Busy lives, 25 weeks pregnant, and nonstop unpacking

Our home for the next 3 years. It's pretty spacious!

Well, we did it. We are officially moved in to our new house! The house was ready for move in on August 17th so we jumped at the opportunity and made it happen. The best part is all of our belongings had arrived so we didn't even need to get military loaner furniture. The first night I slept on an air mattress with Leah because we got to go in the night before if we wanted (and I wanted Kairi out of the kennel so I did that) but the next morning they were there ready to put things where they belonged. The movers were nice guys and hauled a lot of heavy crap up our 20 stairs but never complained once when I said that big box needed to be carried to the second floor. Haha. Of course I went into I-want-my-house-put-together mode and cleaned that whole day nonstop but I am trying to slow down a little bit because I had some swelling and pain in my legs and back from too much bending and lifting. Right now the kitchen is the only room that is pretty much put together and that's fine by me because that's where all of the cooking and eating happens anyways!

This is my car, the Primera I mentioned buying in my last post.

Since I last wrote I've been to my first OB appointment here, Leah has been to her 12-month wellbaby check up (which she went to at 13 months but oh well), Kairi came home (yay!), Christian has been on a crappy schedule (boo), and life has continued to throw punches and unexpected blessings our way. Some days are harder than others but I think that is just how things are when you're pregnant, have a husband who's exhausted from his job, and your 13-month-old is going through a growth spurt while teething. I have days when I feel like Christian isn't even really here because all he does is work and sleep, and those are the ones that are the hardest to get through because I just want him home with us. He is going to put in for leave this week hopefully so we know for sure he will be home in the days following the baby's birth.

Taken around 22.5 weeks along

I am now 25 weeks and 2 days pregnant. At my first OB appointment I was flat-out denied a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), and was given the day right then and there that the OB would reserve for my repeat cesarean: November 30th. So, little Z and I will share a birth month. I was really excited at the chance to have a vaginal birth just because I am still fuzzy when it comes to thinking about the day Leah was born after I got into the OR. It makes me really sad to think I may not remember holding him for the first time - a memory I still struggle with about Leah. Part of me feels like stopping after this birth, never considering a third, because I will forever be seen as a "risk" to doctors. Another part of me says if I can have my third, I should - I've always wanted 3 or 4 kids. *sigh* But I digress. Because I will have another cesarean - and this one is scheduled - we can request Christian's leave dates to begin a day or two before hand and have them go through the next week. My mom is also looking at plane tickets since she'll have her passport in a few weeks. It's crazy to think next week is already September then it'll be October...and before you know it I'll be 23, going in to have my second child. It's such a crazy thought to me. It's exciting, but it's nerve wrecking at the same time. How will Leah adapt? How will I adapt?

Leah loves her talking Mickey Mouse :)

Baby Z is still nameless but I am making it my goal to change that by this weekend. I have a lot of names I like, Christian just wants a more ~exotic and ~unique name, something I understand but also realize isn't always the best idea. I want them to stand out more than "John" or "Aiden/Aidan" (two really popular names) when they start school and make friends, but I don't want him to get mocked because I gave in and let Christian name him HORATIO (yes, he is serious about that name). I remember as soon as I found out I was pregnant with Leah I had names picked out and ready by 15 weeks. I have a million girl names I like, boys are just tougher! Haha.

For now Leah is back up and I am going to take care of laundry while we watch Mickey Mouse. I'll try uploading some videos & photos to Facebook, Flickr, and this blog tomorrow. :)

Independence Day, packing up, and we have movement!

Well it's about that time again...I'm due to write an update on how the Z family is doing. There are a few things of note that are going on lately, so I'll just jump right in.

As you all know, Sunday was July 4th, the United States of America's day of independence. We made plans to spend the day with my family in Galt as we've done in the past, which was a lot of fun...when we got there. Leah's been in full teething mode lately so we arrived MUCH later than planned (6pm) since we didn't wake up until 1:30pm with our little insomniac. Calculate shower time for 2 adults, a thick head of curls that needed to be straightened (yes, NEEDED - anyone who's seen my poodle hair can vouche for me that it is a necessity), cupcakes that needed to be put in a holder, a dog that needed to be taken out as well as given plenty of fresh food and water, packing a diaper bag, and feeding, changing, and dressing an 11 month old....and you'll have arrived at a late departure as well! Thankfully there was no traffic on the way and we made good time on the drive down. We got to eat lots of yummy food, spent some time socializing and enjoying company, then we watched the fireworks show. My cousins also set off some fireworks at home that Leah was terrified of - she didn't even like the sparklers Christian bought for me! We had fun and even though we got home very late (1am) it was worth it. My family got to take pictures with Leah, and we will hopefully be stopping by one more time this coming weekend to drop off and extra food or cleaning supplies we have after the house is packed up since it won't do us any good. Then it'll be a long while until we see them again.

Wednesday is day 1 of packing up the house....and it will be complete on Friday. We're debating whether or not we're staying here in the house Friday - Wednesday when we have no furniture or entertainment of any sort...the military will only pay for 5 days of hotel & food costs for us so that leaves us with 4 days out of pocket if we choose not to stay here. It would only be ~$400 but there are pros and cons to both decisions. I have a feeling we'll end up going to a hotel because Leah will get tired of being in an empty house VERY quickly. I'm still in disbelief we're moving. I don't think I'll really accept it until I wake up in a hotel at 4am feeling very hungry and tired. Even then I might just blame my weird pregnancy dreams. We are down to less than 2 weeks until we'll be in Japan...less than 2 weeks until we start on the third most exciting journey of our lives. It's going to be incredible.

Christian had a 4 day weekend which has sadly come to a close, so he is asleep. Leah is sitting here with me eating a multi-grain cracker (since she's still on a cracker binge we got her a healthier option), and Kairi is asleep on the floor looking goofy. I am exhausted, and would really like to be asleep, but Leah's got a slight fever that I think is once again teething related. Instead I have the washer and dryer going. I might as well get the rest of this laundry done if I'm going to be up anyways, right? Tomorrow we'll be packing our suitcases so it would be a good thing to get done any ways. Leah will be in cloth diapers only through tomorrow, then we'll be packing them up and having them sent with our early shipment so they will be delivered once we have a house again. Back to the days of disposable diapers stinking up my trash can....sigh. My super sensitive pregnant nose can smell trash from a mile away so it won't be a fun 2 weeks, but such is life. I'm hoping since we've been on the housing waiting list for a little over a month now we'll be offered a house within a decent time frame...and that the house is pet friendly!

This morning (er afternoon) I woke up to some very noticeable baby "kicks". They aren't super strong or externally visible, but Christian and I were both able to feel the baby move around for a few minutes throughout the day if we sat and put a hand on my stomach. It's amazing to think that at 18 weeks our child is already developed enough to make them self known. In just a little over a week we'll be able to make the big announcement about the sex of little Baby Z...I can't wait! I think I might go buy an IntelliGender testing kit for kicks & giggles...it would be interesting to see if it is able to accurately determine the baby's sex in advance.

This took about 40 minutes for me to type up, thanks to my child demanding another cracker and getting mad at me for having electronics near her haha, so I think I will end it here. Hopefully I'll be able to update again later in the week before we lose internet. Until then, stop by our Flickr Account to see some updates pictures of our family.

Change of plans, shopping adventures, and a baby Z update

Remember that whole "we have an official date!" announcement I made? Let's just pretend that didn't happen (even though the entry is still down there). We found out the next morning that something is going on with the moving company the base has contracted to do it's overseas PCS appointments and they don't have anyone available to do any moves for almost 2 weeks in July. So, we're back to square one, waiting for someone to tell us what's going on and to give us a date so we can try to make all of our appointments again. Right now the earliest date we'll be able to leave is looking like the 19th of July, which means Leah will be celebrating her first birthday in California after all. The original flight info sounded pretty awesome, especially since we'd be arriving at night which would have hopefully helped us adjust to the time difference a little quicker. We can only hope the new flight is direct like our original one was - I'd prefer to only get on two planes with a baby and dog between here and Okinawa, not three or four!

Besides this big change of plans not much has been going on around our house. Leah is still dead set on walking whenever possible and absolutely hates her pack & play now. Put her on the ground with some toys and she'll love you, but that girl moves so fast I can't take my eyes off of her for a second without running the risk she'll get hurt somehow. She hasn't been able to use the walker as much as before for a while because she learned if she leans far enough to the side she can pop her legs out and she tries to push herself out......onto her head. My child has no sense of danger, and that's a terrifying thought. So, the walker is only for "emergency situations", such as I just have to do dishes and Christian is still at work. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

We went out to Ross, Target, and Mimi's Cafe tonight for an impromptu family-night-out. We got some kitchen odds and ends at Ross, some new foods for Leah to try to Target along with some much needed shorts for Christian and some Hello Kitty accessories for my iPod, and we had a decent dinner at Mimi's though it wasn't nearly as good as it usually is there. Leah tried pancakes for the first time and she loved them!  She probably would have eaten my whole meal if I let her. She's very weird about what foods she will and won't eat, and right now she's still mostly on purees. I think she might be texture picky, much like her mother, and I am hoping we can slowly break her of some of that in the next 3 weeks.

That's right, my baby will be one year old in 20 days. Not even 3 whole weeks. I catch myself crying over her being so close to that first year mark nearly everyday now and I'm having a hard time letting go of the helpless baby image I still imagine as her. She can feed herself. She can stand and is beginning to walk. She can say a handful of words. She can  show you if she does or doesn't like what you're doing. She will let you know when she is hungry, sleepy, happy. She can do so much on her own that I couldn't imagine her doing before that it's kind of overwhelming. It's a lot for me to process and accept right now.

Baby Z has a check-up on June 28th which was supposed to be our final appointment with the midwife office if we were still leaving July 5th. Since we aren't going until the 19th-ish I am going to ask if I could possibly schedule my anatomy scan appointment for July 16th when I'll be 19 weeks and 3 days. I'm not sure if they'll be okay with that or not, I just know I won't be seen at the hospital in Okinawa for at least 2 weeks otherwise and part of me is kind of afraid my first appointment there will me rushed and uncomfortable, something I don't want my anatomy scan to be. I want to enjoy seeing the baby, I want to be relaxed laying down as they check to make sure everything looks great still, I want the happy tech to ask if I want to know the sex and see them smile when they tell me (if they can). I am so paranoid about the hospital in Japan it's beginning to make me dread moving there in a way. But I know there's nothing I can do to avoid it now. So far no major movement with the little one, though I can feel their little body when I put my hands on my abdomen. That's always a nice little reminder they are hanging out in there.

Tomorrow is Father's Day and Christian has yet to tell me what he wants or what he wants to do. So I guess he'll be watching the Brazil soccer match then if he comes up with any ideas we'll wing it. Leah is passed out with him in bed so I will hopefully be joining them shortly. I definitely have not missed the uncomfortable nights of being pregnant, but that's just the way it goes sometimes I suppose. :)

Photos from Leah's early party

This is just a few of the pictures from the party. My Flickr account is public and always updated with recent pictures. If you want to see the full size image, just click on it.

Quick update before dinner

I apologize for the very abrupt change in privacy as far as requiring an invite to read goes. I will further elaborate at a later time about the situation but for now I would prefer to just remain mum. It's not all that easy to explain so when I have the chance to sit down and put my thoughts together properly I will share the current problematic situation we have found ourselves in.

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On to happier things! We had our first doctor appointment on April 16th, Christian's 23rd birthday. I was so afraid of missing the ultrasound (it had already happened once) that we got there almost an hour early. We got the same doctor who delivered Leah, Dr. Wilson, and he said everything looks perfect. We got a picture of our little blob (<3), got to see AND hear their heartbeat, and we got my EDD: December 7th, our 3rd wedding anniversary.



We are almost 100% sure my mom will be coming out in October to stay with us until at least January to help us adjust to having two little ones and so we have someone we know and trust to take care of Leah while I am at the hospital. Since I will be delivering in Japan at a military hospital I am almost guaranteed to deliver via cesarean again. I was very fortunate to have my sister around for Leah's birth and I am not entirely sure I'll be able to handle caring for a new baby after another cesarean while still maintaining a regular routine with Leah. I know I'll fall into my own little schedule and routine but having her there will make me feel much more secure and confident.

Leah is doing great. She is up to 19 lbs 6oz, and 28 inches long. She is 9 months and 2 weeks old. She can pull herself up on almost anything within reach, can stand for about 10 seconds on her own, and today took 2 steps before falling over. They were "running steps" of sorts, she took them trying to keep herself standing upright. Haha. She still babbles "mama" often and loves hearing herself make noise. She hasn't mastered "dada" quite yet, but Christian is patiently waiting. :)

Currently we are on "vacation" in Maryland. We spent last week in Florida and we go home on Friday. When we get back to California we should HOPEFULLY get our orders then we'll be in PCS overdrive.

I'll finish our very lengthy update with a separate entry later on!

100% sure

100% sure
Originally uploaded by auphelia

Obviously big updates to come!

Plans don't always work out

I'd been having contractions on and off for about 2 weeks prior to the 10th. They got more noticeable around the 6th, and by the 8th they were easily distinguishable and moving towards being regular.

On the 9th around 9pm I started having really strong contractions. I began writing down when they happened and for how long, and they were on a schedule - first they were 7 minutes apart, then 5, then closer to 2-3 minutes apart. I called the birthing center at approx. 11:30pm, and they said because they were still manageable and I could talk through them they recommended I wait a few hours. Christian got home around 2:30am and I mentioned to him that they were stronger, but I could still talk through them so I didn't think it was a big deal. He insisted we drive to the birthing center despite my thoughts. I agreed and we took off around 3am. We got to the birthing center at 4:30am and I was measured - 8 centimeters dilated and fully effaced. We were completely shocked because I was still talking and laughing through the contractions and we knew we would be having the baby during our stay. We went through the admittance process, and we got into a birthing tub filled with hot water. We stood there for about 4 hours, then family arrived so we got out temporarily (read: 15 minutes), then got right back in. We stood in the tub, and I breathed through contractions without pain medication, for a total of 10 hours. I got out to push on the bed (as well as in a few different positions) around 1pm. She made quick progress and moved down into my cervix within the first hour of pushing. The midwife and nurse were excited because they thought it would be a smooth, fast first time birth.

Then things completely went to a standstill. She wasn't descending further, and the contractions were instead causing her head to get stuck in a painful position. I continued to push for 2 hours in hopes that I could still deliver naturally. Her heart rate dropped drastically (from ~150 to ~110), as well as my blood pressure. At the three hour mark my midwife decided it was time to call in an OB and get their opinion on the situation. Both my midwife and the OB agreed that an emergency c-section was necessary. Christian broke down a little bit, but at that point I was far more concerned with Leah's health than my birth plan. I continued to push with every contraction until the anesthesiologist was ready for me and gave me a spinal (similar to an epidural, but no tubing). I was given Stadol about an hour before because my midwife was concerned by my lack of rest throughout labor (I didn't sleep the night I went into labor, I didn't take a nap the day before, and the evening before I had only slept for ~4hrs), and it had helped me take a few deep breaths after pushing. I even began nodding off once during a 3 minute break. So when I got the spinal, I basically felt like I was floating in the middle of the OR. Christian came in and they began the necessary cuts and before we knew it we heard the tiniest, most amazing noise ever. Leah didn't cry right away; instead she said just enough for us to know it was her. They cleaned her off quickly, weighed her, and let Christian bring her over to me. His wonderment towards her brought tears to my eyes, and when I saw her I was immediately completely in love.

I was stitched and stapled up, then we returned to our labor room. I got a bunch of information about things I could and couldn't do, what the rest of our stay would be like, and then finally they brought me Leah. She was so calm and peaceful (she still is actually!), she eased my spirit greatly. She took to breastfeeding very easily, and is one of the most laid back babies I've ever met in my life. She sleeps wonderfully, she loves to cuddle up and take naps, and she has only cried twice since being born. She truly has Christians personality. :)

We are disappointed that things didn't turn out as well as we'd hoped as far as my delivery stage went, but at the same time Leah has blessed our lives in an amazing way and the fact that I had to have a c-section seems obsolete.

Nothing before her arrival really matters anymore. We're new people, we're a new family, and we couldn't ask for anything more.