The Best Medicine (or Apology, in this case)

I am very sorry about the delay between posts. We've been up to a lot and Diego's been adorable, so there's been plenty to post, but I still never seem to manage to make it happen. For the next few posts, I'll play a little catch up, so you're current, and then just update you again as things happen. But, to start off, a recent event: Diego laughed yesterday!

You may have seen this video on facebook.

He's been trying to laugh for quite some time and, very recently, he's made a few sounds that we thought were laughter, but they were brief - kind of solitary squeals - so we weren't quite sure. Yesterday was his first true giggle.

Here's another video because, really, can you get enough?

The Six Week Appointment

At Diego's six week appointment last week (on Wednesday), he weighed 13 pounds, 5.6 ounces and was 23 and 3/4 inches long. He had gained exactly 5 pounds since he was born! And he's nearly 2 feet tall! (If he could stand, of course.)

He also got his first round of vaccinations. Poor baby! He was so happy! And then he screamed. And then he slept. For two days. 

One Month Old

Diego is 1 month old today! Happy 1 month birthday, Diego!

 He liked his activity gym. He was fascinated by all the dangling objects and swiped at the monkey that I kept shaking because it's also a rattle.

 We'd tried the gym once before, but he wasn't so into it then. Ahh, how things change.

Independence Day

Diego's due date was the 4th of July. Instead, he celebrated his own independence day on the 1st of July (Canada Day, as I have since learned). 

My water broke late Sunday night and we headed pretty quickly to the hospital, despite not being in labor. We checked in to Labor and Delivery at about 11:30 pm on June 30th and then walked around the hospital for a couple hours. The real labors pains started around 3 am. Labor was quick (didn't feel quick then!), but rather intense (who doesn't feel their labor was intense?). He was born Monday at 6:25 am. He weighed 8 lbs, 5.6 oz. and was 21 inches long. 

Diego Sirius, at the hospital

Everyone called him a big baby, but he seems small to me! Not to mention I was terrified he'd be giant considering both Rudy and I were very, very large newborns. In any case, he's healthy and has gotten an A++ from every doctor who has seen him. And he's adorable, as you can see.

On America's Independence Day, at home

So, welcome to Earth, Diego! And welcome to our family! We love you so much already! 

Waiting

Yesterday marked 39 weeks. I am definitely ready to not be pregnant anymore. I've been trying to coax him out by telling him how nice it is outside, but it seems he's not convinced.

From the beginning, I've been rather excited about the July 4th due date. It seems like a great birthday! If not exactly July 4th, any time around there seemed good - you still get fireworks and a day off. Completely arbitrarily, I preferred July to June. I just like the sound of July more than June and the number 7 to 6.

Now, however, June sounds wonderful. Every day I'm hopeful. Wednesday, in particular, I was hopeful. To be born on such a historic day seemed perfect! At least he would also be able to remember for tests the day the federal government could no longer deny marriage rights to same-sex married couples! Not to mention, he'll be a Californian, so he'd know the marker for the end of marriage discrimination here, too. (I hope it's also a day that marks a turning of the tide in the war on women, but that is as yet unknown.) However, despite all the happy news and the aid in future test-taking, Diego was still not interested in making an appearance. My sister has her money on Sunday (she and I and her youngest are all 30th babies), and I'm OK with that, but every day I get a little more antsy. And uncomfortable. Why is it always so hot?! It definitely doesn't help that we're in for a heat wave this weekend. (Mom, I have no idea how you made it through that hottest of LA summers pregnant with me. Summer only just started and I live by the beach, but yet I still feel like I'm always too hot.)

At least Diego's room is ready for him, if he ever decides to join us.

Well, actually, it's missing the dresser (which would go on the wall you can't see in this picture), but that still hasn't come in yet.

 Isn't the rocking chair amazing? The blanket thrown across the back of it was made by my sister-in-law. Gorgeous AND soft! And how about that crocheted owl blanket? My mom made that in a week, she says!

This is the crib and changing table. It's missing the mattress, so it'll be cuter once the bed is made. You might recognize the decorative owls on the wall from the Bakersfield baby shower, made by my sister. They represent my family - Rudy and Rebecca are green because they're Slytherin; I'm yellow because I'm Hufflepuff; Emma is purple because it's her favorite color (she's not a Harry Potter fan); and Diego is tiny because he'll be the baby.

So the nursery is mostly set. Of course, he'll be sleeping in our room in the cradle, so he won't have all that much use for this room for a bit. Whatever. The point remains. We're ready and waiting.

"Our Son"

A package came in the mail today addressed to Rudy. I was totally baffled because the return address says "Cosmetics Life." I let him know it had arrived and he said, "Open it! It's for our son." I have thus far used the phrase "your son," as in "your son is kicking me," and, as intended, it threw Rudy the first time. But that is a first for an "our son." And, as to be expected, it threw me. Seems so strange. It's a phrase I'm sure I'll get used to quickly, but it certainly stands out to me at this point.

What was inside the package, you ask? Well, it was from Rudy, so I guess I should have expected as much:

It's a pretty good introduction to our Team Android household, really. As an aside, I'm pretty sure no plush bitten piece of fruit could ever look that cute.

(I still don't understand that return address, so don't ask.)

Almost Ready

The 36 week appointment

He has dropped and is perfectly positioned! I had been suffering from some pretty intense and regular rib pain (on the right side only) and some heartburn, no matter what, when, or whether I ate. Then, a week ago Monday (35 weeks and 4 days), both were gone. The books had said he'd drop soon, so I took that as the sign. At our doctor's appointment on Thursday (36 weeks on the dot), it was confirmed. It seems like Diego's just about ready to go!

I, however, am not. There's still a lot of work to do around here. We're trying to rearrange our room to fit in the cradle. My mother-in-law came and took our bedroom set on Monday. (Finally! Yay!) It was hers years ago anyway and, seeing as we wanted to get rid of it, she wants it for her house in Mexico. Works out perfectly! Now that there's finally space in our room to put in a new bedroom set, we have to pick up (and put together) the dressers/nightstands we'd picked out from IKEA. (Someday I'll buy real, sturdy, quality furniture. But for now, IKEA.) After that, we'll put the cradle in our room (I hope it fits!) that I still have to put together. (I haven't built it because I was thinking I would wait until we had the bedroom furniture ready. That, however, just seems to mean that I'm potentially cutting it awfully close.) Then I'll build the crib and attached changing table that my mother-in-law brought up with her when she picked up the bedroom set. That will give me some extra drawers for Diego's many, MANY outfits. (Man, those clothes are so cute!) The dresser has yet to be delivered to the store, so I guess that will be the last piece. (It will also have to be driven up from San Diego, so it has multiple delivery stages to go.) In short, there is a lot of very basic work that needs to be done before we're ready for Diego. Not to mention my hospital bag is only half packed. Oops.

It makes me feel rather behind. According to the books, I should be at the stage where I'm doubling my recipes so I can freeze half for after the delivery. That's a brilliant idea, I grant, and something I could be doing in conjunction with these other things, but it's just so far ahead of where I feel like I am. Maybe that can be something I start this weekend?

Funny note about the above picture: That was Rudy's first appointment in a while. He hadn't been able to make it to the most recent two before it. At the first of those two appointments, Diego yawned during the ultrasound. Rudy was super annoyed to have missed such an adorable event so, at the second of those two appointments, I was that obnoxious person who asks to record the monitor with my phone. (I don't actually know if that's obnoxious, but it seems like something doctors might get annoyed with if it happens often.) My doctor thought it was funny, but was very obliging. She did warn me, however, that most people don't get to see such things once, much less twice, so I shouldn't get my hopes up. When she got to his face, though, he did it again! She was astounded! It wasn't a yawn that time, but a sort of smacking his lips/sticking his tongue out bit. She played it back on a loop for me so I could record it. I was ecstatic! Of course, as these things go, when I got to my car and played it back, there was only black and the audio was of the conversation that took place immediately following what I thought I had recorded. Apparently I had paused it when I thought I was recording and had recorded when I thought I had stopped it. Ugh! Super fail by me. (I don't like to think about it.) And then, finally, at the appointment Rudy could actually make, Diego had dropped so that we couldn't even see his face. Poor Rudy! He's not too bothered by it, though. He'll get to see him "in IRL" soon enough!