Late Night, Early Morning Feedings
I have been exclusively breastfeeding Vincent and let me say it is hard work! I didn’t have much issues with him learning to latch or anything, and have been lucky that my nipples are not sore at all. But after a few weeks of what seems to be constant feeding (every 1-2 hours during the day if he is awake, every 2-3 hours at night) it can be exhausting! And sometimes i think he is not latching very well and gulping too much air while he drinks causing him to be extra gassy. But he is gaining weight well and has lots of wet and poopy diapers so i guess that is all that matters! Sometimes at night he is SO NOISY making all kinds of grunting and farting sounds! It’s kind of funny but not really when you are trying to sleep and you are anticipating he will get up at any moment, so you can’t really fall asleep easy, AND you are already seriously sleep deprived.
Butters is now allowed back in our room. He does absolutely fine with the baby. A few times he wanted to jump on the pack’n play’s changing table, but we just shoo him off. During middle of the night feedings he comes into the bedroom sometimes, meows around, and wants pets from me. He seems pretty oblivious to the fact that there is a baby here, either that or he doesnt mind at all. Sometimes he will come close and sniff Vincent’s head, or stare in his direction when he cries really loud. But Butters is pretty chill and just either walks away or turns his head after a few moments. Recently he has been standing right next to Vincent while i feed him – sometimes as close as on the exact same pillow Vincent is on! It’s quite funny. He keeps me entertained while i am bored and sleepy, waiting for Vincent to finish. There is only so many facebook updates to read at 1 am (and again at 3am, 5am, etc).
First Walk
We went on our first walk with Vincent around the neighborhood using his Snap-n-Go stroller. He was doing great at first, alert and looking all around. Then suddenly he started crying and we were only 1/2 way done with our walk! So Jeff took him out of his carseat and walked with him home the rest of the way. Grandpa Mike came with us while Grandma Jerrie and Grandpa Don stayed home. Grandma Lisa and Uncle Pat were out visiting Monterey.
Grandma Jerrie’s Birthday
Grandma Jerrie’s birthday is today! She sure has been helping us out a lot! Cooking dinner, shopping, watching Vincent while i take a shower or take a nap, etc. What a life saver! For her birthday, i bought her a Bare Escentuals Kabuki make-up brush since i noticed she needed a new one, and i also made her a custom photo mug from Costco Online, using Vincent’s photos. She absolutely loved the mug and uses it everyday now. (I wish i took a photo of it but i forgot to!)
I made her some banana chocolate chip cupcakes and a little placemat for her to eat on. I was drawing and cutting everything out with one hand while feeding Vincent early this morning! Gonna have to learn quick to do things one-handed.
Here is an example of Grandma Jerrie’s great home cooking! Smothered porkchops, stuffing, gravy, purple cauliflower and green beans. Delicious! We are so spoiled!
Here she is slaving away in the kitchen! I think she had fun though, i know she loves to cook. She tried quite a few recipes from America’s Test Kitchen cookbook.
Vincent “Meets” Aunty Jill
Thanks to modern technology, Aunty Jill (my second oldest sister) could meet Vincent all the way from Brisbane, Australia! Here are a few photos that captured the moment. Vincent was sleeping in the beginning, but then he woke up towards the end and Jill was able to see him with his eyes open.
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My mom and I with Vinny – this is from Jill’s view.
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I love the look on Vincent’s face here! He likes Aunty Jill.
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Our view of Jill. She is currently going to dental school in Australia and is living with her fiance, Glen. They’ll be married in January in Hawaii. Glen has three children who will be Vince’s cousins!
Vincent’s First Bath
Vincent’s umbilical cord fell off right before i took this photo on Monday – a lot sooner than i thought it would since they said it would take a few weeks. After he had his second doctors appointment that Friday, the doctor said we were ok to give him a “real” bath! (BTW – at his doctor’s appointment he weighed exactly 7 lbs – up from 6 lbs 5 oz)
Here’s all his bath stuff!
Jeff gets the whale tub ready with warm water.
He cried, but not too bad, and mostly only when we poured water all over his head and face!
Butters was right there with us witnessing it all! My mom was taking photos.
Proud daddy and clean Vinnie!
I can’t tell – does he like the frog towel on his head?
Overall he was a trooper and i think he enjoyed getting fresh and clean. “Did you get behind my ears Ma?!?”
First Outing, then Meeting the Grandparents
Vincent had his first outing this morning to Jeff’s Pinnacle Bank Annual Summer Picnic which was out at a home in Pebble Beach. He slept the WHOLE time we were there! A good 3+ hours, since he was up the entire morning earlier. Made it easy on us, no feedings or diaper changes needed! When we got back from the outing, Jeff called up his parents who had just flown into town this morning and were anxiously awaiting meeting their first grandchild.
Here is Grandma Lisa, barely in the door and holding little Vinnie!
Grandpa Mike gets his turn!
And last but not least, his one and only uncle, Uncle Pat!
Last night, my father flew in from Honolulu. He had originally planned on coming Monday, but the night before he got the flu and decided it’d be best to stay home and recover before coming to visit since he didn’t want Vincent to get sick. He ended up having to fly first class since that was the only seat available at such late notice (he had to pay for it of course – but he loved it!)
Vincent’s First Two Weeks at Home
Welcome Home Vincent!
Vincent and I came home from the hospital on Thursday around noon. Here is Jeff dressing him in his coming home outfit that was size 0-3 months and was way too big for him! The nurses at the hospital were great and i wasn’t in a rush to get home even if i delivered early Tuesday morning and could have went home on Wednesday night. I liked having the nice bed that rises up and down and having meals delivered to me! Jeff took off work to stay with me at the hospital. The car ride home went fine – Vincent didn’t really like the car seat so much but he settled in on the drive home.
The first night home was a little rough. I hadn’t really grasped the concept that you should try to breastfeed your baby on both breasts. I would just feed him when he was hungry and usually after the first boob he fell asleep so i just let him sleep. But i learned now that i should feed him on one side, then change his diaper, wait a bit, and he will most likely be hungry for the other boob in a few minutes. The first night i didn’t do this and he kept waking up about every hour or so it seemed. And if he wasnt hungry, it was because he was too cold (i didn’t use enough blankets on him the first night), or he had a diaper, or I myself had to go to the bathroom (laxatives finally worked that night, thank you), or I was too cold (i fell asleep with Vincent in my arms and forgot to cover myself up and only had a camisole on)… anyway, it was hard work but by the second night i got wiser and Vincent was sleeping 2 1/2 hour stretches in the night meaning i fed him before we went to bed at 11pm-ish, woke up at about 1:30 and 4am, and then in the morning around 7am. So not too bad for a newborn.
Vincent’s first doctor’s appointment was set for Saturday morning with another doctor at the practice that our pediatrician works at. Here he is in his carseat – he looks SO TINY! He kept eating the seatbelt harness thing and i think that made him a little upset because he was trying to reach for his arm but couldn’t. Dr. Rosen looked him over and said his circumcision is healing well, and that he had a bit of jaundice which we noticed in his eyes and on his face and upper chest area. A few minutes naked in the direct sunlight would help clear him up of it. He had gained a few ounces since leaving the hospital but still wasn’t up to his initial birth weight of 6 lbs and 11 oz.
Vincent’s first visitors were our good friends Bonnie and Kyle. They don’t have any kids themselves yet but will probably be starting a family in the next year, so they were curious about everything we were going though asking us lots of questions. Angie and Rita from my workplace also came by to meet our little one.
My childhood friend Tehani gave Vincent a stuffed shave ice pillow thing that he can sit next to and take photos as he grows. He is so long already even in this first photo… i even cut off his feet unintentionally.
Life at home is going quite well. My mom is helping a great deal by cooking us dinner, going grocery shopping, and watching Vincent while i take a nap during the day. Vincent sleeps in good chunks during the night and is up an hour or two in the morning and afternoon. He grunts a lot when he has to poo, and loves to STRETCH his head and arms back when he wakes up and when we put him down to change him. We’re in awe of how cute he his and can just stare at him all day.
Here are some photos from the first two weeks at home:
Sleeping on Mommy.
First time in the bunny swing, FaceTime with Grandma Lisa and Grandpa Mike.
Belly shot with Vincent outside my belly!
One of Jeff’s favorite photos. Vinny looks tough, huh?
Here is where Vincent sleeps at night – it is the bassinet insert in his pack n’ play portable crib/play yard.
Wide-eyed at 3am after a long (3 hour) nap!
Vinny and Daddy.
Baby Vincent is Born
Vincent Takumi McGirr was born July 26th, 2011 at 7:41am, weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 21.5 inches long. My labor started a little after 1am when i was awaken by a tummy ache. After several trips to the bathroom i realized i might be having contractions… a pain would come about every 7 minutes. I tried to go back to sleep because they say that the best thing to do. Well that didn’t happen. So i got up and went to the couch and started timing contractions there since i didn’t feel like i needed to wake Jeff up at this point.
The contractions got closer together in the matter of an hour or so. They were 4 minutes apart for about 45 seconds, then some were only 3 minutes apart but 30 seconds. By 5am i was having them every 4 minutes for over a minute, and then some were only 1-2 minutes apart for 30 seconds. Definitely time to head to the hospital! Before Jeff got out of bed he mentioned “maybe i’ll work in Salinas office today instead of Gilroy”… haha! Uh… think again dude, we’re going to the hospital! After that he said “ok i’ll start the coffee” and in my head i’m like coffee?!?! NO TIME FOR COFFEE! Lets go NOW! Haha!
I convinced my mom to come along with us because i wanted Jeff and I to have extra support. All the while everyone is getting ready to go my contractions are hurting like all hell! Hard to brush your teeth and get your stuff together when you’re anticipating a sharp cramping over you tummy every few minutes. The one surprising thing that i learned after having experienced contractions is that none of those positions you learn in Lamaze class really help to ease the pain. Not that i tried them or anything (no time in my case!) but i just can’t imagine that changing your position would change the pain. The only thing i could muster enough energy to do was to get down on all fours so i wouldn’t fall over or collapse or anything. You can’t really focus on anything but the pain while it is happening. During one contraction I started bleeding suddenly, so i knew for sure we HAD to go. Jeff called the hospital after i convinced him i couldn’t do it on my own since i’d for sure get a contraction mid-sentence. They told us to come i once i told them about the bleeding, so off we went.
The hospital (Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula) is about 20 minutes away. The car ride took a while and i was in the back seat, screaming (literally) through the contractions. Jeff was trying to help as best he could with his coaching and it did help distract a little from the pain. I remember myself yelling “help me” a few times… and as we pulled up to the hospital that last contraction in the car, i felt like i needed to push! Scary!
Jeff dropped my mom and i off at the front and i was so confused i didn’t know which door to go into! Ugh! But we found our way and a security guard put me in a wheelchair and took us to labor and delivery. It was about 6am by now. They took me to my room – which was a teeny tiny room that they haven’t used in a long time but had to shove me in it since they were extremely busy. I stripped my clothes off as fast as i could, got my monitors on and hopped up on the bed.
They checked me and i was “just a lip” – i think meaning i was about 9cm and almost fully dilated and ready to push. I had to pant through several contractions… i don’t even know how many but way too many in my book! I was waiting for the doctor to show up so i could push. I kept asking how much longer, and they couldn’t really tell me! I kept saying how it wasn’t fair that i had to wait, and that i wanted a 15 minute break from the contractions to catch my breath. Luckily there was a nice lady there that was actually a nursery nurse, that came in to help me through my contractions. She told me to blow out birthday candles so that they would just flicker and not go out. That helped a bit, because otherwise i really wanted to push. Everything in the room was chaotic. I can’t remember how many people were in this tiny “closet” like room! One particular nurse came in to put my IV in and i yelled at her saying she can’t do it now! LOL. I couldn’t imagine i’d be able to stay still for her to poke me. It took her several tries but she did get it in. After what seemed like an ETERNITY, panting through a billion contractions (ok so it was like 20 minutes)… i was finally told that the doctor was close enough to the hospital that i could start pushing. So push i did! It probably took about 7 sets of 3-4 pushes to get him out. It was a challenge to curl up, chin down, take a deep breath and push in the right places to get him out but it was so much better than trying to pant through contractions and NOT pushing. Jeff was a great coach giving me positive feedback the entire time, saying how great i was for doing it natural, etc. After I breathed through one particular contraction, Jeff said, “See that wasn’t so bad was it” and a nurse scolded him saying, “don’t ever say that to a laboring woman!” LOL!
When the baby was delivered he let out a cry. The doctor said “it’s a boy!” and “look at his round head! that is a perfect looking head!” He did indeed look very healthy and i saw Jeff get teary eyed! Didn’t have to wait at all to deliver the placenta. Jeff cut the cord in front of me and then they placed the baby up on my chest for skin-to-skin. Jeff and i just stared at our baby boy and started thinking of names! We were set on Calvin for a few weeks now but hadn’t made any final decisions. So when saw him we thought he looked like a Vincent, our other choice of name. And so he was named!
We all bonded for a while, he breastfed, then the nurses took his measurements. We called my mom in and she got to see the baby. I ended up with a 3rd degree tear (ouch!) and when i asked “how many stitches” i got – the doctor just said “oh we don’t count” – i take that to mean way too many to count! Yikes! But i’m recovering well, it is really not too bad.
Looking back, it’s kind of funny when you are in labor. It’s like you’re a little drunk/buzzed because you just blurt out and say anything on your mind. No filter at all! 🙂
Here are some photos! More on Flickr page as usual.
Right after giving birth.
On the scale.
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The photo i posted to facebook.
After a shower/bath and new clothes for both of us.
Alert like a little hungry bird!
Napping with Daddy.
39 weeks and 5 days
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This is my last pregnant photo! I took it to send as a picture text to my sister for her birthday. Later that night i went into labor.
Visit with Jen & RJ
My old college roommate Jen is now living in Carmel with her husband RJ. After college these two got married and then lived in Korea for a year. After being overseas they got stationed in Maryland for a couple of years. About a month ago i found out they got stationed back in Monterey where they met. RJ was going to Defense Language Institute (DLI) to learn Korean. Now he is back learning more of the language. We had breakfast with them at Em Le’s in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
I had their famous french toast which is like a hybrid of toast and funnel cake. Two days in row for funnel cake! Might as well live it up while i’m pregnant.
The house that they are renting out is right within walking distance to Carmel beach! How sweet! Jen said they allow people to do bonfires there and they we should plan a date. Jen and RJ will be here for a year only, and i know it will fly by. Hope we can see each other often while we can.