Tummy Time with Daddy

June 29, 2010

We went to the "Going home" class at Sharp yesterday because we missed it while we were still at the hospital since we were waiting for the Pediatrician to do Shane's check-up.  We found it really informative and were glad we went.  One of the things they emphasized was that babies love to cuddle and be close to mom and dad and it helps them build a strong sense of security.  Shane spent some tummy-time with dad while mom took care of a few things around the house (including uploading pictures!)

Mommy and Me!

June 27, 2010

We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bautista's house for a different scenery this past Sunday.  Mike played golf with dad at Cottonwood and Shane and I got to hang out with the Auntie's and Grandma.  This is my first picture with Shane since we got discharged from the hospital!

First Doctor's Appointment

June 25, 2010

Shane had his first pediatric appointment after birth on Friday.  Dr. Upton said that his coloring looks good and everything seems to be on track.  He's lost a little of his birth weight, like all babies do, but is expected to gain it back within this next week.

Our Bundle of Joy

The lens of the camera is designed to focus on the objects closest to it so often times you come out with a picture of the baby's face out of focus.  I have been practicing the technique of focusing on the distance so that it captures his face and ultimately takes the best photo, here are a couple that I'm proud of!  I can't wait until Shane starts opening his eyes for longer periods of time so that I can take some of his precious baby blues!

Shane with Grandma Lulu (5 days old)

Shane - 6 days old

First days at home

Shane has been such a wonderful little baby!  He is sleeping for about 3 hours and eating like a champ!  We had no problems getting him to learn how to "latch on" and his diaper changes are regular.  He doesn't really cry much unless he's cold during his diaper changes and is so fun and sweet to watch all day!  He's perfect!

Bringing Baby Home!

June 19, 2010

Shane's pediatrician and my doctor gave us the "okay to get released" option so we opted to go home after 24-hours and enjoy our baby without all the hospital interruptions!

Getting Shane into his car seat

Ready to go home!

In the car and ready to rock!

Labor of Love

On Thursday, before Mike got home from work, I started to feel a few contractions and noticed that they were coming a little more often than they had in the past.  When he got home, he joked about it being "today" and I said "I wouldn't be surprised."

As the evening went on, my contractions started to become more frequent so we started timing them.  They started to be consistent around 7:00 pm and were about 7-8 minutes apart then quickly changed to 5 minutes apart by 11:00 pm.  We started to double check our bags to make sure we had everything, cleaned the house up a little and headed to the hospital at around 12:45 am with contractions happening every 2-3 minutes.

When we got to Triage, they did an observation and noticed that the contractions were stable and happening frequently.  They checked to see if we made any progress and we were at 4 cm and almost fully effaced.  We were admitted and I texted the family to let the know.

At around 2:45 am my contractions started to get really intense and the family arrived around 3 am.  Before I knew it, I started to feel the urge to push and they called in the doctor and our labor our love was born on June 18, 2010 at 4:31 am!

In between contractions (hooked up the a baby-heart beat monitor and contractions monitor) the nurses all commented that they couldn't believe I was smiling for some in labor without an epidural!

Shane Michael Bridges

Born: June 18, 2010 at 4:31am

7 pounds 10 ounces, 19 inches long

First Family Photo with Shane

Shane with Mommy

with Daddy

with Grandpa Sonny

with Grandma Lulu

with Auntie Rie Rie

with Auntie Joanne

38 Week Doctor's Appointment

June 15, 2010

We had our 38 week doctor's appointment today and it went very well.  Blood pressure, weight, and baby's heart beat are all where they should be!  Dr. Goodwin also checked to see if we've made any progress and it turns out that we're 2 inches dilated and 50 percent effaced which is good to know in case we go into full-labor anytime soon!  Every night I have dreams about being in labor - it's hard to believe that it's just around the corner!

Baby Bump at 37 Weeks

We are at 37 weeks and counting down... our little guy has continued to be very active even though things on the outside world have slowed down for me a little.  I've been off work for two weeks now and it's been a slight adjustment from being so used to being "on the go" all the time!  It's been nice to be able to work  remotely from home to take care of a few things here and there and I'm sure as I continue to grow and the baby gets heavier... I'll be enjoying my time off!

Baby Bump Picture at 37 weeks, 6 days 
June 14, 2010

A day at the Fair

June 13, 2010

On Sunday, Mike played some golf with a couple of buddies at Admiral Bakers and my sisters and mom invited me to go with them to the San Diego County Fair.  At first I was a little hesitant because at 37 1/2 weeks pregnant, I wasn't sure how much walking and crowds I was up for, but the morning of, I decided to go and get out of the house because once the little guy gets here... I know our lives are going to change and that this would be my last "girls day out" for a while!!

We got an early start and stopped by Joanne's place to pick her up and then headed off to the Fair and had a great time.  Marie milked a cow and did a great job on the first try, we walked around all the little shops, ate lots of food, and did lots of walking!  This year, we tried the "deep fried Klondike ice cream bar" and it was pretty yummy - only you had to eat it really fast because it was melting!

A quick photo before the Fair!

Car Seat and Snap and Go!!!

June 4-6, 2010

This weekend was a busy one for us.  Mom had the day off on Friday so she came over and helped me clean our place and get a few things situated and I worked during part of the day from home.  It was Mike's first day off on a Friday night so we wanted to celebrate that when he got off from school, dad met us at our place and we all went to eat dinner at Tom Ham's Lighthouse.  At first we were all bummed when we realized that they had changed the menu, but got to order from their "all day" menu and that made us all happy!

On Saturday Mike went surfing in the morning and it was more baby stuff at the house for me!  Then, for dinner, we were invited to our friends house and watched "The Lovely Bones."  Not exactly a feel-good-type of movie, but we still had a great time eating and hanging out.

On Sunday, Mike wanted to surf so I thought I'd make some good use of my time invited my older sister to hang out and shop with me!  As much as I have been trying to hold off on buying anything new since I'm almost done with the growing belly bump - I couldn't resist and told myself that 3 more weeks, is still 3 weeks of not having much to wear so I caved in.  We went to Nordstrom and to my luck, the new fashion this spring and summer seems to be pants and shorts with elastic bands instead of zippers and buttons so it worked out perfectly!  I was able to buy a couple pairs of shorts and some cute skirts.  Hooray - I have bottoms to wear for the rest of the month and also after the baby is born!  They are super comfy and cute so I'm really excited.

When I got home, Mike was putting together the "Snap and Go" stroller we bought using the gift cards from our showers.  Although we got a beautiful travel system (the jogger stroller) from Dad and Bev, Mike thought it would be a good idea to get something a little smaller for local trips that we could easily pick up and go so we got the Snap and Go!  We also installed the seat protectors and the car seat bases in both our trucks and are officially ready!

Putting together the last piece of the Snap and Go

Taking the stroller and car seat to Mike's truck to test it out

Car seat successfully installed in Mike's truck

Car seat installed in AM's truck

Car seat with extra padding for our little guy!  (Thanks again Dad and Bev!)

Baby Bump at 9 months (36 weeks)

36 weeks and counting... we're almost there!  I feel like my body has experienced a sudden increase in temperature and it heats up really fast.  I'd like to blame it on the beautiful sunny weather we've had here the last couple of days... but my thoughts are that its from my ever-increasing belly!  This week when I went with my older sister to the mall, the sales associate at Nordstrom said "wow- you're ready to pop!"  I laughed and said "I sure am!"  But I love having my little guy move around and grown inside me and I'm not ready for it to be over so soon!

Last weekend, the Kenney's recommended a baby book for us to get and read before the little guy gets here called "On Becoming Baby Wise."  We started reading it and I wish we had gotten it a lot sooner because we LOVE this book and I think it will be the most helpful one we've read.

Although it was fun reading about all the little things you may or may not experience during your pregnancy, the really challenging thing for me to wrap my hands around was the idea of how to be a good mom and dad to a newborn and this book gives a great idea of how to make that happen... starting with family and the mother and father's relationship playing the most important role, to establishing a feed/wake/sleep cycle that will get babies into a routine and sleeping through the night before he's 2 months old!  We're hopeful that we can follow the book's advice and make for a really good nighttime sleeper! So, to all my friends who are expectant mothers, or to those who plan on having more, or having any one day... the book "On Becoming Baby Wise" is a very wise choice!

Baby Bump picture at 36 weeks, 6 days (June 7, 2010)