Carlan's First Christmas

I'm a little slow on posting blogs for obvious reasons! Carlan had a good first Christmas. It was nice and quiet. We just hung out for most of the morning and didn't open presents until around noon. Carlan got a few things from all her grandparents and her great grandparents. Daddy and mommy (Gabe picked it out!) got her a jewelry box. :-) Apparently daddy will be buying Carlan a lot of jewels as she gets older.

We went to my parents house for dinner and opened a couple more presents there. More clothes and my sister Caitlin made everyone a calendar with pictures, ours had pics of our little Carlan. Other than that it was pretty uneventful. Carlan didn't mind having a quaint Christmas!

Carlan's First Doctors Appointment

She had her first doctor appointment on Friday and she checked out A-OK. We weren't sure if she was going to have an appointment on Friday because of the CRAZY weather we have. All this snow has been nuts! Luckily the pediatricians office was open. Her doctor wasn't there but she was able to be seen by another doctor.

She's lost a little weight since coming home from the hospital. The doctor said the amount that she has lost is normal, I think she measured in at right under 8 lbs. I wasn't able to hear half of what he said because she was being a fuss bucket and cried throughout most of the appointment! Her actual height is 20 in, the nurse that measured her said that half the time babies length differs from what they're measured at birth because they're still all curled up and is hard to get an accurate length. So she's an inch longer than what we thought. She's in the 50 percentile for both height and weight.

She's been sleeping A LOT better ever since my milk has come in. She's gotten up twice the past couple of nights which is a vast improvement since our first two nights home. The first two nights we camped out downstairs because she was getting up so often and I couldn't physically get out of bed! It was easier for me to get off the couch than getting out of bed.

We were a bit concerned about her poops since she pooped the first day we came home (Wednesday) and she hadn't pooped in three days. The doctor said it was normal for breast fed babies to not poop for up to 5 days. He instructed us what to do if she didn't pass a BM by today and it didn't sound very pleasant. But she finally pooped yesterday! Yay for poops!

We're all doing well and getting rest as best as we can! It hasn't been too bad (knock on wood) and figure it could be a lot worse. Gabe has been a trooper and Carly is here for the next few days to help out as well.

Mili

The Labor and Delivery

So as you all know, our Carlan is finally here. My water ended up breaking at around 930 am on Sunday morning. I wasn't sure if it really was my water breaking, but after a few minutes I immediately knew it was definitely my water. So we called the on call nurse and she told me to go to the hospital. We had to take showers (who knew when the next one would come) and gather a few more things to throw in the hospital bag. I think Gabe was more frantic than I was! We got to the hospital less than an hour after my water broke.

They immediately checked us in and assigned us a room. They brought in some paperwork that we would eventually need to fill out before being discharged from the hospital. The nurses came in to check on me and the on call doctor checked my cervix and I was dilated to 4 cm at that point. My contractions were coming on quick and strong, about every 2-4 mins. I got up and walked around a bit, relaxed in the jacuzzi tub with aromatherapy oil and finally got my epidural when I was dilated to 6 cm. Getting the epidural slowed down my contractions and I received pitocin to speed up the process. I was ready to push at 1230 am.

Gabe and Melissa were fantastic. Even though Melissa felt like an idiot counting to 10 as I pushed it helped a great deal. I ended up getting a fever of over 100, I was sweating like crazy and had to get put on antibiotics because it had been almost 24 hours since my water broke and was developing an infection. Carlan didn't want to turn and descend down, her head was stuck! The doctor tried to turn her because she was "sunny side-up" but was unsuccessful. They tried the vacuum and that didn't work either. At that point the doctor said that we had to do a c-section because of the infection and the baby and I getting distressed.

Melissa stayed back while Gabe put his scrubs on and waited while they set me up in the operating room. It was quite frightening and the epidural and run out a little while before they took me in for the c-section. I was in crazy pain, it sucked. They finally got me all set up and Gabe came in the operating room and they cut me open and got her out, she arrived at 514 am. She was beautiful. 8.47 lbs, 19 in long. They cleaned her up and cut her cord and had to take her to the nursery to get checked out. Gabe went with her while I got put back together.

Carlan had to get antibiotics because of the infection and I got antibiotics. They drew her blood and had to give her oxygen. They ended up having to keep her in the nursery for a few hours. I was taken back to our room, hooked back up to the IV and given pain medication. Gabe came back about an hour later. We slept and the nurses brought her back to the room a little after 900 am.

It was quite the ordeal and not the best labor and delivery experience I guess! I was exhausted and in quite a bit of pain. It was worth it for our beautiful baby girl. Welcome Carlan Kapilialoha Mondoy-Honaker.

Here are some more pictures....

Carlan Kapilialoha Mondoy-Honaker

She has finally arrived! After about 18 hours of being at the hospitol the baby was born. Here are a few picutures.

Mili Making Cookies

Next video blog: Trials and Tribulations of Labor as Seen Through the Eyes of a Father of the Year to Be (acted out by Mili)

9 More to Go

Had our weekly check up today. I'm dilated to 1 cm, so 9 more to go! Gabe got off early and was able to meet me at the doctor, it was nice to have him there with me. Doctor said I was doing great, progressing as normal. Blood pressure, weight gain, baby's heart beat all doing well.

They don't induce until you're a week overdue. We're hoping she comes this week! We'll see, there is a full moon on Friday!

Mili

No More Work

Yesterday was my last day of work. I am relieved. It was getting super hard to get up early in the morning after a crappy night of sleep regardless of what time I went to bed. At this point until baby is here I can at least get up at my own leisure!

I am trying to get things done prior to her arrival. Everything is set up and I'm about two-thirds finished washing all of her clothes, linens and diapers. I have wardrobe envy, this child has a lot of clothes! I was able to get my hair cut today, I have a dentist appointment tomorrow, just little things like that that I'm trying to accomplish before she's here. I know once she's here it's going to be difficult to get those type of things done.

I have yet to pack my hospital bag, I was going to do it this evening but the motivation just isn't there. I'm hoping the motivation is there tomorrow because I think this baby is ready to come out soon. Gabe mentioned this weekend that it looks like my belly is getting lower and lower. I told him that's a good thing when my belly starts dropping!

Other than that things are progressing as normal. I'm still going to water aerobics and my back and hips hurt like a son of a gun. Carrying all this weight around sure does take a toll on ones body. Next doctors appointment is Monday and she's going to be checking my cervix at that point.

Mili

P.S.

To all of my co-workers reading this, if I didn't get a chance to say good-bye, my apologies. Remember my absence is just temporary. Enjoy the workplace sans my crude sense of humor and bad language! Do keep in touch though, just no dangerous goods questions! ;-)

Kapilialoha

Kapilialoha: "enjoined in love", "one in affection", "coming together because of love". That will be her middle name.

I've already sent Gabe's mom an email about her middle name, so sorry this isn't new for you! For those of you who aren't very familiar with the Hawaiian language, a general rule of thumb is the vowels in Hawaiian are pronounced like the vowels in Spanish. So the "A" is pronounced as "ah" and the I is pronounced as "ee". So her name would be pronounced as "kah-pee-lee-aloha". And I think we all know how to pronounce aloha! As I told Gabe's mom, don't think too much about it, just let it roll off your tongue!

Her name was chosen by a well known linguist in Hawaii, Puakea Nogelmeier. If you Google him you'll find a few articles about him. Puakea and my Uncle Robert are good friends and I consider it an honor (corny I know) to have her name chosen by Puakea. Prior to choosing her name Puakea needed to know about Gabe's and my relationship and what this child means to us. Kapilialoha is the first name that came to Puakea.

We really like the name, I think it's appropriate. I think it exudes simplicity and is elegant at the same time. Now we just have to chose a first name!

Expecting Photos Taken by Dana Napoleon

Here are our pics we took the other weekend. If anyone wants to order prints let me know and I can let the photographer know and we can get them ordered for you.

The Belly

Here are a couple of belly shots. Nothing too exciting, but here you go. We're almost there!

Photo Shoot

Gabe and I took professional pics this past weekend. I was on the fence on whether or not to do it but I decided to take the big plunge and do it because if I didn't I knew I would regret it. Gabe I'm sure would have been fine either way!

I told my siblings about it the night before when we were at their house for dinner and of course my brother made fun of us. He took my 8 year old nephew and used him as his the "expecting mom model" (that would be me) and my brother was the "expecting dad model" (that would be Gabe) and demonstrated for us the various poses that we would be doing for the pics. We were laughing our butts off as my nephew wanted to run away and hide in a hole.

The photographer came to our house on Sunday and spent about an hour and half with us taking pics, some were taken outside in our back area. Gabe and I had no idea what to expect but it turned out to be a kind of fun experience! The photographer works for the same company as I do and I found her on my work online classifieds. She was super nice and her husband coincidentally is from Hawaii (Kaneohe). It wasn't uncomfortable as I thought it would be having my belly hang out in front of a stranger and barely wearing anything in a couple of the poses. Gabe and I were cracking jokes left and right and the photographer said that she enjoyed doing the shoot with us.

She said she would have our pics done sometime this week and I'll be meeting up with her to get the "brag book" that's part of the package deal that we purchased. She'll also be posting the pics online for people to order, so once that's up I'll post the website and password. She'll also be taking baby's first pics about a week after she's born, so we're excited about that too.

Mili

She's Turned!

She has officially turned! YAY! What a relief. I know we had "plenty" of time for her to turn but at least this way we know for sure AND I did not want to do an external version. Gabe was able to go to the appointment with me yesterday which made me feel better as well. I think she turned at some point Sunday night or in my sleep. I was telling a couple of my friends yesterday afternoon before I went to the doctor that I think she turned because I wasn't as uncomfortable as I've been the past couple and weeks and she just felt different. And the doctor confirmed it yesterday afternoon!

She took the baby's heartbeat and measured my uterus and said it looks like she's where she should be. So she did a quick ultrasound and her head is sitting low in my uterus verifying that's she where she should be. Baby is healthy and I'm doing A-OK. I didn't gain any weight the past two weeks. Double yay! We'll be going to the doctor weekly from now until baby gets here.

I also got a flu shot and we turned in our birth plan. I asked if Gabe should get one too and the nurse said yes. I tried to score a free flu shot for him while she was giving me mine but she said she couldn't because she's gotten in trouble for giving flu shots to her friends! We were cracking up.

So thank you everyone for all your prayers and good thoughts. She's now being a good little girl!

Mili

Water Aerobics

Yes, water aerobics. I took my first water aerobics class yesterday and I liked it. I didn't know what to expect but it was quite relaxing and it just felt good to be completely immersed in a pool. The water was a warm 94 degrees (salt water pool I may add) and there were three other preggars in the class (one girl was in our Preparation for Child Birth class and Breastfeeding class) , a middle aged woman and an older woman (it's a low impact/prenatal class). They all seemed pretty friendly including the instructor.

So we did some exercises in the water and did some stretching. The class was an hour long and I probably could have stayed in the pool a little longer than that even though I was turning into a prune. I haven't been a pool since the Topeka baby shower and I wasn't nearly as big back then as I am now.

As soon as I was heading up the steps out of the pool all the weight came back and I was brought back to reality. :-( I should have been doing this earlier, but I guess better late than never! The pool is being cleaned next week so there won't be any classes. I'm planning on going the following week and hopefully continue until I pop.

Mili

Baby Shopping

We went on our shopping spree last weekend. I finally have been taken off of shopping restriction now that we've had all the baby showers! Side note on the baby showers, I'm planning on posting a separate blog and pics on that.

The game plan for last Saturday was BabiesRUs, Target, and to find cloth diapers and wraps somewhere in the city. Everything went well, we had a long shopping list and got pretty much crossed off. We didn't have to buy anything online and found anything in the stores. It was an all day event, but it could have been a lot worse!

BabiesRUS we were in and out, we only needed a couple of things from there. We then had to stop by my friends Mary's house to get a coupon for a car seat that we were planning on buying at Target. That coupon saved us 35.00 so it was worth the trip! A good chunk on change was spent at Target, but like I said we got EVERYTHING including my glider and ottoman that I really wanted. And it was nice to be able to buy it in the store as opposed to online to save on shipping and handling. We didn't spend as long in Target as I had anticipated which is a very good thing.

So then it was off to find cloth diapers and wraps. First we went to eat lunch at Coastal Kitchen one of our fave places to eat. Yum yum. I had a couple of places in mind for cloth diapers, Bootyland (Gabe delivers water there) and Birth and Beyond. I figured we would go to Bootyland first because we went there together once (when Gabe's mom was visiting over the summer) and I remembered they had a lot of second hand cloth diapers and wraps. Low and behold they still had quite a few!

The girl that works there offered help as soon as we walked in and I immediately said "Yes, we need cloth diapers and wraps and a brief introduction to cloth diapering!". So she showed us a couple different wraps and how to use a cloth diaper. I've done cloth diapers when Carly was little (that was 15 years ago) and a brief stint with my cousin John when I spent the summer with my Aunty Paula. Gabe got the general idea of cloth diapering, I think he will do just fine. And I guess we'll learn after the first time when poop and pee gets everywhere because we didn't diaper her tight enough!

We bought ALL the diapers and wraps second hand and saved a ton of money. We thought it would be smarter to not start off with all new diapers and wraps JUST IN CASE we opt not to use them in the end. Plus we can always upgrade once we get more hands on experience and we have more of an idea of what we want and what would work better with baby once she's here.

Now we have baby crap EVERYWHERE around the house. We're in the process of cleaning and organizing as we go along. We have to wash all her clothes, bedding and diapers before she comes. It's a process but we're getting there!

Mili

P.S.
Who is "Dinner...It's What to Eat"?? I can't figure it out! Please tell me who you are cause it's bugging the hell out of me!

The Conclusion of the Preparation for Childbirth Classes and Breastfeeding

I just figured out I can blog from work (I'm surprised the wesbite isn't blocked) so I figured why not because I don't feel inclined to work at the moment.

So this past Sunday was our last day for our Childbirth classes. They weren't a total waste of time, but it did seem a little drawn out at the end. I think we did learn a few things that I'm sure will come in handy in the near future.

The facilitator told all the parents that we will all be great parents and it makes you smile (at least it makes me smile!). Apparently she's gotten some doozies in the past, parents asking when they can drink and smoke again. Those people will make Gabe and I look like the best parents in the world!

Last night I took my breastfeeding class. There was lots of information on breastfeeding, the class ran about 1/2 hour longer than it was supposed to and I was very close to leaving because I was exhausted and it was past my bedtime. I learned that a good latch is everything when it comes to breastfeeding! Patience and persistence is key. We really want to breastfeed as long as we can since statistically breast milk is so much better than formula. If you've ever looked at the benefits of breastfeeding as opposed to formula fed babies it's quite astounding how much difference it makes. So I'm crossing my fingers and hope that the baby takes to the booby.

All in all we're relieved that all of our classes are done and over with. After all, knowledge is power right?!

34 Week Check Up

I had my regular check up yesterday and both baby and I check out fine EXCEPT for the fact that the doctor advised me that the baby is currently in a breech position and if she doesn't turn then we're looking at a C-Section sometime the first week of December (approximately one week before the due date). I asked if there was anything I can do to help her turn and according to Doctor Shuster as well as the book that we got from Preparation for Child Birth Class I can elevate my hips and see if that will help. The book also mentioned playing music for her and placing the head phones on the lower section of my abdomen by my pubic bone. So I will be doing that for the next two weeks until our next appointment which is on November 17 in hopes she will cooperate.

At the next appointment if she hasn't turned we can try to do an External Version which is when the doctor physically manipulates my abdomen and try to turn the baby herself. This is does not sound like a very pleasant procedure which Crystal, our Doctor's assistant reiterated to me this afternoon. An External Version is successful about 50% of the time, which to me is worth a shot as I am trying to avoid a C-Section as much as possible. If we do opt to do an External Version we will set up an appointment at that time and probably have the procedure done either later that week or early the following week.

We're crossing our fingers and hoping she will turn and not turn back to the breech position! But like I've told a few people if she's stubborn like her parents (more so her mommy I should say) then we are screwed! ;-) On the up side the doctor did make me feel good when she complimented on how smooth my belly was and asked me what product I use to make my belly smooth! It cracked me up!

Mili

Conscious Fathering

Ok Mili wanted me to write in the blog about my experiences
at conscious fathering class. So really the whole time I was
imagining what it would be like to be birthed. And at this point
I began to brain storm. How can we get that experience of
entering into the world, via womb, once again.

So here on display are some of the ideas I’ve come up
with for the Birthing Helmet Cam. Yes the “Birthing Helmet
Cam”! I’ve come up with some variations that suit each
individual.

-The Multi Angle made to compete with today’s
video gaming technology. See the birthing canal from every
angle now!

-The child safety which allows the baby to control
the angle of the shot without any of that annoying birthing
mucus in the way.

-Then there is the Warrior(maybe not the most
comforting for the mother) but if you want to set a standard for
the young one you will go with the warrior.

-Lastly for the minimalist there’s the Girl Scout-light, bright, and
spectacular video.

The idea is to have the doctor reach up and insert the
camera on the baby’s head, this might also be done by
cesarean.

Being Sick Sucks

Being sick sucks. Being sick when you're pregnant sucks even more. You can't take just take any cold or decongestant medicine, hell you really shouldn't take anything. I've been taking cough suppressant before I've gone to bed and that's just about it.

I called out sick two days this past week hoping that will help nip it in the bud. So much for that idea because I feel worse! What the hell. If I'm not better by Monday I'm going to call the doc just to make sure I shouldn't be doing anything else. Normally I would just ride it out until I get better but because of little baby I figure I would be a little more cautious.

Our second class is tomorrow. We'll see if anymore heavy breathers come out.

Preparation for Childbirth Class

I will begin this blog by saying I am not shy about writing about woman parts, so if it makes you uncomfortable then don't read this!

Gabe and I began our Preparation for Childbirth classes this past Sunday. It's a four week series class, every Sunday from 430p-830p. The first class went well. Cindy, the teacher went over some basic information as far as signs that you may be going into labor and what not. We learned how baby's "come out" (and I don't mean coming out of the closet), the stages as the baby comes out, stuff like that. Gabe even volunteered to hold the pelvis as two other guys held the placenta and the va-jay-jay. They demonstrated how the baby comes out of the placenta, drops through the pelvis and comes out of the va-jay-jay. Cindy demonstrated how the baby turns as it's coming out and how the doctor pulls the baby out.

We practiced some breathing exercises that we will hopefully use when I'm having contractions. The couple next to us was really into it and their heavy and loud breathing was very distracting! Gabe kept on making me laugh throughout the breathing exercises, that goober. We always have to find the humor in everything we do including labor and delivery! I'm sure that will all change when it's actually happening. He wasn't sure what to do while I was breathing, I figure we'll play it by ear!

We took another tour of the birthing facility as well. We took a tour a few months ago, but we got to see some things we didn't see the last time. I've heard good things from a few people who have had their baby at Highline (the hospital) and from people who knows people who have given birth there. I'm hoping I can say the same after all is said and done.

It's quite the experience and it's sinking in even more now that we're taking this class. I think it's a bonding experience for us both (Gabe would be too manly to admit this) and bringing us closer together as expecting parents. I had my doc appointment yesterday and the nurse told me that we were going to be great parents. Now she probably says this to everyone but it definitely almost brought a tear to my eye!

The doctor appointment went well, same old same old. I'm doing well and baby is doing well. No problems thus far, knock on wood! It was comical as the doctor was getting the baby's heart beat because she kept on moving around ad didn't want to stay in one place! I told the doctor she's a mover and a shaker. She must get that from Gabe because I'm sure not a mover and shaker!

We'll keep you posted as we take our classes. :-)

Mili

Emails

For some reason after I emailed you all the link to the baby blog, I didn't receive some your emails. So if I didn't respond my apologies!

Mili

The Crib

So the crib is finally completed and put together! Thanks Gabe and Grandpa Roy! Here are a few pics that I took this afternoon. The baby won't have her own room, the crib is in the guest/computer room. The room is a little tight, but it will have to do for now. I'm hoping to move into a house next year if Gabe let's us! :-)

The finished crib turned out lovely, we like it. It's different and I really like the shade of green we chose. We would have had the crib put together last weekend but we left some of the crib parts at my parents house! Duh. We were going to go back down to my parents house this weekend (mind you, they live 45 minutes south of us) but my sister Amanda was in the area yesterday and she brought us the crib parts. Thanks Amanda!

We've also made plenty of room downstairs for baby's toys and pack and play. I'm sure our place will fill up rather quickly once we start buying everything! We've been pretty good about making throwing things out and making room for baby. We can't wait to meet her!

Gabe had his "Conscious Fathering" class this past week. I'm hoping he posts a blog about his class! We start our "Preparation for Parenting" classes tomorrow. Will definitely tell you all about it!

Mili

A Late Start

Setting this up was Gabe's idea and I guess this is something that we should have been doing for the past five months! We have about two months left until baby is here and we're becoming more excited with each passing day.

We've been quickening the pace on getting ready for her the past couple of weeks. Gabe has put me on restriction from buying anything until we've had all of our baby showers which is a great idea but it's soooo hard! The crib is just about done. My parents bought a second hand crib for us and we decided to stain it a "green tea" color. So the crib will hopefully be done this weekend. So until we've had all of the the baby showers all we can do is clean and get organized.

Our Preparation for Childbirth classes start next weekend and it's a month long series class held each Sunday from 430p-830p. Gabe has a Conscious Fathering Class next week and I will be taking a Breast Feeding class next month (which I'm making Gabe attend with me! Muwahahaha!). I've had a few people tell me that the classes are pointless, but what do we have to lose? Plus Gabe wants to take the classes and I think it's fantastic that he wants to partake in these classes.

Our baby girl is getting bigger and bigger each week. My co-workers are astounded at how fast I've been growing the past few weeks. For awhile it didn't seem as if my belly was getting rounder and all of a sudden BAM! It seems like just a couple weeks ago I was still getting the "Is she fat or is she pregnant?" looks. I think it's a little more defined now!

This is the first blog that we're posting and I'm sure I'll be posting more soon but I have to make dinner now. Hopefully I can figure this blog thing out and a become more savvy! Oh, and the belly pics are crappy but there will be better ones to come!