Sienna Marie

Sienna and I headed to Panama on Thursday morning for the long Th anksgiving weekend with my friend Jaime. We fought super cheap tickets on Copa Airlines running only $150 total for a RT ticke t! Jaime's roommate Jen was there interviewing for a job next year because her Guatemalan boyfriend recently relocated there with Proctor & Gamble. Our flight left at 5:45 am, so we left for the airport, only minutes away, at 4 am. I fel t bad waking Sienna up from her sleep, but didn't have much choice. The flight was direct and everything went very smoothly. S ienna didn't sleep much, but she was really good on the plane. We rented a car from Thrifty - it didn't carry a very "thrifty" price tag, but it was more convenient than relying on Pablo to drive us around. We found Pablo's apartment in the Bella Vista area wit hout any problem, but were locked out because Jen hadn't returned from her interview yet, so we headed to Dunkin' Doughnuts on foot to w

The day after Halloween, we woke up early to hit the road to Sacatepéquez, a small village about 30 minutes outside of Guatemala City, fo r the Day of the Dead kite festival. Sienna and I picked up Jen a few blocks away and went to Colegio Americano, the school where I work, to meet up with a bunch of people who had rented vans. Our plan was to follow the vans, instead we ended up chasing them! I've never seen anything like it. There were two vans being followed by three cars and, in order to keep up with them, we were changing lanes and zooming around corners like we were Nascar drivers! We eventually stopped, ironically because the drivers were thinking ahead and wanted to explain that they'd look for a spot where we could all park together and easily get out after the event. I had a chance to talk to the two other "followers" and we were laughing about the ridiculousness of the driving. Julian, an 8th grade teacher from Colombia, said he'd ask the drivers to s

My friend Jaime spent a weekend in Miami in early October and bought Sienna her very first Halloween costume - a chile pepper! At 10 weeks old, I stuffed her into her pepper suit and took a few photos in my living room. On October 31, it was Famous Person Day at school, so I chose the easy way out and went as Jane Goodall, wearing safari-style pants, a lab coat and and a large gorilla (instead of a chimp) around my neck. Sienna smiled when she saw the big chimp - it's bigger than her! I went out with a few friends and we got ready over at Jen and Jaime's house. I borrowed a Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz costume from Jaime and the boys, who hadn't planned on dressing up, were able to create costumes out of the items they found at the girls' house.

Sienna will be 3 months old in a week and is doing great! She's been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old - last night she slept for 13 hours straight! She eats well and takes cat naps during the da y, spending a lot of time babbling and smiling. She loves Reina, the nanny, and I felt great about returning to work when she was 10 weeks old. Two weekends ago we packed up the car and headed 4 hours south to the beaches of El Salvador. My nanny, as well as my friend and co-worker Kelly, joined us which made the trip much more fun and relaxing. We had monday off of work, so we headed out on Saturday morning and stayed two nights at the Roca Sunzal Hotel , a relaxing little place situated right on the water with a pool and small restaurant. It was Sienna's first trip to the beach and her first opportunity to wear some of the adorable 0-3 month outfits in her closet. We had fun taking pictures of her and laughing at how cute she looked in her swim suits and sunglasse

About a month ago, I applied for and picked up Sienna's passport at the American Embassy in Guatemala City. It was a very slick process, as is customary in the US, but not always in Guatemala. It was like entering a different country in many ways when I walked into the embassy - everything was done in an orderly and efficient fashion. The Guatemalans waiting in long lines for visas may disagree, but from my perspective, everything cruised along just as they said it would on the embassy website. Sienna is now officially a naturalized US citizen with a Certificate of Birth Abroad from the United States. As she's only a week away from being 3 months old and has not only visited El Salvador, but already has boarding passes for flights to Panama over Thanksgiving and the United States over Christmas, I thought it was about time we started a Travel Log of her very own. Sienna's Travel Log 17. United Kingdom 🇬🇧 – August 2023 16. Vatican City 🇻🇦 – July 2023 15. Italy 🇮🇹 – Jul

Explaining the heart rate and contraction monitor Dr. Monzon Bonatti making us laugh. My parents thought he looked like Dudley Moore! After the epidural - I didn't feel drugged at the time, but I sound like it on this video! The epidural starts to wear off after one hour and my friend Michelle and Dr. Monzon arrive. The anesthesiologist gives me a second dose of the epidural, which lasts another hour and takes me through labor. Discussing Sienna's arrival time - we wanted it to be in the eight o'clock hour because it was August 8, 2008. Sienna arrives at 8:28 pm - ocho veintiocho!!!!! My mom cut the original cord and here my dad trims it up with my doctor teasing my friends Jen and Jaime that it's a Guatemalan custom for the friends to eat the placenta!! You'll get an idea of what a party it was in the delivery room! The pediatrician doing another checkup, grammy holding Sienna and talking about the pediatrician piercing her ears in the hospital, very common in Lati

I'm at home, enjoying the maternity leave I didn't think I was getting!! I'll be returning to school on Oct 6, so they gave me a very nice 7 weeks of paid leave. I couldn't feel more fortunate! I thought I'd share these pics because I'm walking around the apartment with Sienna in a bag (courtesy of Mindy Morris-Totaro - thank you!!) around my shoulders and she's loving it! It's warm and dark, like being in the womb - I think she could sleep all day in here. The reason I have to have her attached to me is she's started to insist on being held...constantly. I may have created this monster, along with my nanny Reina, as we're almost constantly holding her. I even have her sleeping in my bed - there's plenty of room and it's so cute and cozy having her right next to me. Sienna was an EXCELLENT baby the first 3 weeks of life - eating, burping, pooping and sleeping just as she should. Then, she took a bit of a colicky road during week 3 and rea

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

I had my monthly checkup on Monday 5 May and all is well! Sienna weighs 2 pounds and all of her measurements are between 25-27 weeks which is perfect as I was just starting week 26. The doctor commented when he saw me that I'm not very big, but stressed NOT to worry. He did all the measurements and said it was all great - my uterus is just the size it needs to be, her heartbeat is very healthy an d she's moving around just as she should. He said because this is my first baby, my stomach muscles are strong. He told me that "when" I have my next baby, I'll shoot out more. I asked him if he's been talking to my mom about having more babies already :) There are four other pregnant woman at work - one is due two months before me and the other two are due a month after. It's like people are on belly patrol and I've fielded many questions and comments since month four about why I haven't "popped" yet. I've told people that the baby is growi

A little update on my pregnancy and Sienna's growth at 22 weeks. I've been able to feel her moving around for the past two weeks and I'm loving it! A few people have told me that it'll get old at the end when I'm trying to sleep, but I don't believe them ;) I sent out a Calling All Moms email numbered 1-9 with questions ranging from breastfeeding to baby carriers and got a ton of excellent responses. After reading them all, I came to a few conclusions: 1. I won't be induced unless Sienna is later than about Aug 8-10 . My aunt Rita, who is also a nurse, outlined some very important reasons why it's not a good idea to have your baby early. 2. I'll most likely skip the jogger stroller, as I'll probably go out running while the nanny is watching Sienna and purchase a more cost-effective model. It was suggested by many to get a swing, a baby bathtub and the Baby Bjorn. 3. Only one out of about 30 moms said they used cloth diapers, so I decided to go

I found out today that IT'S A GIRL!!!! The doctor didn't have the easiest time coming to that conclusion, but after 45 minutes he finally said he believes it to be a girl. I was beginning to get disappointed because a co-worker, Cynthia, who is 8 weeks further along than me (I'm at 20 weeks) brought me to her clinic specifically because they have better equipment to make a determination. When the ultrasound tech was taking a long time and continuing to say, "Que difícil," I was starting to wonder if today would be the day I'd find out. Thankfully, Cynthia asked how sure he was and he said 90% - that's good enough for me! He said with girls he waits to see three lines to make a positive determination and he wasn't able to see that, but he also couldn't see a male organ, so it's most likely a girl. It'll be interesting to go to my regular doctor and see what he determines - I won't tell him that I already know, but when the guy says 90%,

During Semana Santa, Easter Week, I took off on a road trip to the Caribbean coast of Guatemala to connect with five friends from school. It was about a five hour drive to Puerto Barrios where I left my car for two nights in a parking lot for $10 and hopped a 30 minute ferry to Livingston. The ferry brought me right up to the dock of La Casa Rosada , where I saw Amanda and Roxy sunbathing. Our place was beautiful and all for $8/person! The following day we took off for one of the cayos (keys) of Belize. It was gorgeous - crystal blue waters, checking out sting rays while snorkeling and a small island to ourselves. The ride over there was a bit insane - just over two hours of bone-crunching wave surfing where I got quite the squat workout to protect my unborn child, but the return trip was better. After a few days in Livingstone, I headed back to my car and drove another 3 hours to meet my former co-worker Danna in Flores. The roads all the way were paved and smoo th sailing, for the