Baby + Date = Takeout While Watching TV at Home

4:15pm - Amit & Anjali are both hungry and wondering what to do for a snack

4:30pm - Amit suggests date night / happy hour @ St. John's

4:45pm - But Naina shows signs of falling asleep earlier than her usual 6:30pm bedtime

5:00pm - We make the decision to get Naina to sleep, then leave for St. John's after she's settled and ready to sleep. She usually sleeps through the whole thing when we go out in the evenings so this seems like safe bet.

5:15pm - Naina has her bath.  She's in an extra splashy mood so Anjali has to change into dry clothes.

5:45pm - Naina has her dinner.  She spits up plenty so Anjali has to change into dry clothes...again. Amazingly, Naina's clothes remain clean.

6:10pm - Naina is sound asleep in her car seat.  Date night, here we come!

6:45pm - We arrive at St. John's only to find that there are no open tables. People are even standing around waiting for tables.  There's so much noise that Naina wakes up.  We get back in the car to go somewhere else and hopefully get Naina back to sleep.

7:05pm - Naina's sound alseep. We arrive at Red Robin. We're *really* hungry by now. Remember - we first got hungry 3 hrs earlier!

7:10pm - We order a Blue Moon & a Sam Adams...super sized!

7:15pm - Naina wakes up!  We start rocking the car seat and Anjali's singing lullabies to reverse the damage.

7:25pm - We order our burgers. Yummm....bottomless fries are on their way.

7:40pm - Naina's still awake and getting restless. We're now 1.5-2 hrs past bedtime - we're well into the danger zone!  Somewhere out there, red sirens are wailing...this is not a drill.  We need to evacuate ASAP.

7:45pm - We change our order to takeout & start chugging our 22-ounce (or maybe more!) beers

8:00pm - We're in the car headed home, dinner's in the back seat, our beers left unfinished, and Naina is now grinning innocently

8:30pm - We get home, and despite driving around a little extra, Naina's wide awake!  (see pic)

8:50pm - We're watching last Thursday's episode of The Office, drinking bottled beer from the fridge, and eating our room temperature burgers & cold fries out of takeout containers. Naina's happily sitting in her swing and NOT sleeping.  

If she wasn't so darn cute and loveable, this would be an evening gone bust.  But somehow, we're still amused and dare I say - we had fun :)  Nevertheless, I think we may get a sitter next time!

Naina's Firsts: Diwali & Vacation!!

Skiing, sledding, snowshoeing....what more could a 3-month old ask for?

Well this 3-month old didn't quite hit the slopes, but she did venture out on her first vacation - a destination

 Diwali in Silverthorne, CO - located just in between Breckenridge and Vail.  

The flights both ways went smoothly - the only thorn in our side was the inconvenience of traveling on United again (remember back to my post from 12/22/07 for more on our United Airlines woes en route to PV).  

Naina was a real trooper.  She didn't complain when we woke her up at 4am to catch our flight.  Instead, looked around here and there, wondering what these "new" things called a taxi and an airport were all about.  She stayed awake, looking around with curiosity until we boarded the plane.  As soon as we settled into our seats, she drank her milk and fell asleep.  Next thing she knew, we were in line at the rental car company.  Perfect.

Once we reached Silverthorne, the elevation took a bit of a toll on all of us.  Poor Naina also felt the impact, and had a really hard time for the first 2 days.  An uncomfortable baby made for 2 very tired parents.  After 2 days of feeling helpless in trying to make her more comfortable, I was wishing we were back at home so things could go back to normal!!  

It was a whirlwind trip, so hectic, and I'm not sure I want to take another flight with Naina till she's old enough not to need so much "stuff".  Not because of her - she was a dream - so good on the plane - I don't know how we got so lucky to have such an easy baby!  But rather because it was such a hassle to travel in general - looking for elevators everywhere we went, gate checking a stroller & 

a car seat, getting all her milk tested at security, installing the car seat a gazillion times over, sterilizing the same 3 bottles & nipples half a dozen times a day, changing diapers in the airport, changing diapers in the car, doing laundry every day because we only packed

6 burp cloths that got used faster than they ever do at home.  It looks like we'll be sticking to road trips for a while :)

Things settled down in time for a nice Diwali celebration.  Naina's first Diwali was filled with lots of love and attention from several Ajis and Ajobas.  She got all dressed up and enjoyed being the center of attention!

 

The Sleep Saga

Naina's had some sleeping adventures since she arrived.  First she slept in the pack'n'play in our room.  Then we moved her to the crib in her room...but we slept in there with her.  Finally we moved back to our bedroom...but she came along with us.  

What's the current status, you ask?  Now we do a variation of all 3 - sometimes in the pack'n'play, sometimes in her crib, and a *lot* of times in our bed.  Here's how Naina and her Daddy look on most nights:

What's in a name?

Last weekend was Naina's barsa.  I was worried about getting through the ceremony that day if she was fussy, but she did great! In fact, she was even smiling while her aunts were performing the ceremony with her.  Phew!  

Now that she's officially named, hopefully Amit will stop referring to her as munchkin, little munchkin, tiny munchkin, and anything remotely similar :)  

Here's a pic of the big moment - Naina gets her name!

The day after her naming ceremony, my parents left after being our safety net and support for the past 3 months.  And boy was it a tough goodbye. Poor Naina struggled with the transition of one Aji and Aba leaving, and a different Aji being around.  A depressed 3-month old is heartbreaking - her appetite was gone, she stopped playing & smiling, and spit up nearly every entire meal.  It took about 3 days before we saw her smile again, and by day 5 she was back to herself.  Amit and I smothered her with tons of love and attention to help her through the transition.  Things seem to be getting better every day and she's back to her happy, giggly, perpetually hungry self.  Aba will be back in town next week for work, so she'll get to see him then!

We were all set to celebrate her 3-month birthday today...but she had a mind of her own.  Refused to nap all day, until she was as tired as could be tonight.  So in her birthday dress, off to sleep we went without our birthday photo shoot.  Hoping to take some pictures tomorrow and claim that they're from today!  Ssshhh, no one will ever know :)

1 Month Already?

Naina turned 1 month this week!  What a whirlwind it's been!  We're overcome with joy, wonder, and of course...sleep deprivation.  

First of all, here are some stats so you get an idea of Naina's progress so far.

Height

Homecoming: 18 in

2 Week Checkup: 19.5 in

1 Month Checkup: 20 in

Weight -when she gets older, she may not want to share this, but for now it's probably ok :)

Homecoming: 5 lbs 1 oz

2 Week Checkup: 6 lbs 1 oz

1 Month Checkup: 7 lbs 10 oz

Wow! That's some growth!  But I can't say I'm surprised - we can usually tell when she's having a growth spurt because her meals turn into feasts and seem to continue all day long...

The emotional connection we made with Naina was like a switch that just flipped the moment we saw her.  I spent the first few days trying to get a grip and not cry every time she cried.  It tore me up to hear her cry.  I know, I know - that's just how they communicate.  I'll blame the surge of hormones that I was going through - I finally pulled myself together and found more effective ways than my own tears to handle her cries.  

Naina's already turned into a busy bee.  She goes on daily walks with her Aba (grandpa) and even accompanied him to Starbucks on her 6-day birthday!  So far she's been to lunch at Bombay Garden - where she thought the buffet looked fabulous - and to BJ's for an early dinner with her Ricky Mama who came for a visit from Atlanta.  Let's see where her next adventure takes her.

She's also sleeping in her own room now.  It's been about a week - and she's doing great.  Amit & I, on the other hand, have had separation anxiety and are taking turns sleeping on the floor in her room.  We miss having her in our room, but we're actually getting some rest now, so it's been good progress.

Naina Joins Our Family!

No words can adequately describe the moment.  One minute I was a little scared, shaking from the exhaustion that comes from hours of labor, holding tightly onto Amit's hand, laying on the operating table, frustrated that I was ending up with a c-section, and praying that the baby would be ok through the long process we had just endured together.  

It only took a split second to wash away the fears and exhaustion.  Above the little curtain, the doctor held up our daughter for for us to see.  The whole world paused at that moment, as if it was just the 3 of us in that room, and there was nothing else that mattered except that we had a beautiful baby girl.

The moment I saw her, emotions took over and tears of joy replaced everything I had felt before.  Amit squeezed my hand tighter now, and when I looked up at him, I saw tears coming down his face, too.  He bent down, kissed me, and gave me some wonderful words of encouragement.  

We both reveled in the moment, letting our emotions overcome us, and staring at our beautiful daughter.  We couldn't believe it - after months of anticipation, the day was finally here.  Naina Ami Rele joined our family.    

How did we end up here, 3 weeks early?  Well, when I went in to see Dr White on Monday morning, we no longer had a choice about when to induce.  After seeing all my test results, she came in announcing that we needed to deliver immediately and sent me straight to the hospital to get induced.  

By 11am I was in my hospital gown - we were in Room 9 of the L&D aisle.  By noon, they had started the induction process.  By 3pm, I started having mild contractions, and by 5pm, labor was in full swing.  I was on the IV pain killer to take some of the edge off.  By 8pm I was 3 cm dilated.  And at midnight I was 7 cm and more than ready for the epidural.  At 3:30am, it was the moment I had been waiting for - time to push!  

Two hours and countless pushes later, the Dr Gretkowski came in to see what the holdup was. The baby's heartrate dropped whenever I pushed several times in a row, and her progress towards coming out had stopped for the last hour.  Well, looks like our little one was stuck, and the doc didn't feel like she could safely deliver her.  So off we went for a c-section to get her out. And you know the rest...our little Naina was born at 6:23 am on Tues July 7.  She weighed 5 lbs 7 oz., and was 17 inches long.

The Dreaded Bed Rest

They kept us overnight at the hospital yesterday to keep monitoring my blood pressure.  Finally Dr. Hill came by in the morning and presented the option of inducing today.  It's 1 day before 37 weeks, so she said if want to wait to see Dr. White on Monday, we can do that. But I'd be sent home with strict bedrest instructions.  Alternatively she said they could induce me today, and the baby would probably be ok, just 1 day before full term.  At this point she said she could still give us a choice and left it us to decide. 

Well, bedrest doesn't sound fun, but Dr White will be back from vacation on Monday, so we'd rather see her and go from there...  Either way, Dr. Hill said that they won't let the pregnancy continue more than a couple of days, so I could choose to induce today, or let Dr White pick a day when I see her on Monday. 

So... we came home.  This buys us a little more control over the situation - get my parents on a plane to San Jose instead of getting on their flight to Cozumel!, wait for Dr. White, and get a day to mentally prepare and know we're making the right decision to have our little one 3 weeks early.   I'm on bedrest till our appt with Dr White - Monday at 9:30am.  We'll know more then, but my BP is still really high.

4 Days Into Maternity Leave...

...and I'm in the hospital.  

We went to my regular OB appointment this morning and suddenly my blood pressure was really high.  They sent us straight to the hospital to get admitted into Labor & Delivery.  Yikes!  After my appointment, we had planned to go to Crate & Barrel, work on the baby's room, and then head over to Angad & Shilpi's for a July 4 BBQ.  But now here we are, sitting in Room 4 of Labor & Delivery.  The doc has been coming in and mentioned the possibility of inducing me this weekend, based on the results of some tests they're running!  Errr....this is unexpected to say the least.  Let's wait and see what happens.  But we're starting to think that we'll be going home with our baby girl a little earlier than expected!

First day of Maternity Leave

Today was my first day off.  It was the first time I've woken up at 8:30am on a Monday :)

We had an awesome weekend in Santa Cruz - the Bay Area was over 100 degrees, so it was nice to get away to a cooler place - cooler only because there was a nice wind that masked the 90+ degree weather.  We had rented a house which turned out to be pretty much right on the beach.  So relaxing...just what I needed.

We're at 36 weeks now.  I've been having a few contractions here and there.  So far everything has checked out ok and my doctor says the contractions are a good sign that things are progressing normally.  Good to hear!  Still, I'm not taking any chances and started washing all her clothes, sheets, towels, etc... today.  What a big task - between her laundry and mine & Amit's, I've already done 5 loads of laundry today!  And I'm not done yet, either...

If tomorrow doesn't bring more laundry, I'm hoping to catch a midday movie.

Almost there...

35 weeks!

My doctor switched me to weekly visits now.  I remember back to sometime in the first trimester when she told me that at 35 weeks we'll meet weekly - it seemed like so far off the in future.  Now here we are.  The baby's head is down, and she's just hanging out till she's ready to come out (which will hopefully be right on schedule so I can enjoy a few weeks off from work first).  It's such an amazing feeling when she moves.  I can feel every little turn, kick & jostle.  It kind of makes me chuckle when I think back to the weeks when I felt it only occasionally, or if I was super still and after I ate.  Now - it's like a drum in my belly, all day, every day, and I love it!

This is also my last week of work.  It's been a mix of emotions.  I'm partially checked out already and eager to start my 6-month hiatus.  On the other hand, I'm struggling with the thought of being out of the loop for 6-months.  I feel resigned to having an "On Target" year with no hopes of pushing myself ahead.  A 6-month career interruption will take a year of catch-up on the competitive front.  A few people have asked why I'm taking so much time off.  It's a no-brainer to me - this is the only time I'll ever get to spend so much time with my daughter, and to get some time for myself.  I have the rest of my life to run the rat race, so I want a break to enjoy my expanding family.

The girls threw me a shower a couple of weeks ago - it was awesome!! At Hakone Gardens, on a beautiful day, I spent the afternoon enjoying the company of all my girlfriends.  It was a truly memorable day.  Each person painted & decorated a onesie for the baby - it was a really fun activity!  Towards the end, some of us went for a stroll through the gardens - it was a small, quiet, beautiful place.  Here are just a few of the pictures.  The rest can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/anjali.rele/BabyShower#

Amit & I are going up to San Francisco for the day today and then planning to stay overnight.  We're both starting to feel our quiet time together slipping away in the near future, so we're trying to really clear our schedules and just focus on each other, and finishing up things for our little one's arrival.  I'm dying to tell people her name, but Amit is holding strong and stopping me :)