Formal photos from hospital

Morristown Hospital is smart. Right after your baby is born, they come into your room and ask if you want professional photos done. They can do these photos however you want. If you have special clothing with you, the baby can be wearing that outfit for the camera. If you are like me and did not bring a hospital bag with cute "coming home" baby clothes, the photographer can drape sheets around your baby and still create lovely photos. They come back within one day and show you the flawless photos and then you end up buying a $200 package. It's pure genius.

Shown below are Vanessa's formal photos. The photographer asked if we wanted photos with her. Both of us were sleep deprived and looked completely tired. I  didn't have hair supplies with me and was on my way to having dreadlocks. We politely replied, "No, thank you."

I'm wondering what color those eyes will be in a few months...

My friend said it looks like Vanessa is ready to break out into a rap 

Wrinkles, lol 

"Politician's pose"

Definitely on the verge of crying in this photo

"Greetings and salutations"

Photographer convinced me to put my hand in the photo

Vanessa kept reaching out toward the photographer 

Vanessa, the chaos as a prelude to sleep

John and I are getting very familiar with Vanessa's sleep process. By reading articles, I've been assured that crying and screaming, whether before sleep or just in general, are common features that babies exhibit.

To me, it's amazing how a 7 pound human could emit such loud noise from her lungs.
Vanessa can go from silent to screaming in less than one second. Another thing that amazes me is how she can seem to "detect" when we move her. Most of the time, after she feeds she will fall right asleep on my chest. I'll wait for 5-10 minutes to pass and then I will carefully move her to the bassinet or the co-sleeper on the bed. It's like she senses the loss of skin-to-skin contact because, bam!, she will wake up and immediately begin screaming.

The book Happiest Child on the Block  has been far more useful than any other baby books. I bought a bunch of baby books before Vanessa was born. Despite being an avid reader, I actually only started one of the baby books, What To Expect When You're Expecting. Although I was 30+ weeks when I started the book, I felt the need to begin from page one. By the time V was born, I had only gotten up to week 14---not too beneficial when the baby has already met the outside world.

Happiest Child on the Block has convinced us that arms-in swaddling is the way to go. If Vanessa is fussy and we are trying to get her to sleep, post-feeding, we will generally swaddle her. John is good at swaddling with a regular blanket, but I need the "idiot's guide to swaddling," aka the Halo sack. Once we swaddle her, we usually play thunderstorm sounds on Spotify. In extreme cases of fussiness, I'll run the vacuum for a few minutes. We also loudly say "Shhhhh" to her. These methods do not always work (and when they don't that scream is incredibly shrill), but when they do work, the result is blissful sleep.

Project 365

I'm trying to post a new photo of Vanessa each day for an entire year... so far...it does not seem that hard. My phone is overloaded with Vanessa photos!

Here's the URL:
http://tinyurl.com/zyk5pdb

Miles Davis & Vanessa Alison: The story of our baby's birth

On Tuesday, 3/15, I went to work as usual. At this point, my feet and legs were so bloated that I resorted to wearing huge, flowy maternity skirts. I remember working feverishly during my preps, as I tried to get everything set up for my maternity leave replacement. I threw away tons of file folders, moved digital files to a flash drive for the sub, and moved all around my classroom, striving to get things done before my last day, 3/18. Around 4, a co-worker walked by my room and said, "Go home already."

I was full of energy. I went to Buybuybaby and picked up some small items. I then went to Carter's and bought a few extra things for the baby; I even texted a photo of leopard leggings for a 6 month old to my friend, Lisa. Continuing with the surge of energy, I even did some light plumbing repair in our house and used an auger.

John usually works until 9 on most evenings, but on this particular Tuesday, he came home around 7:30.

Around 8, I decided to elevate my feet. This was after I already soaked them in epsom salts. I extended them to the top of the headboard in our bedroom, trying to de-swell them. It's a little bit "TMI," but I suddenly felt like I urinated myself. I just assumed that it was a slight accident; they say that can happen toward the end of your pregnancy. I jokingly texted my Raelen a favorite line from the Adam Sandler movie, Billy Madison: "If peeing your pants is cool, then call me Miles Davis."

"the feet" 

Previously, I had told my ob/gyn that I was worried I wouldn't know if I was having contractions. She assured me, "Oh, you'll know." About 10 minutes from the Miles Davis incident, I felt incredibly sharp pains in my abdominal region. It felt like cramps that I never had before. Foolish me did not think this could be my water breaking. From all of my doctor's appointments, it seemed like the baby was going to be on time; no signs pointed to an early arrival. Despite feeling such pain, I thought that maybe I was having indigestion. In retrospect, those words sound incredibly stupid.

The next thing I know, I quickly changed into a nightgown and flip flops. My fashion inspiration might have been Natalie Portman's character in the film Where the Heart Is.

John called my doctor's answering service and left a message. Next, he called 911. The police arrived first and then an ambulance came. A lot of people have asked me why John didn't just drive us to the hospital: "Was an ambulance really necessary?" In short, it was necessary.

By the time I got into the ambulance, the pains were so sharp; we timed the contractions to be one minute apart. The poor EMT had to deal with me using the F word over and over. I tried to be polite; the word was interspersed with an occasional "Okay."

Once we got to the hospital, I was rushed upstairs. Honestly, after being transported to the hospital, my memory is a bit spotty. I got no meds--- in retrospect, I love that I didn't get meds because I can claim "warrior" status, but I totally would have taken them if there was enough time. I wanted so badly for her to be with us and kept pushing. The doctor told me only to push on the contraction and I got overwhelmed, uttering, "I'm worried I won't know when that is." At certain points, the doctor pressed on my abdominal region and let me know when I was having contractions. As someone who was in remedial gym in middle school, it's not surprising that I needed help with knowing whether or not I was having contractions. In fact, it's actually pretty hilarious.

Vanessa was born at 10:58PM. I can't even use the transition word "finally" because I was in labor for less than three hours. As I held her, with John right by my side, we both intensely cried. I had previously imagined how it would be like to give birth and hold Vanessa in my hands, but the rush of emotions in that moment could not even be described with words. My heart was racing and tears were streaming down both of our faces.

A funny part of this whole scenario is that labor came on so quickly that I did not have a hospital bag packed. I joke with friends and family that Vanessa and I were nudists for day #1 in the hospital. I just had on the gigantic hospital gown and Vanessa wore the oversized onesies that the hospital had on hand.

I know that people often talk about giving birth with the word "miracle." As cliched or overused as it may seem, I don't think I could come up with a more appropriate word for this experience.

Vanessa Alison, born on 3/15 at 10:58PM, 7 lbs, 3 oz.

Happy mom and baby 

Proud dad 

Weeks 35, 36, and 37....

Miss Vanessa surprised us with an early arrival (more about that in a later post). It's odd posting these weekly pics "after the fact," especially since I no longer have a clear sense on what/how I was feeling at the time. Anyone who knows me will tell you that weeks 35,36, and 37 were filled with one thing: misery over bloating. I'm someone who rarely gets sick and who only goes to hospitals under the premise of visiting others. When I'm healthy, I'm phenomenal, but the minute something is off with my health or general well-being, I'm a wimp. Weeks 35, 36, and 37 have been filled with wimpiness. By week 37, the only footwear that fit me were Havianas. I totally am perplexed by this because Havianas are made in Brazil and I have no clue how they were able to fit my mammoth "brick feet." Below are the last of the pregnancy photos :)

Week 35: baby is the size of a coconut and my uterus has apparently grown 1000x its original size

Week 36: honeydew-sized human... switched to my Batman slippers after my teaching day was done

Week 37: baby is the size of a winter melon... I'm being a badass and defying the school dress code by wearing flip flops. I'm basically at the point where I'd have to buy shoes @ the same spot where LaBron James gets his---and I don't have that kind of money in my budget