9 Month Wellness Visit

Mireya is 9 months old. She had her wellness visit with her pediatrician and he said she is doing very well. Her weight was on the low end, but he said that was normal for a baby her age, because she is so mobile. These are her statistics:

Weight: 16 lbs 9 oz, 12 percentile
Height: 27.5 in, 47 percentile
Head Circumference: 17 in, 26 percentile

Mireya is doing so many new things these days. As mentioned in a previous post, she has started to scream - loudly. It's not because she's upset. She's usually happy when she does it. Well, we were at Joann's Fabric Store the other day, and she decided to start screaming, and wouldn't stop. We ran into a woman with a preteen son who said "They never stop. It's cute at that age, but not so much at this age."

She also mimics other kids, like when we're at the grocery store. She'll hear a kid cough, so she'll start coughing. Or, one will babble, so she'll start babbling.

Mireya can clap! She loves it. She claps all the time now.

[mobileme url="http://gallery.me.com/mireya.ruesch#100283/Mireya%20Clapping&bgcolor=black"]

She is waiving hello and goodbye. She first started by just putting her arm out, sort of reaching with her hand. Then she started waving her whole arm up and down. Now she waves with her wrist.

Let's see...what else...Oh, she has almost walked. She has been pulling herself up to standing in her playpen for weeks now. Lately, she has been walking around the perimeter, holding on to the side, sometimes with one hand. Well, she now will let go and just stand there, with no hands. She'll then plop down on her behind. She's tried to take some steps while not holding on, but hasn't really done so yet.

[mobileme url="http://gallery.me.com/mireya.ruesch#100287/Mireya%20Almost%20Walking&bgcolor=black"]

9 Months Today

Mireya is 9 months old today. She has her 9 month wellness visit with her pediatrician this week. This visit should go better than previous ones because she doesn't have to get her immunizations this time!

Mireya is getting her top teeth in. She already has her 2 bottom front teeth, and now her top front teeth are starting to show through her gums. I hope they come soon, because she's teething again - chewing on everything!

I love my baby girl so much. I'd do anything for her. I am so thankful for her. I am also thankful for her mother. She takes great care of Mireya and I love her dearly.

What is Mireya up to lately?

Well, Mireya has been doing some new things lately. First, she has been blowing raspberries with her tongue sticking out. She is so cute, unless she does it while eating pumpkin and sprays daddy with it.

She has also been singing (screaming) at high pitches. It's not loud, so it's very cute.

8 Months Old

Mireya will be 8 months old tomorrow. She is changing and growing faster than I ever imagined she would. She crawls really well now. We bought her a playard that takes up almost the entire living room and she loves it. She pulls herself up and walks around the whole thing holding onto the sides. She can't figure out how to get down yet. She fusses until one of us helps her. I have been trying to teach her to sit down, but I think it still scares her. She thinks it's great that she can crawl over to the cats. Poor Spartacus is going to have little bald spots all over if he doesn't learn to get out of the way.

Both of Mireya's bottom teeth are all the way in now. She started to scrape paint off of the crib, so we had to get crib protectors. I managed to find some soft fleece ones that tie on. They're fantastic. Now I won't have to worry about her eating wood like a beaver. I think she is working on some other teeth now too. Man, I was hoping to get a little bit of a break between sets of teeth, but I guess not.

Mireya has entered a delightful new sleeping phase. She has figured out how to throw a tantrum if she doesn't want to go to sleep. Ugh. I think we have outsmarted her finally, but it has been a rough couple of weeks. It seems like every time we get a great routine going, something changes. I'm crossing my fingers that we will always be able to stay one step ahead or at least adapt quickly. I guess that's what you have to do when you have a bright child.

Speaking of Mireya being bright, she continues to amaze me. She can point out everything in her little soft book. She will point to each of the little creatures and look up at me and grin. She mimics you if you clear your throat or cough. She can stand up with very little support. All you have to do is hold one little hand. She runs around in her walker like she owns the place. She follows you into different rooms and even runs on the carpet. She knows just how to hold her mouth when you put chapstick on her (I don't take the cap off.) She recognizes her toothbrush and opens her mouth. She can use a sippy cup fairly well. She knows who her Mama and Dada are and can call me. She can almost say Dada. The list goes on and on.

I'm so proud of you Mireya! You are so smart and you learn so quickly. I know that you are going to continue to surprise me. Don't tell your Daddy, but I love that you're a Mama's girl. You make me feel so special and I am so lucky to be your Mama. I love you Baby Girl!!!

Happy Halloween!

It's Mireya's first Halloween! She looked absolutely precious dressed up as a fairy. She didn't even mind wearing the costume. She was very tired, but the pictures still came out adorable.







Jason and I didn't get all decked out, but we tried to do something at least for pictures. We tried to talk the cats into dressing up, but they're party poopers.



We decorated the house with window stickies, pumpkins, and a giant spider in a web over our front door. We attempted a cauldron with dry ice, but that didn't work out too well... Our jack-o-lanterns were pretty sweet though.

I know you won't remember your first Halloween Mireya, but I'll never forget it! You are such a doll and I love you so much!!!

7 Months Old and Learning Fast

Mireya turned 7 months on October 5th. I can't believe how time seems to be flying! Mireya has changed so much and she is learning new things every day. In the last couple of weeks, she has started to say, "Mama." I love it! I don't think she completely connects the name to me yet, but I'm just thrilled she's saying it. She is also babbling all kinds of other things too. Also, she has been trying to crawl. At first she would plant her forehead on the ground, pull her knees up and then she would lift her head and move her arms forward. As of today, she is actually crawling. I can't believe how fast she can move. Our kitties better watch out!

I noticed on Saturday, the 9th, her first tooth broke through the gums! It is the bottom left, front tooth. I can't wait to see what she looks like with two little teeth! It has taken months just to see the start of these two teeth. I can only imagine what the next year is going to be like. Mireya has even learned to share. She sucks on her binky for a minute and then tries to stick it in my mouth. She gets so excited if I pretend to take it.

Mireya is pretty healthy these days. She just got over her latest ear infection. It took two antibiotics and nearly a month. It's a matter of time before she gets ear tubes according to her pediatrician, so we're just trying to delay them as long as possible. She is growing like crazy. She now weighs 15 pounds 11 ounces. She still eats really well and she just started on finger food. I have been giving her these little melt in your mouth treats that taste like yams, her favorite. She sits in her high chair looking very serious when she's eating them. She is getting better and better at using a pincer grasp to pick them up.

New videos coming soon!

Super Baby!

Mireya is amazing! I put her in her crib to play and I stood in the doorway for a minute. She wanted to follow me, so she grabbed hold of the bars and pulled herself up! I couldn't believe she was standing there looking at me like it was no big deal! She isn't even 7 months old yet and she can pull herself to a standing position.

Jason and I have been putting her up next to things and letting her hold on for a little while now and we thought that was incredible. We never thought she would start to pull herself up so soon. We were worried that she might actually go up and over the side of the crib, so we lowered it. As soon as we put her back in, she pulled herself up again. This time we caught it on video. Check it out here. There is also a video from earlier today where she is standing at the side of her playpen eating the rail.

Baby girl, you are one strong cookie!

Again?!

Mireya has another ear infection. I took her to the pediatrician a couple of days ago and thankfully we caught it early. It hasn't even been a month since she finished her last antibiotics for her previous ear infection. I am really afraid that she is going to get so many that she's going to end up with tubes in her ears. I remember having mine put in and taken out. It was not fun!

The pediatrician said that she is getting ear infections, because of all the congestion she's had. The congestion is either due to colds or allergies. In case it's allergies, the pediatrician started her on Zyrtec. I really hope that helps. Poor baby girl has felt so crappy off and on for at least 6 weeks now. She's still teething, she's on her second ear infection, she's gotten sick at least twice... good grief! She started out so healthy and I was really hoping that she would stay that way, but I guess it's inevitable that she is going to get sick.

6 month mark!

Mireya has finally hit the 6 month mark and had her wellness visit. There, she received her immunization shots, which are never fun, but are important. Here are her stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 11 oz, 20 percentile
Height: 26.25 in, 64 percentile
Head Circumference: 16.5 in, 30 percentile

Mireya has been sick with an ear infection.

Sept. 5th!

Mireya is 6 months old today! We can't believe how big she's getting. She's chubbier and busier than ever! She definitely has her daddy's looks, but she sure has her mommy's personality. She is sweet, sassy, incredibly smart, strong and loud. She loves to scream. She screams when she's happy, she screams when she's mad. Everyone else thinks it's cute and funny, but we are pretty sure we're going to go deaf. Ok, so it is pretty cute, but somedays we need earplugs.

Mireya is the most amazing and  joyful little baby girl. We can't believe we got so lucky. We love her so much and we can't wait to see what the days and months ahead hold for our little family!

Virus, Infection and Teeth, Oh My!

Just when Jason and I had gotten a great routine down, especially when it came to bed time, Mireya started to get sick. First, she caught a virus of some kind that obviously had her feeling horrible. She was ill for almost a week and I spent all day, every day cuddling her. I felt so bad that she was sick and I was thrilled when she finally got better.

Within a few days, I noticed that not only did she seem to be teething, but she was tugging at her ear. I got her right into see the pediatrician. He said that ALL of her bottom teeth are threatening to come through! I thought babies cut teeth in twos...  In addition to that, she had a severe ear infection in her right ear. When he checked her ear, I thought it was worse than when she had to get her immunizations. She screamed and screamed and I broke out in a cold sweat. I think the pediatrician is more traumatizing to the parents than to the babies.

After getting her started on Amoxicillan, I thought she would improve. She not 0nly didn't improve, but she got worse. On the third day I got her right back into the pediatrician. Her right ear was worse and now her left ear was infected too. To make an already long story shorter, she started on another antibiotic, and now she's finally improving. Thank goodness!

The teething however, is reeking havoc. Jason and I have lost so much sleep, that we are beginning to wonder if we're going crazy. I hadn't realized how lucky we were to have a baby that slept through the night. I can't wait until all her teeth come in! I wonder what she's going to like when she's not all gums.

5 Months Old!

Mireya turned 5 months old on August 5th, 2010. She is getting so big! She now weighs in at 13 1/2 lbs and she is 24 inches tall. We can't believe how fast she seems to be learning to do everything. She runs around in her walker all the time. The other day we had her in a pair of pants with feet and she ran around so much that she wore holes in both big toes! She has been cruising in her walker for several weeks now, but she has just figured out that it's a useful tool to get into trouble. She pulls off dish towels from the handles of the appliances and she tries to open cupboards. I guess it's time to baby proof! She has also caught both of our cats of guard and run them over. I think the only solution to that one is to get smarter cats...

She has also learned to sit up pretty well. She still falls over occasionally, but she is getting better every day. We put her in her highchair tonight for dinner. She loves it! Now she can eat with us at the table. Speaking of eating, she loves to eat. She eats bananas, prunes, apples, pears, peaches, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and anything else we give her. We have yet to find a food that she refuses to eat. Her favorite foods so far are prunes and sweet potatoes. The entire time she's eating them she says, "Mmmm. Mmmmm."

Mireya's hair has gotten so long in the front that we have to put a bow in her hair every day, so that it doesn't hang in her eyes. The bows make her look so feminine and cute. It's hard to get her to hold still long enough to get them in, but once they are she doesn't bother them, which is great. I personally can't wait until I get to style her hair.

I love how much Mireya laughs. She has the sweetest laugh and Jason and I both spend hours doing anything we can think of to get her to giggle. Jason has figured out that if he brushes her cheek with his whiskers, it tickles her. I just make a complete fool of myself until I find something that strikes her as funny. Sometimes she even makes herself laugh. She kept blowing raspberries at me with mouthfuls of peas the other day and she thought that was hilarious. Me and my clothes? Not so much... :)

COMING SOON! 10 NEW VIDEOS!

Latest Achievements

Mireya is doing more everyday. She has recently found her feet, and thinks their quite tasty too! She loves to pull them up to her mouth, with or without socks, and suck on those feet like they were popsicles.

****UPDATE! Here are two videos of her sucking on those tiny toes!

[mobileme url="http://gallery.me.com/mireya.ruesch#100244/113_1054&bgcolor=black" type="mov"]

[mobileme url="http://gallery.me.com/mireya.ruesch#100244/113_1046&bgcolor=black" type="mov"]

Mireya's First 4th of July

Jason and I didn't plan anything for this 4th of July, because we thought Mireya would be too little to participate and appreciate anything we did. We were wrong! On Monday night, Cedar City had their fireworks show at the airport, which is a little over a mile from our house. We were so close, all we had to do was step out into our driveway. We watched for a couple of minutes while Mireya was sleeping. She woke up, so we bundled her in a blanket and took her outside to see them. She was fascinated! I was afraid the loud noise would scare her and she did jump a little bit with the first really loud firework she heard. I covered her ears after that and she thoroughly enjoyed them. I can't wait to see what she thinks of them next year!

Bananas and Books

Mireya got to try bananas the other day. She loves them! She was fairly so so about rice cereal, but she definitely likes bananas. She is to the point with food where she sometimes has little hissy fits when she wants to eat ours and we won't let her. Instead, we give her bananas. It will be fun to try out other kinds of baby food and see what she likes. I had no idea watching someone eat could be so entertaining!

Mireya is also starting to really enjoy reading. We read to her every night before bed and sometimes during the day. She loves to help turn the pages and most of all to eat the books. She's at the age where she eats everything, but some things just seem to have an allure to them.



Side note: Has anyone else had a problem with their baby gagging themselves? Mireya sticks her little fingers in her mouth and quite often makes herself spit up. If you take her hands out of her mouth, she puts them right back in. I can hear her doing it when we are driving around in the car. We have always had difficulty controlling her spit up, but this new development makes the problem so much worse. Hopefully it's just a phase...

4 Month Wellness Visit

Mireya is 4 months old today. She had her wellness visit with her pediatrician and he said she is doing very well. She is continuing to grow just as she should. These are her statistics:

Weight: 12 lbs 3 oz, 28 percentile
Height: 24.5 in, 72 percentile
Head Circumference: 15.5 in, 17 percentile

She is also hitting all of her developmental goals, of course. This time we were prepared for her immunizations and we gave her Tylenol before the appointment. I will never be able to prepare for how bad I feel when I see her reaction to the shots, though. I just hate to see her cry! They really need to figure out a way to give all immunizations orally.

I'm so excited that Mireya is now old enough to start solids! We have already given her rice cereal and she loves it. She hasn't yet figured out the whole spoon thing, but she seems to enjoy trying. Sometime in the next few days we are going to try real foods. You can watch a video of her trying rice cereal for the first time on her gallery.

After trying almost every single type of formula out there over the last 2 months, trying to figure out a balance between spitting up and constipation, we are going back to the first formula she ever had. Hopefully mixing it with rice cereal will be what finally works. Unless there are major problems, we will just stick with it. I hate having to switch formulas all the time. It must be hard on her little system, plus now we can use solid foods to help control her issues.

Check out all the latest photos and videos on Mireya's gallery.

 

She's doomed...

As I was choking on my trail mix this morning I realized that poor Mireya is doomed. I choke on my food, trip across flat floors, run into things, and just do stupid, clumsy things in general on a daily basis. Jason is just as bad as I am. Then I started thinking about my family. I can't tell you how many times I've seen my mom, my sister, and even my two brothers biff it. I don't know how clumsy the people in Jason's family are, but I think it's safe to say that Mireya is doomed to be a goof.

I'm so sorry baby girl. I hope that you have more grace than I have ever had. :)

3 Months Old

Mireya hit the 3 month mark on Friday, May 28th. She is growing up so fast! Jason and I can't believe how big she's getting! Everyone tells us she's so small, but we can see how much she's grown. Her personality is growing and changing too. She is very determined, sweet, playful, smart, and funny. She definitely knows what she wants, and if we try to make her do something she doesn't want to do, like sitting instead of standing, she lets us know! She has quite a little temper at times.

She is always trying to do things a little 3 month old baby shouldn't be doing. She loves to stand, play in her activity center, which is for older babies,  and she tries really hard to walk. She can't figure out why her little legs won't cooperate. She gets very frustrated sometimes when she can't make her body do what she wants it to.

She is also very aware of who her parents are now. She never used to show any signs of preferring to be held by us, but now she definitely does. Just last night, my mom tried to hold her and she got mad until I held her again, then she was all smiles. She still loves other people and she tells everyone stories. She is simply much more aware of who she's talking to and who's holding her.

Mireya is learning to explore the world through her mouth now. She puts anything she grabs a hold of into her mouth. Good thing she can't crawl yet. I'm not quite ready for the stage where she looks for things to put in her mouth. She eats bibs, shirts, blankets, kleenexes you use to wipe her face, etc. I've tried giving her a binky instead of letting her eat her shirt for example and she spits the binky out and puts the shirt back in. She can be such a little stinker!

Last Wednesday, she laughed for the first time. I was changing her and she actually laughed! I thought I hadn't really heard it, but I called Jason in just in case she did it again and to have a witness. She just smiled and talked until he left. As soon as he was out the door, she laughed again! Jason didn't get to hear her until yesterday during another diaper change. It's the cutest little laugh you've ever heard! It will be so fun when she's laughing all the time and we can act silly just to get her to laugh.

In the next few months, Mireya is going to do all kinds of new and amazing things. The 3-6 month period sounds like a big one for development from what I've read. We are doing our best to encourage her development in all the right areas, but I'm not sure that such a smart baby like Mireya really needs a whole lot of help. It probably won't seem like very long before I'm teaching her to read and write. It's so much fun to be a mom and I can't wait to see what she's going to do next!

RepairPal

I came across an interesting website: www.repairpal.com recently. You can find advice on many different things, including: cars, car repairs, car repair shops and mechanics, and they even have an encyclopedia section. You can look up different types of cars on their Car Info page and they will provide ratings and reviews, questions and answers, common problems, recalls, and tsb’s.

You can go to Repairpal’s encyclopedia section and look up a repair that you need to have done on your car and read all about it, so you're well informed when you actually go to the repair shop. You look up whatever you’re interested in and it will tell you all about the repair, give you recommendations, and explain why that problem happens. After reading about it, you can even find a repair shop in your area and see what the repair will cost.

There are lots of great features on www.repairpal.com, so next time you need car advice, check it out.
Here are some examples of pages on their website:
Chicago Auto Repair, Toyota Camry, Check Engine Light

She's a superstar!

My mom and brother, Jaime, finally moved into their new house, here in Cedar City, over the weekend. My Aunt Nola, Uncle Bill, cousins Trent and Mathew, and friends Ryan and Ian all came down to help unload the truck. Everyone except my mom and Ian were meeting Mireya for the first time. I have to say, I think they all thoroughly enjoyed her. Who wouldn't?

I was worried that she was going to get overwhelmed and overstimulated, but she didn't. She was a fantastic baby all day long. She actually slept until we got the truck unloaded and woke up at the perfect time to meet everyone. She got passed around from person to person and she loved it! I was ready to step in if she showed any signs of being upset, because she was being passed around like a hot potato. I never had to, because she seemed to really enjoy it. She smiled and talked to each and every person. She is obviously going to be very social!

I decided to show everyone how she loves to stand in my lap. They couldn't believe that she was standing with little assistance at 10 weeks. I had to explain that for whatever reason she loves it. She's actually to the point where I can tell she's getting frustrated that she can't do more than that. When she figures out how to crawl, she is going to be difficult to keep up with.

She seems to be particularly captivated by Jaime. She gets so excited when he talks to her! I think she is really going to enjoy having him and Nana so close by. They'll probably become our number one babysitters very quickly. I was actually thrilled the other day when I had to go to a dentist appointment and all I had to do was drop her off at Nana's.

Mireya, you're such a little superstar!

[caption id="attachment_327" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Great Uncle Bill and Mireya"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_328" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Trent and Mireya"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_332" align="alignnone" width="239" caption="Great Aunt Nola and Mireya"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_331" align="alignnone" width="184" caption="Ryan and Mireya"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Nana and Mireya"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_329" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Jaime, Nana, and Mireya"][/caption]

Mother's Day

I had my very first Mother's Day yesterday. It was great! I have been a mother to many furry animals over the years, but to be celebrated as a mom to a beautiful baby is so wonderful. It actually caught me off guard to be told, "Happy Mother's Day" by so many different people.

Jason was so sweet. He and Mireya got me the cutest card. They also got me some beautiful earrings and a silver necklace. What mom doesn't love new jewelry? Jason even said something else is still on it's way. I feel so spoiled! Thank you little Mireya and Jason for a fabulous day. I love you both very much!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there and I hope your day was special too.

 

2 Month Wellness Check

Mireya had her 2 month wellness check yesterday. She wasn't technically 2 months, she is actually 9 weeks today. Regardless, it went well. She is moving right up the growth charts. These are her statistics:

Weight: 9 lbs 12 oz, 22nd percentile
Height: 22.5 in, 56th percentile
Head Circumference: 14.5 in, 8th percentile.

Her weight and head circumference are so much better than her 2 week wellness check. Then she was in the 2nd percentile for head circumference and the 6th percentile for weight. Her height hasn't changed much. It was in the 59th percentile before.

She has had several bad days in a row with her feedings. She has been spitting up a lot, crying in the middle of the feed, and refusing to finish her bottles. Her pediatrician diagnosed her with reflux. Poor thing! I know all about that and it's miserable. She now has to take Zantac twice a day to control it. It is supposed to taste gross, but she doesn't seem to mind it much. She is better about taking it than her gas drops, which have a good flavor. Go figure.

She also had to have her immunizations. She loved the rotavirus immunization. It was an orange-vanilla flavored liquid and she actually smiled while she ate it. The other immunizations weren't as much fun. She had to have two shots in one thigh and one in the other. I'll never forget the look on her face as they gave her the first shot. She looked at me like, "Why are you doing this to me mommy?" I felt so bad. She still isn't feeling very well, but she is improving. I hope she feels better soon!

She talks!

As of yesterday, Mireya has found her voice! She babbles and coos all the time now. Jason and I have even heard her squeal with delight a couple of times. That's definitely our favorite thing. She's so cute!!! Every day she seems to have more and more to say. I think she might be talkative like me. :)

Mireya Discussing Her Day

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I love you, Mireya

I just need to post about how much I love my baby girl, Mireya! She is so beautiful and I am so lucky to be her father. I still can't believe that I am a dad!

Mireya is growing so fast. She is over 10 pounds now! Soon she will be twice the weight she was when she was born. She is such a wiggly one. She is also trying to talk so much now!

I love you, Mireya, and hope that you have a great life, of which your mother and I can provide for you.

 

 

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Mireya is starting to lose her baby hair! Oh no! I kissed the top of Mireya's head yesterday and got a mouth full of fuzz. I wasn't too worried though until I bathed her. After washing her hair she looks like a balding middle-aged man! Why do babies lose the hair they were born with? Ahh, I just looked it up. It's called telogen effluvium. Whew, at least I know it's normal and it will all grow back. Her hair might even grow back in curly like mine. We'll see...

Diaper Change From Hell

Jason and I have gotten changing diapers down to a science. At least that's what we thought until yesterday. Who knew that a tiny little baby could make such a horrible mess? We certainly didn't and we weren't expecting it, so it came as quite a shock. You can tell Jason is still trying to figure out what just happened by the look on his face in the photographs. I couldn't stop laughing. I'm just so glad that it didn't happen when I was changing her.

Jason thought he was in for a routine diaper change when things went horribly wrong...

 

I'm a mommy!

I can't believe I'm a mommy. I have never experienced anything so amazing, beautiful, and rewarding. Mireya is incredible. I have loved her since the day I found out I was pregnant, but I didn't understand how all encompassing this feeling of love would be until I held her in my arms for the first time. I love her more than I have ever loved anyone and I would do anything for her.

Baby girl, when you read this one day, I hope you know how much I love you. However, I know that you won't truly understand until you have a child of your own. Then you'll get to experience the same miracle I am now living every day. I love you and thank you for being my baby.

 

March 8th, 9th & 10th

Mireya's bilirubin levels continued to rise after her birth. (That was the jaundice I mentioned in the previous post.) We had the levels checked daily and at that point she looked very yellow. We had been hoping and praying they would go down on their own, but since they didn't her pediatrician recommended that she lay under bili lights at home. A woman came out and brought us what I call a "Bili Light Suitcase." Mireya had to lay in it with nothing but a diaper on and eye protection constantly, except for nursing and diaper changes. It was absolutely horrible. She clearly felt insecure until she fell asleep and I just stood over her and cried silently. My poor baby.

 

 

 

March 5th, 2010

Mireya was born on March 5th, 2010 at 11:21 pm! She was 6 pounds 5 ounces and 19 3/4 inches in length. She has her daddy's face and her mommy's long fingers and funny feet.

They started the induction at about 11:30 that morning. After hours and hours of not really progressing much and continually turning up the dose of Pitocin I finally got to the right dose and things really got moving. At a little after 11:00 pm I started pushing and I pushed through about 8 contractions and she was born. I couldn't believe she was finally in my arms!

She has been quite healthy other than some jaundice. She was under Bili lights at the hospital and here at home for a few days. It's slowly beginning to go away now. The only other issue was her heart rate dropping with each contraction during labor. They gave me oxygen and I got her out as quickly as possible, so it didn't cause any problems. It did worry us both sick though.

She is incredibly beautiful and amazing. She is so tiny and I am so thrilled to be her mother. I can't wait to see more of her personality as she grows. She already does so many cute things and I have taken more pictures since she was born than I have in the last 10 years combined. She is a wonderful addition to our little family and such a joy. I love you baby Mireya!

This Friday!?

I can't believe it! I went to the OB yesterday and he is going to induce me this Friday! Our little girl is going to be in my arms sometime in the next few days. I am so excited, so nervous and so ready! Jason was in shock after the doctor told us. He asked, "Do you mean this Friday? Two days from now?" Yep honey, she's coming!

We are pretty much 100% prepared and we just have to try and get some sleep tonight. I didn't sleep well last night, so I doubt it will be any easier tonight. Jason's so excited that I doubt he'll sleep much either.

It's going to be so strange to have her here in my arms instead of in my belly. I'm not sure quite how to feel yet. I love you baby girl. Go easy on me...

Mireya's nursery is complete!

It's done, it's done, it's finally done! It took us about 6 weeks, which may not seem like that long to anyone else, but it was an eternity to us. We painted, put up a chair rail, made 5,000 trips to Home Depot, painted some more, built furniture and finally decorated. We thought it would be easy, but when you're a perfectionist like me, it's not. We are both so pleased with the way it turned out. It couldn't be any more perfect! We love how it's nice and girly with the different shades of pink and somewhat earthy with the browns and greens.

Here's a preview:





Check out all the photos here: Mireya's Nursery Photos

Week 35 Ultrasound

Last Wednesday we had our final ultrasound. Mireya is getting so big! She's measuring 5 pounds 8 ounces now. The ultrasound tech did all her measurements and she's perfect. While she was doing the measurements she stopped and pointed out Mireya's hair. Hair! It looked like it was long and it was floating around in the amniotic fluid. I couldn't believe how much it looked like she has! Later, just to show us how cute she was, she grabbed hold of her little foot with her hand. She is so cute! (Do I sound like I'm going to be a mom who brags nonstop? I'll be the lady in the grocery store who whips out her wallet, unfolds thirty pictures of her baby and tells a five minute story about each one.)

She also dropped again the day before the ultrasound and now she's absolutely as far down as she can get. Even my mother-in-law noticed how far she's dropped. I think she's ready to be here and that's finally ok. Dr. Gonzales said that I am fine to deliver anytime between now and 39 weeks. I can't believe I'm going to have a baby girl in my arms in the next four weeks! He also said that I didn't have any of the issues due to the Factor V Leiden that he expected me to have. I say that it's all due to the Lovenox.

The final countdown starts now. See you soon Mireya!

Baby Nursery

Jason and I have been so excited to get the baby nursery all set up. We wanted to wait until after both of the baby showers, but we couldn't! We went ahead and ordered all of the crib bedding and some matching decor. Then we realized that we really needed the crib and crib mattress for the bedding to go on, so we bought those too! We set the crib up yesterday and not only is it gorgeous, but it was a snap! It definitely wasn't as much of an IQ test as I think the car seat might turn out to be. The only weird thing about the crib was a tag on the side reading, "The minimum age of the intended user shall not be less than 15 months." Does that mean we can't put her in it until she is over a year old? I guess it's a good thing we planned on getting a bassinet.

We won't get the crib bedding and decor until Thursday, but even just having the crib makes everything more real. I can't believe we're so close!

Week 31 Ultrasound

I went in last week for my monthly ultrasound. Mireya is right on track with her growth. She is weighing in at 3 pounds 6 ounces! One of the first things out of the ultrasound tech's mouth was, "She's right in position, smashing your bladder." Tell me about it! Who knew a little 3 pound baby could have such a heavy head...

I was able to bring Nana to the ultrasound this time. We not only got to see little Mireya in 2D, but in 3D also! The ultrasound tech took lots of photos of her little face in 3D. I think she may have my nose and Jason's chin, but we'll have to see. I've already posted all the ultrasound photos, they're amazing!

She still refuses to stay still. She doesn't seem to like all the poking and prodding. At one point she wouldn't move her hand away from her face, so the ultrasound tech jiggled my belly all over to get her to change positions. It worked and thankfully we were able to get some great photos!

I start my NST's at 32 weeks. I'm really grateful for those, because it will provide me with peace of mind once a week from now until delivery. I'm still having occasional contractions and some days I can't even get up and walk around without triggering one. I know that's one of the things they monitor. I have no intention of having this baby too early. You hear that baby girl, you need to hang out in there for at least another month or so! It won't be too much longer before we meet!