Sienna Marie

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 ...

My appointment yesterday went really well. It was fun seeing the baby again. S/he's grown a lot since my last ultrasound. I thought the baby was about the size of an avocado, but it turns out s/he's closer to the size of a 20 oz water bottle (19 cm = 7.5 inches). S/he's floating around and fairly active, moving from one side to the next and flipping from front to back. It's so amazing seeing all of the bones of the hands and spinal column, ribs, etc. It's such a miracle that it's all going on inside of me and I can't feel a thing yet! I'm looking forward to feeling him/her kick, but I think it'll take another week or two. I'm around week 17-18; some of the measurements were putting the baby at 18 weeks and the doc bumped my due date up three days to August 10. I'm showing more and more each week, but I still can't believe that a water bottle could be curled up inside of my stomach. I'm almost halfway done and have plenty of time to po...

The first trimester is officially over and I'm heading into Week 15, feeling much more energized and having less food aversions. The only way I can tell I'm pregnant now is my chest has been a size larger since Week 5 and I have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. This is also the only time my stomach feels pregnant; when my bladder is full, there's nowhere for it to go having to share space with a growing uterus, so it puffs out. This gives me an idea what it'll look and feel like when I start showing - maybe in mid-March or April. I really timed this well, as I was able to spend a good portion of the exhausting first trimester on vacation, only having having to teach the last 4 weeks. By the time the third trimester rolls around, I'll be back on vacation! The student's last day of school is June 13. I head to California on Thursday 19 June until Sunday 6 July, spending one of those weeks in Minnesota, as well. I have a doctor's appo...

Well, it's about time...I'm having a baby!! I went to the doctor two weeks ago for my first prenatal appointment and I'm expecting in August!   I'll be 34 in March and I'm ready for single momhood, so it's a welcome surprise.  I was home at Christmas, so although it was very early, I told my friends and family so I could spring the news on them in person. The responses were incredibly supportive and ranged from my uncle's high-five to my mom's happy tears. My dad even said he can see how this way fits my lifestyle and life goals. They all know me and have followed me through life's journeys - they know I rarely do things the way "everybody else" does. It's very special to have such supportive friends and family! My first appointment was absolutely amazing!! It's unreal how much detail you can see - the baby was kicking its legs and moving its arms and it was only 2.5 inches long. I've been exhausted, but I guess that's to ...