3 months old!

chloe continues to be amazing. she's getting more and more social every day with smiles and giggles and coos. she's getting better with grasping things and investigating them with her mouth. one of my favorite things is when she is going to sleep, she'll hold my fingers and touch them gently as she drifts off. super sweet. she's getting stronger too. we can hold her under her armpits and she'll practice standing up. not long now before she's going to start crawling. she's going to be a busy girl. i'm in my last week of work before the holiday break. the big plan is to transition her to her crib over the break. will miss her little body next to me in bed and her smiley little face. hope you enjoy the photos. went to santa cruz yesterday to visit carrie and her new baby malcom. he was born on 12/12 (3 weeks early) was 6 pounds 2 oz and 16 inches long. chloe seems like a giant beside him! mom and baby are doing well. and happy to finally be home. can't wait to see chloe and malcom grow up together!

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11 weeks

new photos and fun video! enjoy


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happy thanksgiving

just wanted to add some new photos over the past week or so. kiki was in town and chloe and i got to spend just a quick visit with her and her sister sara. unfortunately, she had just fallen asleep in the car by the time we got there and wasn't happy about being woken up as you can see in the photos! had an early thanksgiving with my gramps chet and then grandma marilyn came into town as well for the holiday. ate lots of turkey and cranberries, but had to get a vegan pumpkin pie as dairy still isn't setting in chloe's stomach very well. she's growing like crazy and is really vocalizing a lot. she's also working on her motor skills...grasping at objects and ALWAYS looking at everything. work is fine for me...loving the weekends and still trying to get as much work done at home so i can devote my time to the family. jimmeh is doing a great job being daddy daycare. we seem to be managing quite well with the division of labor and trying to have a somewhat organized house. it's not as clean as it used to be..but we're learning to live with it!

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2 months old!

wow. lots going on over the last 10 days...cousin sam stopped by, grandma katy came down for a visit and we got to meet great grandpa chet! spent some alone time with dad while mom went to a few last minute doctor's appointments. chloe had her 2 month checkup on monday and all went well even though she had to get 3 vaccination shots in her leg. she was a trooper and didn't have any adverse side effects. she actually slept most of that day and the next. mom started back to work on tuesday. it's going well. kids are happy to see me and it's nice that i've taught these classes before so i don't have to do a lot of prep work. it's been hard to juggle the night feedings and sleeping since i'm getting up at 5am to nurse chloe and get her back to bed so i can pump and get ready for work and be out the door at 630am. happily though, things are going really well at home with jimmeh taking over the baby duties. i can think of a more seamless transition. puts my mind at ease, for sure! i'm super glad that they're hanging out well together and that she's doing well with taking the bottle in my absence. so, since i'll be working now, jimmeh will probably be taking over the blog duties and photo taking...stay tuned. current stats: length: 23.75 in (95th percentile), head circumference 35 cm (55th), and 13 pds 12 oz (97th!!) gotta love the chunky monkey!

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week 7

ay yi yi...here we are at the end of week 7. i know i've said this before, but the time sure flies. it's been a busy week here as you can see by the photos. last weekend, grandma marilyn was in town. we went up to walnut creek to visit the local Mantle clan. you'll see great grandma betty and great aunt audrey in the photos. tuesday, we had a lunch date with great aunt margie and then yesterday was a big day in santa cruz with catherine and carrie. it was my 35th birthday, so we had a picnic lunch over at carrie's house. we celebrated catherine's birthday too, which was on the 1st. it was a great day. had lots of great presents from papa jimmeh and other family members plus lots of email and phone wishes as well. too bad i didn't get to watch the rest of the hockey game though. we are in bed by 8pm every day.

papa jimmeh is home now with us for my final week of maternity leave. part of me is looking forward to going back to work, but another huge part of me is nervous about scheduling our morning together and getting to work on time. i'm also not looking forward to pumping at school...i'll try it for a while and see how it turns out first. i think that jimmeh is a little nervous and excited about being home with chloe all day, but that is to be expected. i'm going to miss her little face all day, i'm sure, so i'm uploading tons of photos & viseo on my new ipod so i can have her with me all the time. :)

other milestones: first earthquake (5.6! on 10/30), first bath, and first weigh-in (we bought a scale)...she's 14 pounds! holy crap! big baby!

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5 1/2 weeks - i think she's mine...

i can't believe that it's almost been 6 weeks since out little peanut arrived! the time sure does fly by.she's starting to be a bit more responsive with smiles and that makes the days much happier. she still has "colicky" times in the evening and there are some days when she eats all day and doesn't nap that are hard.. but that just means she's growing. she's definitely our chunky monkey. and i didn't originally think she looked like me, but check out my baby photo on the left. um...yeah, she's mine! we measured her head circumference last night & she's grown 3 cm in circumference in 4 weeks. i have been able to shower a little bit more & feel like sleep is coming easier even though we're co-sleeping. i've also been working on lesson plans for the remaining 2 weeks of leave which is challenging especially on the days when she's fussy. we have been able to get out from time to time for groceries, to old navy & target, to school :(, & also got to meet cousin sydney last weekend for a short visit. all in all, we're well. hope you are too.

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One month old!

It sure is amazing how fast the time has flown by! Can't believe that Chloe is already a month old. She's growing like a weed! Already 22 inches long. Not sure how much she weighs as we don't have a scale though. She continues to be a fun little beauty..although she has developed an evening habit of fussiness starting around 530 and continuing until I can't take it anymore and take her to bed around 830. I'm trying to figure out if she's reacting to any foods that I'm eating that end up in the breastmilk....but it's so hard as I am a fan of yogurt (dairy - bad), soy milk, chocolate, peanuts, and many other things that are considered potential "fussy" foods.
I also started pumping in preparation for my journey back to work. Jimmeh got to spend about an hour or so solo with her last week while I went to the doctor. He got the full spectrum from diaper change, to changing clothes (poop disaster), feeding with the bottle (and the subsequent crying), and finally got her to nap. He continues to be a great help making me dinner and taking care of me and Chloe. She's had a few visitors as well. We went to Santa Cruz to visit Carrie last week and Uncle Mike came down this weekend for a quick visit as well. Wish I could say it was fun all the time, but sometimes it's just not. She's starting to smile sometimes and that little bit of interaction helps. But mostly the evening fussiness and two hours in a row at night sleep pattern sometimes gets on my nerves. I know it'll be over soon and new challenges will present themselves. Until then, I'll continue to try to shower at least twice a week! one can hope.....enjoy the photos and video:

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3 weeks old

another week gone by. this week was marked by a trip to school and doctor visits for mom. milestones this week: chloe made a taco tongue for 1 second! she gets this from her dad, and she moved up a size in diapers...she's a size 1 now that she's passed up the 8 pound mark...and her drumstick thighs were getting pinched by the tiny diapers! she's still growing like a week. i call her chunky monkey! i got a breast pump a few days ago and dad has had a chance to try to get her to take to the bottle. she's done ok so far (today was day 1)..but the nipple flows faster than the real thing and she's not quite used to that yet. i guess it's pretty common. this weeks' photos include some tummy time action, then some "big arms" in the bouncy chair (think eddie izzard), and the in last photo, she's wearing what we refer to as her "hammer pants" (like M.C. Hammer)...so we end up making her dance to "can't touch this"...inevitably, however, she ends up spitting up before we can really get into it!

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giant baby

can't believe that week 2 has already come and gone. saw the doctor today and chloe is still 21 inches long, but is 9 pounds 6 ounces! that's 1 pound and 2 ounces up from last week. holy crap! doctor was very excited about her growth spurt. everything else checked out fine. her umbilical fell off late last week and then bled a little bit over the weekend, but we've been putting alcohol on it and the doctor said today that it's completely healed and that she's ready for her first bath.
not much else to report. our routine generally consists of eating, sleeping, and pooping. some nights are better than others..but such is to be expected. she's still super cute and i know that in the next week or so, she's going to start smiling on her own (not because of gas!) and i can't wait for that! otherwise, have been keeping busy trying to take photos and work on lesson plans from time to time. bleck. do i really have to go back to work? i know...eventually. :) in the meantime, i'll be working on my biceps just lifting the giant baby and carrying her around! this week's photo gallery as well: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=b2h0app.5mtvflah&Uy=-xy12ex&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

chloe's first week

so we made it through the first week! whew! it's tiring to say the least. chloe is doing really well. had a bit of jaundice so had to get her heel pricked and levels checked 3 times this week after having phototherapy and LOTS of eating. luckily, she's on the recovery train and has gained some weight back since delivery. as of yesterday she was 8 pounds 4 ounces, so i guess our what feels like constant nursing regimen has done it's job. i feel very lucky that i've been successful getting her to breastfeed even though i sometimes feel like that's all we seem to do. last night we had a marathon nursing session for 4 hours. man....that's tiring. but afterwards, she slept for 4 hours and i actually woke her up to eat again. anyway, we're all doing well. considering the sleep deprivation. chloe is amazing and i can't even believe that we made her together. jimmeh says that it's the best thing we've ever done together. every day she changes and does something new and it's just fascinating! enjoy the new pics and video.

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she's finally here!

check out the prelim photos. story to follow soon...i promise

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in her own time...

well, this baby is sure stubborn. just like her mom and dad! nothing exciting to report from the doctor yesterday. lost 2 pounds and some amniotic fluid which apparently is normal as the due date approaches. no change in the cervical situation. still 90%/1cm dilated. was really hoping for more progress after all the activity "down there" this weekend. cramped all night from the pelvic exam....but that happened last week too. not getting too excited. set up an appointment for induction next wednesday (9/19) in the event that she doesn't arrive soon. not thrilled about that, but i told her today that she needs to come out by then on her own. so, maybe she'll make up her mind soon. tried to work on monday and totally regretted it. so, i'm officially on maternity leave as of yesterday. not thrilled about using up my sick days before the bambina arrives, but i have developed a little sciatica in my right leg and it was really hard moving around on monday. so, i decided to get things ready at home and try to rest as much as possible. there's not really much to do around here though since i just had the whole summer off to "get ready." oh well. will update again soon. hopefully with exciting news instead of the same old story. *sigh*

sans baby still

well, our little princess is sure taking her time. doctor thought for sure this weekend because of my cervical situation....and here we are on sunday morning, still waiting. not that anything hasn't happened...thursday after my appt, i was really woosy and crampy all day. friday - felt fairly normal. yesterday lost my mucus plug (sorry if it's TMI) and had frontal braxton-hicks contractions all day. so, i know that i'm in the early stage of labor...but that's all i know. both of us are getting anxious as the "constant state of readiness" as jimmeh puts it, is a little nervewracking. was really hoping for an early baby....but my "official" due date still isn't until friday the 14th anyway. geez. next appt is tuesday at 330...i really hope i don't make it 'til then...

The last preggie pics?

good lord, i hope so. current stats: 39 weeks tomorrow. current weight 156. total gained to date: 26. as of 4pm today....cervix dilated to 1.5 cm and 90% effaced! doctor predicts labor within the next couple of days because of the effacement. so, holy crap! gonna be in a lot of pain soon. but am anxious to not be preggers anymore and to finally meet this little being! will keep you posted when i can...

we're having a girl!

went to the doc today. gained 1 pound. currently 154. total gained to date 24. heard the heartbeat and got measured from top of uterus to pubic bone..and confirmed that the baby has dropped into my pelvis. thankfully, i'm not feeling like the baby is going to fall out like some people have warned me about. internal exam confirms baby dropped....she's right at my cervix which sadly has not started to thin at all. ultrasound shows good amniotic fluid and that we're having a girl! got to see the big "v" in addition to some other parts....shoulder, eye socket, spine, heart. am super excited that it's a girl as we've thought that all along. now we can cut out 50% of the names we were considering. yay! that makes jimmeh happy. am still hoping that the baby decides to put me in labor on labor day. that would be great! am ready to be unpregnant and also to not be on my feet at school all day. besides, all my lesson plans are ready through mid-october, so it would be the best time if she came now! fingers crossed! xo

Week 37 1/2 - only 18 days left!

Holy cow! I can't believe that we're almost there. Still have no definitive knowledge of gender, but at this point we're so close that it isn't going to kill us to wait. We just need to start picking out names! Am on the weekly doctor appointment schedule. Last weeks stats: weight 153 lbs. total gained to date: 23 lbs. Current circumference at the belly button = 40 inches! All seems to be going smoothly. School starts this week on Tuesday. Haven't found a sub yet. :( Hoping that the baby decides to come early rather than later for 2 reasons. 1 - I'm tired of creating lesson plans and 2 - I'm tired of being pregnant! Mostly feeling well, just feel slow to move around and have difficulty sleeping more than 3-4 hours in a row without my hips hurting and needing to roll over. Baby is still head-down and frequently is trying to come out the front of my belly so it feels tight. I have to lay down to get her to float away from my belly button and more towards my spine. So, in the spirit of Labor Day next weekend....think thoughts of labor for me!

Beached Whale?

I went to Santa Cruz last week to hang out with Catherine and Carrie. We went out for sushi and then Cat and I went to the beach to take some photos of me in my large glory! (Thanks Cat for being my photographer!) Scared a couple of boys who caught me with my top off (i was covering myself with my hands).. won't be sharing those photos on the blog. :P Met up with old friend Kevin in Moss Landing for some "Whole Enchilada." Fish tacos...YUM! Was exhausted at the end of the day, but it was a nice little fun day out of the house!

Prudish Baby

So, had my 35th week appointment today. I gained my required poundage since last time. Total weight gained to date: 24 pounds. Had another ultrasound today...baby is in the head-down position which is good...getting ready for the birth. Tried to confirm the sex of the baby and the doctor couldn't get a good read...AGAIN! Looks like we have a stubborn, prudish little one! Doctor said that we would try again in a week or two to confirm. Needless to say we are anxious to share the gender and finally pick a name...but alas, we have no news to share! Stay tuned!

almost week 35 already!

geez...the time sure flies. can't believe there's only 5 weeks left. feeling pretty good considering my ribcage has started to hurt from my expanding uterus...i especially enjoy getting kicked in the ribs...sometimes it's quite startling! doctor says that the baby is already in the "head down" position getting ready for the birth...it's funny too because i can tell when the baby faces out toward my belly and when it faces in towards my back. baby is still quite active, although there's not much room anymore!

end of week 33

sorry, but nothing really new and exciting to post. doctor appointment went well yesterday. all seems normal. no weight gain from 2 weeks ago. currently: 149 lbs. total gained: 19 lbs. that's just fine. i need to be prepared though as i'm expected to gain 4-5 pounds by my next visit (in 2 weeks)...been busy setting up the baby's room and sorting through all the stuff that we've received for the bambini. started washing the clothes and putting them in drawers. need to touch up the paint in a couple of spots in the room and put some shelves up, but otherwise, all is rolling along fine. i'll take some pics today once it's a normal hour and i've had a chance to wake up. (it's 7am)

new books i've read

sliver of truth - lisa under (good mystery)
blue christmas - mk andrews (cute family story)
you make me feel like an unnatural woman
baby laughs - jenny mccarthy (i KNOW....it was actually quite amusing)
girlfriends guide to the first year of motherhood - vicki iovine (can you tell i'm getting ready?)
birthing from within and a bunch of other hippie lamaze books. i'm trying to get psyched up for the delivery.

next doctor appointment:today in one hour. updates tomorrow

Baby Shower #2

Last Saturday, my cousins Tiff and Sam threw me a lovely shower for the bambino. The weather was great, the friends and family were better, and I was EXHAUSTED at the end of it all! Here's the link to the first batch of photos:

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As of today (7/27) I am 33 weeks along. Can't believe only 7 weeks left! Am busy now washing baby clothes and putting the room together. Next appointment is next week, so I'll update photos and stats then. :)

idle hands?

blankets i've crocheted so far this summer. no, they're not all for me. i know 3 pregnant people right now and one that has a 5 month old. plus, i have about 6 bins of yarn from my deceased grandmother that are sitting in the spare room waiting to be made into something loved. the first 2 granny square ones are lopsided because the yarns i used were different weights...oops. here's the pattern: http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/60505A.html?noImages= the last one is the most "professional" one that i've made. it's so lacy and actually turns out square. can't remember where i got this pattern. it's my current favorite. i've made 2 already and am on #3! here's the pattern: http://members.aol.com/fourleafcl1064/page24.html

books i've read so far this summer:
a long way down - nick hornby (ok. i forget that i don' really like his writing)
little earthquakes - jennifer weiner (super awesome. easy to read and sucks you in)
confessions of a slacker mom - muffy mead (read in about 1 hour...good advice)
her mother's daughter - linda carroll (courtney love's mom's memoir...couldn't put it down)
bed rest - sarah bilston (can relate to the pregnancy woes of this character)
gods in alabama - joshilyn jackson (good mystery story)

man, i love the library! oh yeah...and time to read! :)

a few more photos

can you see my feet?!

week 30 + 4 days

where has the time gone? i have spent the last 3 weeks of summer vacation seemingly doing nothing! actually, i have done many puzzles, read many books, and am on the way to getting arthritis from all the crocheting that i've been doing. starting to feel the aches of pregnancy in my back and most recently in the tummy. i feel like i'm full all the time and stretched to the limits! eating meals has turned into more like light snacking as i'm rapidly running out of room! am on the 2 week cycle for appointments now. geez. went last week friday. here are the stats: 144.5 lbs (no gain from last month) total gained to date: 14.5 lbs current girth: at the belly button: 36.5 in, at the biggest part of the belly: 38 in. all seems normal...just wishing that i didn't waddle when i walked and had more energy to ride the elliptical trainer a little bit more often. we start childbirth classes on sunday. not super thrilled, but am nervous about the whole hospital-thing...so want to try and be prepared. here are the most recent pics. the green dress is what jimmeh calls my "watermelon smuggler" i hope you also enjoy the view from the top...can't really see my feet unless i bend over...and the belly button has started to pop out...but only the top part. weird.