Skype

I just realized that I had forgotten to mention that during a good chunk of the labor- we were chatting on skype with Dan's mom and brother Lionel. Haha. It was so cool having them in the room with us (kind of)- a great distraction! Lionel had his American Flag and baseball hat on in honor of his new American neice.

The countdown is over!

Dyllan Grace came to join us a little early! Born last Sunday, January 24th at 4:38pm.

It all started Saturday night. I was out nannying and I dropped Charlie- the 17 year old that I was nannying off at his Tolo dance- took pictures, and headed back to meet Emily to make dinner and watch the documentary The Pregnancy Pact on TV. Emily left around 11:30pm- and Charlie had told me that he "may or may not need a ride home from the Tolo after party at 1am" So I just figured I would probably end up having to pick him up- and went to lay down with Mylo untill he called. I was just lying there resting when all of a sudden the bathroom light goes on. I thought that was really weird, and called out for Charlie, assuming that he must be home. Mylo didnt budge, so I wasnt too worried.. but no one was there.. so I got kind of freaked out that the light just switched on. I got up to check the light and as I was walking over, I leaked..and thought to myself "you idiot!! you just peed your pants! Are you REALLY that scared of this light??" I was so confused because it didnt feel like I had peed.. I went back to change my pants and more leaked.. so I decided to just lay down in my wet shorts so I would have at least 1 dry pair of pants to go pick Charlie up in. As I was lying there I started getting HORRIBLE cramps. Then, the bathroom light turns back off! Now, totally freaked out, I decided to give Charlie a call. Of course he didnt answer.. so I got up and tried to pack up my stuff and get outa there..and wait for him at home. But the cramps were too bad, I couldnt move out of fetal position. I tried calling Dan- but he was at a Concert and his phone didnt get reception. I lay there for about 20 min with waves of horrible cramps..then Dan called, thank god! He happened to step out of the bar and call- I explained that I couldnt move..so he said he would hop in a cab and be right over. When he got there he said we needed to go to the hospital...better safe than sorry. I agreed, but insisted that we go get Charlie first- since it was 1am and he texted saying I could come get him at 1:30am. Dan called Charlie and told him to hurry up and we were on our way. We got lost and couldnt find the house- but eventually found him. Dropped him off at home, and dropped Mylo off at our house. We got to Overlake ER around 2am (about 2 hours after my water had broken) The nurse there told me that my water had broken. I hadnt really put two and two together, althought it did cross my mind.. just didnt expect it so early! and figured that the cramps were just part of the whole pregnancy thing. The nurse asked me if my employer knew that I wouldnt be returning to work. I told her that he was 17 and he would be fine. Then asked "what do you mean not returning to work"? And she said "you wont be going anywhere untill after you have this baby". And I asked her "so you mean I will be here for TWO MONTHS?!" and she said "it could be two weeks, it could be two days.. we just need to keep this baby inside you as long as possible." So they gave me medicine to stop the contractions. Dan called Sean and mom and dad- and within minits they were all at the hospital with us! It was great timing- because mom had just gotten out of the hospital herself the day before. The nurse hooked me up with the contraction measurer which initially indicated really big contractions, but later didnt measure any contractions. So they figured the medicine was working. Mom, Dad and Sean went home to get some sleep and planned on coming back first thing in the morning.

I was still in tons of pain, and told the nurse that they were still bad. She said that they shouldnt be bad, because they wernt measuring on the machine. I asked them if I could have some pain medicine now, and they said no, to just try to sleep. So I asked them for a sleeping pill- and they gave me an ambien. The contractions kept me awake the entire night, even with the ambien. They gave me more medicine to help stop the contractions..and it slowed them down but still didnt stop them. My nurse was awesome!! She was this little Korean lady, Kimmy, who sat there and rubbed my back for an hour while I was in pain. Finally she said.. "something isnt right, lets do this the old fashioned way" and she measured my contractions on my stomach with her hand. She said "you're right, you are having contractions" and checked how far dialated I was. I was 8 inches dialated at that point and she said "you're gonna have this baby!" So I asked for my epidural imediately! I didnt even feel the needle go in my back because my contractions were so distracting.

After the epidural- I was GREAT! It basically numbed from my waist down. I got the epidural at 11am- and started pushing around 3pm.. Dyllan was born at 4:38pm. Wow, pushing is exhausting!

From there, we were transfered to a different suite (the suites at overlake are so nice!). Dan and I had the BEST TIME EVER! We felt like we had our own little hotel- you could order free room service whenever.. and boy, did we take advantage of that! The food was amazing, and we ate at least one of everything on the menu!! We watched TV, and had a ton of visitors. It was so great. We stayed there for 2 nights so we could be close to Dyllan.

Its been a week now, and we have been back to the NICU everyday- about 3 times a day. We go every morning at 9am for the "rounds"- where the nurses and doctors all meet with us and discuss her progress and the days goals. Dan is so good at all the technical stuff. He could tell you her reports word for word.. and I dont understand a thing they are talking about I just know she is doing really well.

She is growing so fast, and doing so well. I will keep updating the blog and share her progress! Hopefully she comes home sooner than her due date:)

Here are a few pictures of our little alien:)

Week 30- Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Wow, its 2010- the year baby Dyllan will be born.. 2 and a bit more months till she gets here! New Years eve was great- we had a little celebration down at the Casa- since the renters have vacated and the house was empty. Sean went to great efforts and hung a bunch of Balloons from the ceiling- that dropped at midnight. Dan played DJ. Dyllan and I had fun playing some beer/ginger ale pong and making pizzas!





With the new year- some changes have been made. Dan and I have decided to make a move down to the casa for a while, and prepare for whats to come. Mom and Dad are moving back in, and to save a little extra money- we have decided to rent out the downstairs. We are looking forward to being on the water again- especially this summer! We are so lucky to be given such a great situation with my parents! And still be able to keep our house. The only big bummer is that we had just finished painting the nursery and it looked so cute! We are planning on redoing it in the new nursery.. its just extra work.. but worth it! We have been working hard to get the house looking its best for new renters! We will miss it here- but looking forward to fun times ahead on the waterfront.

Dyllan is growing by the second.. we have a Dr. appt Fri then after that we will be seeing the doc every 2 weeks instead of every month. I am starting to rethink the whole class situation. At first I wasn't that excited about signing up for all the classes they offer- number one- they are kind of expensive! - number 2, I don't think they are totally necessary. So far so good with the whole pregnancy thing, and I feel that most of it comes, or should come pretty natural- without overwhelming ourselves with tons of information we don't need, and time we don't have to spend on the classes.. BUT now that I am thinking about it more.. maybe they aren't such a bad idea. For sure we want to do a breastfeeding class.. I hear that can be kind of tricky to get the hang of.. so a class would be helpful. And perhaps another class too- there is a condensed course that encompasses labor and bringing home your newborn.. its only 2 days so I was thinking that might be worth while. Not to mention, a good opportunity to meet some other soon-to-be- moms.

Went to spin class today at David Barton- first time back in spinning since we have gotten back from Australia. I was surprised that I wasn't totally out of shape. Glad I can still keep up! I wonder how much longer that will last. The stomach is definitely getting in the way as my knees bump up and down.

No real news as far as changes go. Everything is still going smooth, and I am still feeling great. One thing I have noticed, now that I am in the 3rd trimester is I am tired again! I thought it was jet lag at first but the jet lag is still lagging around.

Back from Oz! Week 29

Well, the jet lag has set in.. we got back from Australia Sat afternoon.. and thought it we had slept well on the plane. But after 2 days of lots of sleep I am finally feeling normal today. We totally scored with our seats! Dan mentioned that I was pregnant and needed extra room, and we got lucky- we sat in the premium economy section(much better than economy, but same price.. FYI if anyone is booking tickets overseas..) and got lots of extra room! We both thought the flight home wasn't too bad. I watched 2 movies (500 Days of Summer and Juli and Julia) and managed to even sleep a little! The way over was bad! I had to get up and pee every 20 min.. and I was too antsy to even watch one movie. So I was kind of dreading the way home.

Anyway, the trip was fantastic! We had a great time. Caught up with all of our friends and family, and spent lots of time at the beach! Colin and Ben had just arrived in Sydney- so we spent some time with them. They are both there working for the next year! Colin is working at the Australian Hotel- where he is one of several employees- none of whom are from Australia.. ha!

We went to Stacy and Bushy's wedding one weekend, which was great! I actually fit right in at the wedding.. there were about 10 other pregnant girls, and several new moms! The weather was nice most of the trip, with a few rainy days here and there. I even sported a bikini at the beach! Partly because I had nothing else. I packed my bags thinking that the only thing that had grown was my stomach.. but boy was I wrong!! Everything has grown.. my baggy shorts were too tight in the butt and legs, and nothing I packed fit at all! Oops. I ended up buying a large pair of shorts.. and wore dresses most of the time. Haha!





Here is a little update on the Figglet- I got on one of my emails.. thought I would share her progress!

Week 28:

Your baby has doubled her weight in the past month and is the size of a bag of flour. She now weighs almost 2 1/2 pounds. Her total length is nearly fifteen inches. Your baby's lungs are now capable of breathing air! This is big news. It means if the baby is born from now on, she'll be able to survive with less medical intervention. Your baby's main job right now is to put the finishing touches on major organ systems, such as her brain, lungs, and liver. As you can probably tell, she's also working on gaining layers of fat. Her body fat is about 2 to 3 percent. Your baby's eyes, which were covered by her eyelid folds at the sixth week of development, are capable of opening this week. Her sucking and swallowing skills are improving.

Blog from the Fig Daddy !

well those of you who know me would know I am the more excited one of the two !! As you can see from the Fig Mum's email, the excitement round here is hitting new highs...

Firstly I want to say how proud I am of my gorgeous baby's muumma, who is taking this all in her stride. So positive and capable, juggling an extremely busy work schedule, keepin the house operating, looking after everyone else's kids as a nanny and looking after the biggest kid of them all !! ME ...

I must say the thought of having a little girl is pretty amazing. Growing up in a family of boys has made me the guy I am today... Its goin to turn my world upside down, and the way I figure its going to turn it the right way Up !!!! Chasing the dream, always striving to grow a career , increase wealth ,improve fitness and always striving for personal growth has always been my game. Lately it has become very real that my journey of chasing more, is going to take a back seat for this little Miracle !!

The Ultra sounds have been so fun, to see her for the first time last week was really funny. Erica and I continue to joke and talk about what she is going to look like ! Hahahahahah so funny to think... Either way she will the most beautiful thing in the world. But I gota tell ya , between Erica's spunky ways and my crazy energy this little girl is guna be a hand full.

Dyllan Grace, Keep on growing in there . Less than 3 months to go until you will be here with your new family !! I will be make sure to test if if the milk is working before you get here ;)

Thanks for listening peeps !

Dan

Week 25 and off to Australia!

So this week it says that the Figglet is about the size of a Rutabaga- who knows what a Rutabaga even is anyway?! They pick the most random grocery items to compare the little baby to! For all those who are curious what that looks like- like I was.. I found one to show!

Everything is going great so far.. still feeling good! I felt Dyllan moving around a little- but I wouldn't say they are "kicks". Maybe I am expecting to feel a big punch or something..maybe that is what a "kick" is supposed to feel like. Anyway, nothing too strong.. but definitely moving around. One more week till the start of the third trimester.. I am getting excited for this whole pregnancy thing to be over.. not that its been bad at all.. I'm just getting tired of it, and ready for her to arrive already!

Speaking of arriving- we have the nursery partially done now! My dad is the best! He spent a few days painting the whole room white, complete with moldings for us- so that all I had to do was the pink stripes! It turned out perfect!



Dan and I have been working a ton lately, trying to get ready for our trip back to Australia on TUESDAY!! We are soo excited, and so ready for a holiday! It has gotten really cold here (40 degrees today) and summer in Australia is calling us! Mylo has her bags packed too! She is heading down to California with mom and dad to visit the family down there and stay with Grandpa! She cant wait. This week has been especially crazy- Mylo ended up getting flees! So the "Flee Bag" has been extra needy lately.. we had to rub her down with flee killer the other night- and keep her out of our room! I think they all left 12 hours later. Yuck, glad those are gone.

The Belly is growing super fast now! It finally looks like I am pregnant- not just that I ate too much- to people who don't know me! Strangers are starting to ask me "when are you due?" I cant believe how fast my belly is growing though..it seems like every day it sticks out an inch further. Here are a few pictures for now.. I took them in a hurry before I left to work..so they arnt the best.. but at least you can see how big the bump is getting. I will be able to take plenty more bump pictures in Australia!






Getting excited for Bushy and Stacey's wedding! Cant wait to see everyone over there! 5 days to go! I will post a blog while I am there.. I promise! Stay tuned...

21.5 Weeks ITS A GIRL!!

Dyllan Grace is the name we picked! We are very excited its a girl. Of course, Dan wants ALL pink for her room! Ha, he said he would pick pink regardless of whether it was a boy or girl anyway though..

I just got back from my monthly doctor appt (Dan couldn't make this one- he is down in San Francisco getting a new passport so we can go back to Australia next month!). Everything is healthy- heart beat is good, weight gain is good, growth is good.. everything on track! So that's good news. I'm still waiting to feel her kick!

As you can see from the pictures, she is growing fast! The last ultrasound (about 2 weeks ago) they told us she was about a foot long! Just like a subway sandwich!

We picked out a paint color for the nursery over the weekend.. its a pink, "Candy Stripe", which is fitting because Dyllan's Candy bar is one of the best Candy shops I have ever seen! Anyway we are going to paint the top half of the wall Candy Stripe, and the bottom white. I will post pictures when we get it painted.. hopefully in the next few weeks..