Sea Life Park

Aunt Donna and I packed up the girls and took them over to the other side of the island to visit Sea Life Park today. They were running a Kama'aina sale, so we couldn't pass it up. Makaela was very excited to see the dolphins, but when we got there she became so interested in the play area there, we almost missed the dolphin show. Good thing we didn't- she was so excited to see the dolphins jump and flip. She also got a thrill out of feeding the sea turtles. We do this normally when we visit Ko'olina, but this time the turtles had their names or initials chalked on their shells so Makaela was able to call them by name which thrilled her.

Girls' Best Friend

When I brought Mia home from the hospital, Bailey knew something was up. He automatically went into hypermode. He followed my every move, tried to get as close to Mia as could and would rush to the side of the baby whenever she cried. He acted as if she was his baby and I remembered how he did the same when we brought home Makaela. One would think that he wouldn't be so wacky since he already went through this with Makaela, but I guess he has baby fever too...can't blame him either, babies make everything so exciting.

Bailey watching over Mia

Bailey watching over Makaela

Bailey sitting guard next to Makaela

Bailey sitting guard next to Mia.

Thanksgiving 2010

This year Tanya and Jerrod hosted Thanksgiving at their house and it was lovely. I made another turkey this year to add to the smoked turkey, fried turkey and ham that were the main dishes. There were some new relatives around this year to help us celebrate: Mum Weida and Aunt Donna, plus the arrival of the newest members of our group: Zack, Makenzie, Dylan and Mia. Surrounded by all our family and friends (not to mention all the yummy desserts) reminds us how much we have to be thankful for.

Brody sharing the swing with Makaela

Gavin and Makaela playing- Gavin was concerned Makaela would fall, so he was helping her down.

Mia and Makenzie- can't wait to see these two become as close as their sisters are.

The night ended with the kids gathering up on me for a pillow fight. Such fun!

Missing Grammy

Again, I am very lucky to have such a great mother-in-law. She was so helpful while she was here and Makaela got to spend some quality time with her. Being that we live so far away, it's difficult to Makaela to make family connections, but the two weeks that Grammy spent with us definitely helped her bond with her grammy. An hour after we dropped Grammy off at the airport, Makaela said, "I think we need to go back to the airplaneport and pick up my grammy again". Makaela didn't want her to leave and neither did I. Here are some pictures from our time spent with her.

Mia's First Thanksgiving

My mom sent Mia some First Thanksgiving gear, so I have to post this picture. Mia definitely looked like she was in the Thanksgiving spirit, even if she can't enough all the good food.

The Art of Gingerbread House Decorating

With Makaela staying home from preschool, we have been trying keep her busy with activities. My Aunt Donna arrived yesterday and she got a gingerbread house kit for Makaela, so this morning, the gingerbread house construction became a family activity. Grammy and I put the house together with the icing and then Donna and Makaela decorated it. It was a great way to use up some of the Halloween candy that has been floating around the house. We did learn that licorice and skittles go a long way. Later, Brooke came over and she and Makaela proceeded to pick all the candy decorations off the house and gobble them up.

Bye Bye Umbilical Cord

Mia's umbilical cord fell off today so we were finally able to bathe her. Unfortunately the hospital forgot to remove the clamp from her umbilical cord stump, so the poor girl went through the first 5 days of her life with a big clamp pressing into her belly until my mom decided to cut the clamp off herself. Thankfully she did it, because I was entirely too nervous to do it. However, the little stump that remained forced us to give Mia sponge baths but since she hates being cold, the sponge baths were pure torture. With the stump falling off today, we thought she might enjoy a real bath, but as you can tell by the picture, her first full bath was not as enjoyable as we hoped it would be.

Keeping in touch with Daddy

While Grammy Hoffman was here, we tried to keep Makaela busy with some activities to remind her of her dad. Grammy and Makaela got right to work baking Matt's favorite cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip) to mail to him in Iraq. Makaela really enjoyed licking the mixing spoons (she is so much like her dad). A few days after we sent him the cookies, we got a package in return. It was Matt on a DVD reading the girls stories and he sent the books as well so Makaela could follow along as he read. The USO puts together a program called "United through Reading" and they provide the books and the AV/audio equipment to make the DVD movie. Although we are very lucky and get to Skype with him frequently, this was a great surprise. Makaela watched her "daddy movie" over and over again with her little sister Mia.

Two Grandmas are Better than One

I have been very lucky to have so many supportive family members line up to help out after I came home from the hospital. Originally Grammy Hoffman was supposed to fly out to be here a bit before my due date, but since Mia arrived 11 days early, there was going to be a gap between leaving the hospital and her arrival and my mom decided to fly out on the spur of the moment. My mom arrived the day I came home from the hospital and immediately got to work cooking, cleaning, changing diapers and entertaining Makaela. She was there for Mia's infant pictures and Mia's first outing to the beach. We had a few funny moments like Mia's nonstop pooping and the gecko that decided to take up residence in one of my light fixtures. I am so grateful for the nights when she took Mia so I could get a few uninterrupted hours of sleep.

The day before she left, Linda arrived and we all went out for a family dinner at

Dixie Grill as a thank you dinner to my mom and a welcome/happy birthday dinner for Linda.

The Weida servers hooked us up with some screaming Mai Tais for the grandmas and sundaes for Makaela and myself.

It was sad to see my mom go, but we will be heading to New York for the holidays so we will be able to see her again in a month and of course, she was leaving us in good hands with Grammy Hoffman here.

Mia's First Day at the Beach

Today we headed out to the beach since we have been cooped up in the house all week. Makaela asked to go the turtle lagoon at Ko'olina so we headed there. My mom was a bit shocked to find out that there were actually large sea turtles swimming around (thus the name) and even more reluctant to enter the water with them swimming around, but Makaela charged in and showed her grandma how to be brave :-) The two had fun turtle watching.

Mia also seemed to enjoy the beach. She slept most of the time, but had such a pleasant smile on while she slept, we could only assume that she was enjoying herself.

Mia's Infant Photo Shoot

While I was in the hospital, I grabbed an Island Family magazine from the hospital lobby to read and I came across an ad for a local photographer who took pictures that resembled Anne Geddes work. I love Anne Geddes, so I thought I would inquire. We scheduled her photo shoot and she was 5 days old at the time. Usually at that age, babies sleep better, but it took us a while to get Mia to sleep and even when she did fall asleep, she proceeded to poop and pee all over the ladies studio...multiple times :-) Luckily, we got some great pictures.

Adjustment Period

Makaela is loving being a big sister, but I can tell she is having some adjustment issues because we have been having some issues with behavior. There is a lot of whining and crying (which I think is her mimicking Mia), sassiness (which is her asserting her "big girl" status and independence) and a lot of boo-boos, most of which are fake (which is her plea for attention). I know why this is happening and I am trying to be patient, but it can be trying at times, especially when I am sleep deprived. Luckily I have had my mom staying with us to help out and as a result, she has been addressing and taking the brunt of Makaela's mini-tantrums. In efforts to get Makaela out of the house (since being cooped up isn't helping her behavior), we headed out to the swap meet. Looked like all the girl needed was some fresh air and some shopping to soothe her.

In a moment of tenderness, Makaela decided to "feed" us her shave ice, opening up her own mouth so we would mimic her while she fed us. I remember Matt used to make fun of me for this because when I would feed Makaela when she was little, I would do the same thing. It was a reminder that she is still so little even if she is trying to fill the role of the "big sister". I have to remember that she is only 3, not 13.

Makaela and Breastfeeding

I was wondering how I was going to broach the issue of breastfeeding with Makaela, but she picked up on her own. As I was feeding Mia, Makaela said, "mommy, is she eating from your blueberries?" I guess she thinks nipples look like blueberries? Or maybe she heard "boobies" and mistook the word for "blueberries". Later when I was feeding Mia, Makaela said she wanted some of "mama's milk". When I told her that she couldn't have this milk and that it was for Mia, she said, "ok, then I'll have some of daddy's milk". That would be a sight!

In Awe

I'm still in awe over the fact that Mia is finally here. Her pregnancy was such an experience, from finding out about the pregnancy in Italy, miscarriage scares, the split placenta and worrying about her development, Matt heading to Iraq days before her arrival and then her actual delivery. I find myself staring at her just amazed that she is actually here and is ours. Perhaps it's the idea that she is probably my last baby, but I just can't help staring at her and feeling this overwhelming sense of love and also, accomplishment.

Going Home

We were discharged from the hospital on Nov 6th and Lisa and Rich came to pick us up. Mia was too small for her car seat, so the nurse had to show us how to make the car seat restraints smaller. Didn't have this problem with Makaela since she was so much bigger.

When we got home we had a 30 minute nap before my mom arrived. My mom decided to fly out last minute to help out after I came home from the hospital. Since Mia arrived 10 days early, Grammy Hoffman wasn't due to arrive until the 11th. I was very lucky that she did come because I really needed some help caring for Makaela. Later on, Lisa brought Makaela home and we prepped for a girls' night at our house to celebrate Katie, Michelle, Kristen, and Tanya's birthday and to meet Mia as well. It was a great way to come home from the hospital, surrounded by lots of loved ones!

Mia's first full day

November 5th, I woke in the hospital to a flower delivery. Matt had flowers delivered to my room and yet again, I shed some more tears (totally going to blame that one on hormones). Today Makaela was coming to meet her new sister and I was excited to see Makaela as well. Steph brought up Makaela, Gavin and Dylan to visit (yes, she is super mom dealing with 2 toddlers, and a 2 month old). At first Makaela didn't really want to hold Mia, but she eventually came around after she got the gifts Mia "bought" her.



Dylan and Mia are already fast friends and are taking after their big sister and brother.

Mia's Arrival

On November 4th, I woke up knowing I was going to have my baby that day. I started having contractions on Tuesday night and by yesterday I had decided that I was not going to return to work today. I actually had a C section consult at 11am, but since I was having contractions, I was unsure if I should go to the appointment. I called Steph to ask her advice and we decided that she would pick me up and we would head to the appointment and perhaps that doctor would admit me b/c I was in labor. Well, between prepping for all the stuff I needed to do, we got to the hospital late and I missed my appt so we headed up to labor and delivery. After sitting in the waiting room for about an hour, I was checked and admitted because I was 7cm dilated. The odd thing was, my contractions were so mild, the nurses kept saying, "you look entirely too calm for being 7cm dilated and in labor". I had also asked the doctor to check my amniotic fluid since the doctors forgot to do it last time and we found out that my fluid was "grossly low" and it could lead to "fetal demise" (very scary words to hear when you are in labor), so the doctor said we were getting the baby out tonight! I was finally going to meet Mia.

By the time I was moved into my labor and delivery suite, most of my "doulas" were present. Steph and Dylan escorted me in, Lisa and Amy (my real doula) met us in triage, Katie caught up to us as we were walking to the suite and then Monica arrived. Around 4pm, the doctor came in to break my water and within an hour, the contractions got more intense. I was so lucky to have my girlfriends around me because they told the doctors what I wanted and didn't want, kept me distracted with fun gossip and baby stories and did their best to get in contact with Matt, which enabled him to be "present" during the delivery.

By 8-9 cms the contractions were really bad and I couldn't get out of bed because I had to keep the fetal monitor on me, so I asked for the epidural. About 10 minutes after the epidural, I asked to go to the bathroom and the nurses checked me and we gave a test push. Mia's heart rate dropped so we eased off the pushing to let her recover. Doctors came in about 45 minutes later and it was decided I should push. Again, her heart rate decreased so doctors panicked a bit and pulled out the vacuum. I was very nervous, but luckily she was right there so they only needed the vacuum for one major push and Mia Ann arrived after 8 minutes of pushing!

Matt got to listen during the entire delivery and coach me over the phone when Monica wasn't giving him a play by play update. Katie emailed him a video of the delivery immediately and he got to see her minutes after her birth- love technology!

I had been worried that Mia was going to be too small due to my split placenta, but she was a healthy 7 lbs 2.8 ounces

I was amazed at all of her hair!

Because Matt was not around, Monica got the honors of cutting the umbilical cord. Mia is going to have some serious ties to her aunties.

Mia talking to her daddy for the first time. Overall it was such an amazing experience. After having a C section with Makaela, I was so relieved that I could have a natural childbirth. Afterward, I had such a surge of energy, I spent almost the entire night staring at her. Already, I'm in love.

A trying day of testing and contractions

Today, after only getting 4 hours of sleep due to my hospital escapade last night, I headed into work to endure a day of non-stop HSA testing (the state assessments for my students). These poor kids had to take three computerized, high stakes tests back to back. My the end of the day, they were fried, I was utterly exhausted and the contractions that were non-existent last night, were definitely making themselves known. After posting my hospital visit on facebook last night, my colleagues were shocked that I was actually in school, but I had decided that today was definitely my last day. Tomorrow starts my maternity leave!!

A very exciting Election Day

Today was Election Day so I had the day off from school which meant that I had lots planned. The first thing on my list was to go to my 38 week prenatal appointment and get an update on Mia. My doctor was very surprised that I hadn't given birth yet (at 36 weeks she guessed that I would give birth within the two weeks). When she checked me, she made the comment "I don't know how that kid is still in there?" I was 5-6cm dilated at 70% effaced. What concerned her though was the fact that my belly was measuring 34 weeks instead of the 38, which may mean that my amniotic fluid was low, so she told me to go to the hospital, she would call them as well, and prepare for my baby to be born. So, started the mass texting and phone calls prepping for Makaela babysitting, dog watching, lesson planning, etc. I was running around like a nut until I finally decided to leave for the hospital at 3:30pm. Of course, before I headed down, I had to stop and vote.
As I was voting, I was behind a man that was paralyzed and had no use of his body from his neck down and yet, here he was on line, waiting to vote. He signed his signature with the pen propped in his mouth and then headed off to do his voting. I'm not sure if it were the massive amount of hormones or what, but I found myself tearing up. I found this man's strength so overwhelming: instead of staying home, he was out, voting and doing his civic duty and not once did I get the feeling that he expected anyone to feel sorry for him. It's strength like this that I want to instill in my own children.
When I got to the hospital, they were reluctant to admit me because I wasn't having any contractions, but once they realized how much I was dilated, they admitted me. They told me to go walking for two hours to try to induce labor a bit more. Katie and my doula, Amy came to meet me as I "walked". We headed back to triage and waited a few more hours before a doctor came in and suggested that I leave. I was politely told that they couldn't refuse to admit me due to how dilated I was, but they had no beds, so since I wasn't in active labor, I would be moved to another ward for "observation". I opted to go home, sleep in my own bed and head to work the next day. I was very disappointed since Katie, Amy and I (not to mention all the people in NY, OK and friends in HI would were texting and looking for updates) thought we would be meeting little Mia in a few hours.
As we were leaving, I realized something...they never even checked my amniotic fluid.