So Many Firsts

First time wearing a dress Sunday 2/22/09

First bath (without umbilical cord) Saturday 2/21/09

First day without umbilical cord Friday 2/20/09

As you can see its been a weekend of firsts. After her 2 week check up at the doctors on Friday her umbilical cord fell off that evening. Then Saturday night John and I decided to give Kayla her first real bath, no more sponge baths! She did surprisingly well! Then today I put her in her little heart dress since its almost the end of February. She cried at first but I think she likes it now, and she's so cute in it!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was wonderful this year for John and I. We got our precious little Valentine, Kayla. Also, John gave me a beautiful necklace of a mother and child pendent. We exchanged cards, John got one from his baby girl! For dinner one of our neighbors brought us chicken parm and John made artichoke hearts, he said it was festive!! They were good though, I will give him that. Here are some pics from that day.

She's Here!

On Friday February 6, 2009 Kayla Grace Pico was born at 9:17pm weighing 8lbs 9ozs and 21inches long. John and I woke up this day ready for the induction to begin. We left for the hospital at 5am and I was started on pitocin at 7am. At 8:20 the midwife broke my water and about one or two in the afternoon I FINALLY received my epidural. Problem was it only worked on the right half of my body! After two "boosters" and nubane given through the iv I was still in terrible pain. Something was not right. At about 8:30 it was decided I needed to have a c-section because Kayla was stuck and labor could not progress. After 14 hours of labor Kayla Grace Pico was born! Her daddy followed her to the nursery where he assisted in giving her first bath and feeding her first bottle (she had low blood sugar and I was still in recovery). Two hours later I finally got to see her! They wheeled my bed by the nursery window and John came out holding her so I could kiss her and then they took me to my postpartum room where I waited for John to meet me. She didn't join us for another hour because the nurses wanted to make sure her body temperature was stable. Finally the nurse brought her to me where I held her for the first time! I would go through every minute of pain and recovery again she is totally worth it and John and I love her with all of our hearts. Here are a few pictures from her birthday!

Baby Shower

So I am glad to say that the baby shower given to me by Liz on January 4th was so much fun! Not only was it a wonderful baby shower but also a nice girls night out for all of my friends. Guests included Christina (shown in picture), Liz, Ashley, Courtney, Masami and Sarah. We played several games which included guess the baby food flavor, identify the melted candy bar in the diaper, and of course measuring my belly to see who guessed closest to actual size. The second picture is of me holding a blanket that Courtney made for Kayla, its pink camouflage! How appropriate! Hopefully now that the party is over Kayla will make her debut soon!

Patiently waiting

So as everyone knows Kayla Grace Pico is due to make her grand entrance into the world any day now. All I get to do in the meantime is wait for her to be ready. Each day recently I have had the privilege of feeling her have hiccups, (not sure what is causing them) playing with my ribs, (quite violently I may add) and of course thrusting her giant head into my pelvic region several times a day. You may be thinking to yourself "Wow, sounds like you're ready to have her come out!" and sometimes I am. However, other times I think "Am I?" I have enjoyed my pregnancy for the most part and I honestly think I will miss her moving about in my belly. Also, after talking with my friends who have children I have decided that its much easier having her inside of me then out. So while I have not been comfortable recently I feel that its a good trade off for what I get in return. I have my child who is always with me, fed, warm, happy, quiet, clean (as far as I know) and completely taken care of in everyway. Once she's here I will have to ensure that all her needs are met and they won't be taken care of automatically as they are now. Once air hits her lungs thats it! A new sound that John and I will be hearing quite often I am sure stating her dissatisfaction of the job we are doing as her parents and caregivers! On the other hand I am super excited to see her sweet face and hold her in my arms. John and I are both ready to start a new chapter in our lives and meet our new daughter. Until that day both of us will be patiently waiting!