and a life of unselfishness continued, but was even more prevalent.

I grew to a whopping 210 pounds by the time I delivered Bebe. I am usually 145. Currently, I am still carrying 174 lbs of weight and need to get rid of another 30lbs, but the thought of when I can fit that in seems so unreachable right now with how much attention Bebe requires. Now after pregnancy and finally with child, I have no other job but to take care of Bebe and I love it. It truly is the best job ever.

It's September 4th, and I wish I would've started on July 14th, but baby duty called. I can't promise anything, but I will do my best to update this as often as Bebe allows. I have a feeling that as she matures, she will start giving me some more time to do things like this.

Beatrix was born 9lbs 12 oz 21inches on July 14th at 738AM. It was via emergency cesarian because of her size. Dr. Stubbs warned us about Shoulder Dystocia and so we agreed that we would do a cesarian because of that fear. The entire time I was giving birth, I thought of my father often, remembering what Dad had gone through during the many times he was in the hospital or under hospice care. My water broke the night before the surgery at around 115AM. What's crazy is that the original due date was July 21st and Dr. Stubbs said because of the rate that Bebe was growing, he suggested scheduling the surgery on July 14th. I still remember that night my water broke like it was last night... Catherine was here already to help us during this time of our lives and I am so very grateful that was here for us. I really bonded with her.

Anyway, I am going to go... I have to get some shut-eye before Bebe wakes up. The routine during the night is to make sure to change her diaper, then sit in the chair to breastfeed her, then rock her to sleep before the next feeding time. During the night, she usually goes to sleep for about 2-3 hours in between feedings. Then, during the day, from about 9AM until 8PM, she feeds almost every hour.