Sienna Marie

BATH TIME & NANNY ROUTINE I gave Sie nna Bean a bath today, so she's sporting her Zoolander hair-do! She's so good in the bath - not even a peep from her - and she actually seems to like it, if kept to a short period of time. I've also figured out a routine to make bathing and dressing afterward quick and easy and her little body as warm as possible at all times. After a bath, she's relaxed and likes to chill out in her swing. It was perfect because today Reina whipped up some lunch, which I ate while Sien na was swinging, and then went into the bathroom to clean it all up. What a HUGE help she is! We have a pretty good routine worked out. I sleep with Sienna and wake up with her in the night, typically every 2-4 hours. Around 6:30 am, Reina is up and ready to go and Sienna usually is, as well, so I hand her off and head back to sleep for two more hours of much needed zz's. When I get up at 8:30 am, the coffee's on and I have a chance to eat some oatmeal...

Sienna is three weeks old toda y and we’re getting into a pretty good routine. There’s only been one night since my parents left that she seemed to have confused her day and night. Other than that, she’s pretty much textbook, waking up every 2-4 hours in the night to eat, burp, have a diaper change, bounce around a bit and go back to bed. I love the picture to the left because she's sleeping like a frog and her cousin Madi loves frogs! The pic below was taken just after a bath and I laughed to tears at her hair standing straight up! She's so cute! Although I have a bassinet in my room, she’s been sleeping next to me on my bed in between one of those you-can’t-roll-over-two-cushion deals. As a paranoid first mom, I’ve liked having her next to me so I can make sure she’s breathing through the night :) I’m much better than I was the first two weeks, but it’s still a comfort to have her there. I try not to jump up at every move, but I peak over at her to make sure she’s okay when s...

I’m finally sitting down to update my blog. Sienna turns two weeks old today and my parents left two days ago after two weeks of fun and training. My mom was a great teacher - I have a lot to learn being this is my first baby, but so far all is well. To update you on the details of the birth, I’ll start from the beginning. Although if you received my KodakGallery photos, you probably feel as if you were in th e delivery room with us. My mom, dad and I arrived at Hospital Esperanza at 8:00 a.m. and were shown to our room. A guy came in to fill out a form on my medical history and I was given a pros taglandin tablet to start the dilation process. T hings progressed well and I d ilated to a 3 in three hours, but then didn’t dilate for the next two hours, so I was given oxytocin, or Pitocin, to get things going again. All day my doctor had been saying that Sienna was going to arrive at 8:00 pm, so she’d be born on 8/8/08 at 8, but I was doubtful that the pace would pick up that much. A...

My friend Jaime sent me this map that her boyfriend sent to her showing the route from her house to my house (in yellow) and my house to the hospital (in red). It's only about six blocks away, but there are various una vias , one ways, involved, so you have to zig-zag around. He even posted little landmarks along the way! Reina, our live-in nanny, arrived on Monday 21 July, so we've been able to get to know one another a bit before Sienna's arrival. She works all week, but leaves on Saturdays around noon and returns on Sundays around 6pm - that's the typical weekend for nannies in Guatemala. We're quite bored waiting around, but she's managed to busy herself by cleaning the apartment every day! Her routine has been to sweep, mop, clean the bathroom, make beds, do laundry, clean dishes and cook. I think of my friend Kathy all the time who asked my sister if there was anything I was going to have to do once the nanny arrived...not much! Reina's 22 or 23 years...

Immediately after school let out, I hopped on a plane to Los Angeles for my cousin Louis’ graduation from High School party. My sister, mom and niece met me there and we spent a nice weekend visiting with family and sweating in the unusually hot and humid temps of Orange County, California. We flew to Minnesota on Monday and my dad picked us up at the airport. I spent the week relaxing and catching up with friends. On Saturday, all of my aunts threw me a beautiful shower at my aunt Cindy’s house. It was fun to see everybody, eat delicious food and open cute gifts for Sienna. It’s a good thing I brought an empty suitcase to fill! On Sunday, my parents had a backyard picnic for friends and family. It was a beautiful day and the neighbors let us use one of those huge, inflated jumpers that they rented for a previous party, but it hadn’t been picked up yet. It was perfect as lots of people brought their kids and it kept them busy for hours. Melanie and Rachel, friends that I worked with in...

On Monday 7 July, the day I landed in Guate on my red-eye from Los Angeles, I had a 10 am appointment with Dr. Monzon. My friend Michelle, who will hopefully be by my side during delivery, came with me to the appointment. She already has two kids, is from Guatemala, and has a non-dramatic personality, so she should be a huge help in the delivery room. There are few people that I’d want to be in the delivery room during such an event, but Michelle is one of them and I’m fortunate to have her here! My parents are flying in on August 6 and I’m hoping they make it in time to be with me for the delivery, as well. Dr. Monzon did the usual: weighed me - I’ve gained 26 pounds so far, listened to Sienna’s heartbeat which is strong and healthy and called Michelle in so we could check out the ultrasound. Sienna was her usual active self, but I was surprised to learn that she doubled in size since my last appointment 4.5 weeks ago! She now weighs in at 7 lbs!!! I joked with the doctor, asking if w...

On Thursday I we nt to my 30 week appointment with friends Jesse and Catie. They’d never been to any of my appointments before and it was fun to share the experience with them. They also had an opportunity to meet Dr. Bonatti, whom I really like and am glad he was referred to me by my Spanish teaching partner, Ariana. After the ultrasound showed that I was 31 weeks and 3 days (DBP: 33 weeks, C. Abd: 30 weeks, LF: 30 weeks), my due date was yet again bumped up to August 5. It started out at Aug 13, changed to the 10th, then t he 8th, an d now the 5th. I’m thrilled that it keeps getting closer and closer! E verything looked great on the ultrasound - Sienna seems to be growing perfectly and I can tell she’s very cute already ;) I asked Dr. Bonatti when I should have my parents arrive because they’ll be flying down and staying for 2 weeks, but would like to spend most of the time with the baby and not arrive too early. He said Sienna could arrive anytime after July 22 and if my parents a...