Nov 12 update

Nico is just over 10 weeks old and just about 15 pounds!!

Among his many new "tricks", he has been (since last Friday!) reaching out to objects like a little panda bear, and holding onto things like little rattles and a little stuffed bunny, which he even almost hugged tonight. He is super fascinated by things like a cool ceiling in a restaurant, or the bananas and apples at the grocery store. He likes music and being sung to. And he is SO serious about keeping with his 7pm marathon feeding and then sleeping routine. He seems to have a super strong personality, and is just so vibrant with his smiles, coos and kicks!

He still sleeps with us, which I love. And even though I might be sleepy, I also love waking up to feed him in the middle of the night, and even he wakes up a little too early, I love seeing his happy morning face, smiles, bright eyes.

I am still on maternity leave through December, with a little bit of work still every day, and then return to work part time (30 hours/week) in January.

Nico will be baptized in Delaware on December 16th, at the same church where my brother Tom and I were baptized, and also where my Mom and grandmother used to attend, and where today my Dad and Ann attend and sing in the choir. Jose's sister, her husband and Jose's cousin arrive from Uruguay the 15th, and will be in the US until early January. Jose goes to Columbia for a work trip the first week of December, and I will likely go to Delaware.

So that's our latest!

Oct 17 Update

Good news - things are going well! Nico is becoming more and more fun, and less fussy. AND we've done a few major outings just yesterday - I started a Moms and babies support group, which I really loved. It is 12 moms and babies, a mental health professional leading the group, where we discuss a different topic every week. There are other informal coffee shop meetings of Moms in my neighborhood, but I really liked this group with set themes and a leader to keep us all going! Then yesterday afternoon, I took Nico with me to a major work presentation for all of our international partners who are here in DC this week for strategy meetings. Nico stayed with Carolina for my 30 min presentation, and it went well. Getting out with Nico is a major step for me, as we haven't gone beyond the local park, weekend flea markets and grocery store.

Jose is in China for a 10 day work trip, and I've arranged for a lot of great friend visits. Besides loving my friends (thank you J-Leh, Andrea and Keri!!) I've also seen just how nice it can be to hang out with your baby and your friends. Being just with a baby, even a great one, can be hard after a long day...I have discovered another great activity with Nico that makes him happy - music! So far he likes African music and jazz most! It is really fun to dance together - much more fun than bouncing for no reason.

In other good news - I think our night time schedule is going really well. Nico continues to do a huge feeding about 7:30-9, then I get some great things like showering, eating, etc, before slipping into bed with Nico. He wakes up about 11:30, 2:30, 6:30 and then 8:30. I feed each time, and then get up to burp and change him and at this point I don't feel tired at all in the morning or when I get up with him. I actually love the chance to hold him and look at his big blue eyes.

Last week, Nico weighed in at 12 pounds! We thought he might have a cold last week (as both Jose and I had colds), and took him to the Dr. Thankfully, he had resisted our colds - good little immune system! But we did find out his latest weight at the Dr, which is always exciting!

Oct 1 - Nico one month old!

Today is Nico's one month "birthday"!

Things are going pretty well. After a tough time of big fussiness and crying that I couldn't comfort without feeding, and Jose with bouncing on the exercise ball, Nico has now started a sweet cuddling phase where he doesn't want to be outside of someone's arms. Though busy, and doesn't allow for bathroom breaks when home alone, I much prefer this phase to inconsolable crying!

Another trick I have now to calm Nico down is walking around in our backyard and singing random songs in different languages. Today we met one of my neighbors there, and when I introduced her to Nico, he promptly spit up right down my chest - I guess this cleavage is good for something else besides feeding him!

Some other Nico details - he remains a very short (if any!) napper during the day, but has graced us with a great gift! He will do a big feeding about 7 in our bed with me, and then SLEEP from 8 to about 11! This is great, as this period was prior Nico's major fussy time. So now he gets rest, and Jose and I get a little time to be together. Nico is then up every few hours for more feedings, and is waking up for good earlier in the day - but having this night time break and getting him down and avoiding a major fussy time is worth it!

His eyes are HUGE and blue. He seems very determined and excited in much of his pursuits - which are basically feeding, being changed, hugging. And he is becoming bald! I think this is normal, but it's funny to see!

That's the latest for now. Happy one month birthday Nico!

Sept 9th and 19th Updates

Sept 9:
So our first 2 nights home from hospital were really hard, Nico not getting the sleep cues at all - but we found a trick: Jose bouncing on the exercise ball with Nico (only way we have found so far to really chill him out!) And so now he actually will do 3 hour sleeps between about 3 nightly feedings, so this is great and I actually feel rested and good enough to function the next day.

Pediatrician visit last week went well - he is gaining weight back, and we are not as on edge about the weight loss that had dipped to 11% at the hospital.

He is a fun, active little guy - with a dynamic little attitude! We call him "fusie" for short fuse. He is not a brat, but very clear in what he does and doesn't like. He also seems really strong - already almost turning over when we put him down to sleep. This little guy!

Sept 19:
Today before noon - Nico peed on 3 outfits, peed on our bed, pooped on his changing table, and fed for about 6 hours straight. He is in a growth spurt that happens around weeks 2-3, and sometimes has these marathon feedings. I finally got breakfast at noon, and took care of my own medication and incision care needs.

I remember when our office HR guy explained to me the maternity leave details - and I thought how nice it was that sick time could be used for this period. Little did I know that you really are in a situation where you can't leave your house without help and could be taking care of major post surgery realities! I'm not complaining because it's all worth it to have Nico, but I do see why sick time applies, and disability too!!

We are going to get some help from a Latin woman Jose found through his Latin world connections. I can't do simple things still like laundry, take trash out, and Jose is in major work mode ahead of his China trip. So we're just not able to keep up with housework - as Jose puts it, Nico and I are the top priority, and then his work - so this means that laundry and trash need another solution!

At Nico's Dr appointment, we learned that he weights 9 pounds now. He had lost too much weight during the first few days at the hospital, and we had had to supplement. Now he has gained all that lost weight back plus a whole pound!

Labor story

It all started 2:30am Aug 31, which is exactly the day that Jose and I had been predicting that Nico would join us. I began serious contractions 4 hours in after water breaking in spurts, and then saw the contraction periods get long and then short, without any consistency. The contractions were very intense from the beginning, and did not really grow in intensity, but remained at that level all day. We stayed home all day, and tried to do things with our doula Vynessa to further speed things along. I was having terrible back pain which is due to Nico having been off in his positioning. We arrived at the hospital with 4 cm dilation.  I worked really hard with Jose and our doula, and got to 7cm dilated by 1am. At this point, after 24 hours, without enough progress, the pitocin and epidural question came up, and I consented - I was exhausted, and in so much back pain that I couldn't even feel anything at all in my uterus. It was all in the back. After 4 hours of pitocin sped up contractions, my dilation actually went down to 6 cm, and Nico's heart beat started to stay down too long. So it was c-section time. At that point, as you an imagine, I just wanted Nico safely with us, and didn't feel that there was anything else we could have done to get my dilation further moved along. When Nico was born, he had the umbilical cord around his neck, which may be one reason why my body was not allowing things to advance further. He was born healthy and in great shape though, and this is of course the prize. The whole experience was very hard and pretty distressing at times but Jose and I have no regrets, and feel we made the right decisions at the right time. I did labor "naturally" for 24 hours, so also do feel that I know what that is like now, though also with all the back pain, found my experience pretty stressful and difficult. When we were leaving the hospital and passed by the delivery hallway, I kind of cringed! Again, we have the prize which is Nico, and I am feeling great today, so all is well.

Nico is now almost 11 weeks old, and weighs 15 pounds! We have been having a really great time together, and I feel great as a Mom.

Blog Catch Up - Nico is here and more!

And Nico did START his big moment of working to enter the world on the 31st Aug, but did not arrive until Sept 1 at 5:51 am! I will start to put up details on the birth and Nico's updates over the past few months. Thanks for thinking of Nico and me!

Still Pregnant!

Quick post: I am working from home this week, and getting a lot of work done while Nico patiently works with me! The first item on our staff meeting notes this week read: Aldwyn is still pregnant.

I still feel great, though am not enjoying yoga or other exercises as much anymore - and really just favor walking. So I'm walking an hour per day, and doing cat cow poses, which still feel good.

We still guess Aug 31 is Nico's big day!

Due Date Tomorrow!!

Tomorrow is our due date!! These are photos of Nico's bassinet in our room, and his diaper changing area in his future room.

I've been working night and day over the past week, and will work tomorrow, Sunday and right up until Nico decides it's time for the work to stop! My work friends/colleagues marched into my office one by one this past Friday with lemon desserts, until the office was filled with about 20 people! I've been craving lemon drinks, and tastes - and had shared this with a few smart ladies who remembered! Each person put in a guess of the birth date and time - and the winner will get the cash in the envelope with this long list. Though any day is great - we still like the 31st (Jose is born on the 31st Jan) and the 29th (we were married on a lemon farm the 29th March); we also like Sept 3 - Labor Day itself.

My latest doctor's visits report nothing new - cervix not yet dilating, and Nico is doing well.  I did learn that I have the iron levels of a man, as the doctor put it. That's nice to know that Nico is getting all of this good iron! I am also still walking and/or doing prenatal yoga every day, and feel great. I can't really roll over in bed anymore without getting on all fours, and my ankles are starting to swell up - but it's all just kind of funny, and still seems very sweet - because it's all due to this great little Nico.

Any day now!!!


 

Almost 38 weeks

 We will be 38 weeks on Sunday!!

Photos are from the baby shower at Jose's office last week. This joint shower for 3 new Moms was a complete surprise for Jose. All three of us new Moms are having little boys! Our due date is the first of these Moms - as you might be able to guess from the photo.

This past weekend we completed our baby purchase needs, and this week we set up Nico's bassinet, and got all of his newborn clothes washed so that I can prepare his little hospital bag! I'm sure I'll do many more loads of Nico's laundry over the months and years to come, but doing it for the first time was so sweet - all the little socks and onesies!

Jose and I continue to do long walks, and I'm keeping up my prenatal yoga, and special cardio/strength training videos. I feel just great, and Nico is moving around more than ever! I wonder if he knows that he will see us soon. He is really going to enjoy all this space outside of my belly to move around!

Work is very busy for these last few weeks until Nico's birth, but I'm glad to give it my all. It's hard to imagine how different the world will be in 2-3 weeks. We are hoping that Nico is not too late, not too early - the 31st August remains are guess date.

We are going to have so much fun and special times with our little guy!!

Almost Full Term!

This Sunday we will be 37 weeks – full term! We still think that Nico is more likely to be late than early, and have a good feeling about Aug 31/Sept 1 with Aug 31^st a full moon, and also similar to Jose’s birth during Uruguay’s hottest summer on Jan. 31^st. This is the hottest summer on record in DC too.

These photos are from our trip last weekend to the beach – our last little trip pre-Nico and my last swim in the ocean as a pregnant Momma. It was wonderful to be at the beach – to enjoy the sun, sea, and sand, and think about the next time we’ll go to a beach with our little guy.

In other fun news, today I went to Jose’s office for a surprise baby shower!  We were three pregnant Mommas and Jose gave a nice speech saying how happy this pregnancy has been for us, and how the shower was a definite part of our happy moment leading up to our baby boy. With another nice congratulations speech from another colleague, and all the nice gifts and gestures that Jose’s work friends put into this celebration – it really made me feel even more how wonderful this moment is, and will be. We’re going to be meeting this guy soon!

In my prenatal yoga class, it’s now me and a few others who are the closest to the big due date. When I started this class, I was 12 weeks pregnant and could not wait to start showing a little belly. Now I have to adjust some poses to make room for this belly!

We still have over 3 weeks until the due date, and some important things like getting Nico’s bassinet set up, and getting a comfortable glider ready for the moments I’ll spend nursing him over the fall months.  

It's amazing to think that we are about to become parents together. I keep noticing cute things that Jose does, and wondering if Nico will do them too. I will soon have two Cabrera boys!! Que allegria!

35 weeks - Nico and his Mom are doing great!

We had a sonogram today and Nico now weighs 6 pounds and has a "slightly larger than normal head!" He is positioned just as a baby should be for that delivery day, and he remains high in the uterus and has not started at all his happy descent to the cervix and life with his Mom and Dad. We could barely make out any of his features in the sonogram, since he is bigger now, though we did confirm that he is definitely our little boy.

Over the 14th weekend, I visited my dear friend Blythe in her hometown Lewes, Delaware. Blythe is also pregnant and so our babies got to hang out together via our bellies!

Jose returned from a Guatemala work trip that weekend too, and brought back some cute little Guatemalan shoes and a T-shirt for little Nico. Now the next big event for Jose is Nico's arrival!!

I continue to do lots of walking, yoga, and other strength training exercises suitable for pregnant women. I love this training for the big event of labor, and am more excited each day about the labor itself and our first moments with Nico.

Almost 34 weeks!!

 Over the past two weeks, Nico seems to be growing and moving into new areas of his current home! While walking one night with Jose, I had a few sharp pains at the bottom of my abdomen. The doctor said that if these were not continuing over time and growing more intense, then it's probably just the baby's head pushing on my cervix! While walking this week during the day, I had a few feelings of new pressure, that were not painful, but a feeling of something pushing on my organs - I guess this is because "something" is indeed pushing on my organs! I'm happy though to share any space he needs with him until he is here!



I went to two classes at the Breastfeeding Center of DC over the past few weeks too. While some friends who'd taken longer maternity leaves never pumped at all, this is definitely the pumping town! Just about all women in DC return to work a few months after birth. I'm very glad that I'll have four months full time with Nico at home, and then a few months part time before Nico starts day care in March.

In these breastfeeding classes, my prenatal yoga class, and the local group of pregnant women who I meet with every few weeks, I love connecting with all of these future Moms, especially those who will have little boys for Nico to play with!

Despite any discomforts, this period of pregnancy and connection to other pregnant women and people is really a special time. We feel very lucky with Jose to have this little guy!

Happy Shower for little Nico

We are 32 and a half weeks now, and will be meting our son sometime next month!!!

This past weekend was our baby shower, and it was great to see work friends Cynthia, Meredith and Jamila, new DC friends Karen, Lorre and Marjorie (and her little guy Nate!), old friends Keri, Gabe, Vikram, Andrea and Rich, old and new neighbors Hannah and Michael and Sara and Pat, and Al along with his daughters Cindy and Ali and their families.

There were MANY very cute little outfits and useful babies items given to lucky little Nico, and Piper, Ali's daughter and Al's grandaughter, was a great helper in opening the gifts - each time telling us, "It's for Nico!" Some of the sweetest gifts were from Al, who gave Nico a little life preserver for those days on the boat, and his first little toy boat. Al also found a gift that is from my Mom - a small painting of sailboats that she had bought in the Bahamas - waiting for the right moment/person to give it to as a gift. Al is sure that with the meaning of Nico's name (patron saint of ships, sailors and the sea), my Mom would have given him the little painting of sailboats.


Cindy, Al's daughter, made a beautiful and delicious lemon cake with key lime frosting - one that she had made for my Mom before. This cake though had a little bear in a red boat, a life preserver, and a big blue banner that said "Welcome aboard Nico!" Cindy's daughter Haley also made a little merman who was to be little Nico on the cake! It was great to have all of Cindy and Ali's help, and Al's special touches too like flowers from the Bald Eagle house that he and my Mom had moved into about 2 years ago and that they had made a beautiful home with flowers, my Mom's vegetable and herb garden, and Al's fruit trees.


We look forward more each day to meeting Nico - to introducing him to his home and the many people who will love him, taking him to Bald Eagle and eventually on his first boat ride, and to meeting other family in Delaware, California and Uruguay!

Big belly, and about 9 more weeks to go!!!

It’s hard to believe that this is just a 7 month pregnancy belly and that there are 2 more months of more growing!!We of course love every moment though, with Nico actively participating, so it seems, in the latest basketball championship games – maybe he can tell how excited his Dad is during these games!

Nico also thought of his Papa on Father’s day and gave him a few books en espanol, including one called – Why I love my Dad. While walking around our neighborhood this past Sunday on Father’s Day, several people wished Jose a happy father’s day! More and more people have been wishing us congratulations when they see us with the big belly – from the lady we pass in her garden, to the metro train driver!

Last weekend we did a child birth class. In addition to talking with other new parents and going through the details of labor, it was fun to see Jose volunteer for the role of the laboring Mom! I couldn’t help but think what a fun guy Jose will be to go through labor with!

In this week’s doctor’s appointment, now every 2 weeks, the Doctor ordered us a sonogram for July 23. We didn’t think we’d get another one, but the Doctor said that being over 35 does have some benefits – more sonograms! So that is something great to look forward to – seeing what our little guy is up to. It will be our last glimpse of him before we meet him in real life about a month later. I keep thinking about what he will be like, and realizing too what a unique moment this is – the last 2 months of our entire lives where we will NOT yet know this guy completely.

It’s great getting closer to our life with Nico every day.

Childbirth classes and cute story

Last weekend, I did a "Labor with Love" class at Circle Yoga, where we learned about all the different stages of labor from a very thoughtful and fun yoga teacher, and then went through some positions with partners. The class was both interesting and added further to the happiness and excitement about Nico. And the group was made up of couples with one person from another country - another great detail about DC! Next weekend we do a "Birth Works" class which focuses on developing a woman's self confidence, trust and faith in her ability to give birth. I'm feeling great about these classes and the ongoing processes of both pregnancy and birth. And it feels great to think about how my happiness and excitement is likely being transmitted to Nico!

A funny and cute story - I had thought that Nico never moved around at night, as I'm never woken up from sleep by his movements. Jose, who always wakes up before me, woke one morning recently to a little kicking, specifically as Jose explained it - Nico kicked his ass! So it turns out that Nico does move around at night, but that his Mom is just a very sound sleeper!

We are at week 29 today, and will have Nico with us in just 2 and a half months!

Nico’s Dresser and Jose’s Foot

I bet you can’t think of a reason that we’ll always think of Jose’s foot when we look at Nico’s dresser, but read on and you will see!

We had a very busy and productive weekend – Jose working more on the main room cabinets (Nico’s toy chest as Al calls them!), shopping for furniture for Nico’s room, getting baby registry set up, and cleaning out storage closets and organizing at home.  After buying Nico’s dresser, which came in several boxes, we were faced with the challenge of getting them into our very small city car. While pushing one of the boxes into the middle part of the car, we pushed down the emergency brake, and the car started to roll, and rolled right over Jose’s foot! He stopped the car with his shoulder (strong Dad!) and I pulled the brake back up (luckily not when the car was rolling over Jose’s foot!) Jose has a bruise on his poor foot, but is ok – now when we look at the dresser, we think o f Jose’s foot and our scary little car rolling!

On our agenda for June are completing the cabinets (still need to varnish them and put on the doors), a child birth class and potential yoga workshop on preparing for labor, visit to the hospital where we’ll deliver, and my cousin Kit’s visit and our shower end June. With Jose traveling for much of July, we’re aiming to get a lot done in June.

Otherwise, this was the first weekend/time when I really started to feel BIG. Each time I’m uncomfortable though, I just start stretching and moving around, and this always makes me more comfortable. I felt very dizzy and weird in the metro today and might just start to take the bus (double the travel time, but might be better). None of these details are complaints though – I overall feel great and we’re just happy to be closer each day to meeting Nico!

3rd Trimester starts - we SEE Nico move!!!

We officially started the third and last trimester on Sunday!

To celebrate, we did a weekend get-away to a cute Virginia town with overnight at a country inn with pool by a barn's silo. While sitting at the pool, I felt a huge movement that made my arm move that had been lying on my stomach! Jose and I then watched my stomach jump/move twice! The next day, we saw Nico move on my stomach again - while we were again by the pool after a swim. I wonder if this is Nico's love for swimming showing again!




Since just this past weekend, his movements are a lot more clear, and fun! He surprised me a few times at my office today. Though Nico remains thoughtful and well behaved - he will move around in the daytime, and then still quiets down around 11 when I go to sleep. We'll see of course how long this continues, but it just seems so nice of him for now!

With the third trimester here, our priorities now are a child birth class in June, the whole registry process next weekend, and getting a dresser for all of Nico's cute clothes! It's great to be getting closer every day to our time with Nico Luca.

First Mother's Day

While Jose is in Uruguay for our nephew Juan's wedding, Tom (and Nico) and I spent the past weekend at Nags Head, North Carolina, where we have spent many times with our Mom.  We went swimming, walked on the beach, and enjoyed the sun, sea, and sand as our Mom loved to do. The photo to the right shows Nico and I enjoying the sunny day at Nags Head! On our way back to Bald Eagle last night, we stopped at one of our Mom's favorite ice cream spots in Gloucester for ice cream for me and Nico (photo below).

We also saw dear friends the Croswaits during our visit, who showered Nico with cute gifts! And on Mother's Day at a favorite local restaurant, Sam n Omies, they gave Nico a free little baby onesie - he is proving a lucky guy!

So far, Nico has proven not just lucky, but also thoughtful and meaningful! He never (so far) moves around at night, making it easy and comfortable for his Mom to get good rest. And we discovered Nico's gender on Good Friday, I felt his first movement on our 4 year anniversary, and we found out that we're pregnant on Christmas Day! He has already given me and us so many beautiful Mother's Day gifts! Happy Mother's Day to you too Nico!

Remembering Nico's Grandmother

This past weekend, 2 days after Nico's grandmother's birthday, we held a ceremony at the Wellness Community in Delaware to dedicate a tree to my Mom, to honor and remember her contributions to the Wellness Community, and to share our memories and love for her.  Photos of "Nico and me" with my Mom's tree are to the right and below. This tree stands out from the other trees, like my Mom.

 

 Nico, through me, read the below poem for my Mom, who we're calling "GranElla":

I felt my grandmother’s arms wrapped around,

like fog that softly hugs the ground.

I saw joyful twinkling in her eye,

as sparkling stars adorn the sky.

I heard my grandmother’s voice, sweet song lifting

in harmony with breezes drifting.

She etched tender love into my heart,

Always with me right from the start.

Secretly connected before my birth,

I’ll bring my grandmother’s smile to earth.