Isabel & Her Friends

Here is Isabel right after she just ate. She's actually going to be asleep 5 minutes after this picture was taken. She's sitting next to her Pottery Barn bear.

Here is my cutie just hanging out, contemplating her day.

Isabel is napping on her boppy and right before I moved her to her bed Ozzie wanted to say hello.

Bye Bye Belly Button!

It's exactly 2 weeks since Isabel's arrival and her belly button fell off as a milestone. It's kind of gross looking but Ben wants to save it. So it's sitting in a ziploc baggy right now. Here is Isabel and her daddy sleeping in the morning after a morning feeding. She loves to have someone hold her close. She fell right to sleep!

Look at those noses!

Aunt Cindy came to visit this weekend! Aunt Cindy was kind of enough to babysit while mommy got some much needed shut eye in the afternoon. Isabel decided to be Miss Cranky Pants today. Who knew a baby could store all that poop? Where does all that poop come from?!

Isabel & Grandma

Ben's parents are here visiting right now and it's so nice to have people in the house with us. My mom finally came home from Taiwan Thursday night and got to see her granddaughter for the first time too. She brought a cold with her so she can't hold her yet which is unfortunate. Hopefully she'll get over it soon. It's such a nice feeling to have family see Isabel. Being a new parent is a very eye opening and life altering experience. It's very interesting how all of a sudden your emotions can take on a roller coaster of a ride. One minute you're absolutely thrilled that she's here but the next minute (which is usually between the hours of midnight and 3am) you're wondering what the heck you got yourself into. The first ten days was very very hard to adjust. Isabel would just be up at some crazy hours and sleep was non-existent. Combine that with me getting sick with a fever and we've got just pure misery. The good news is that the last few nights have been really great, meaning we've finally understood her and know how to get her to sleep. Yay! (As I'm jinxing myself.) I was so glad that Jessica called last night because it's incredible to have someone who went through it all recently to speak to and know what we're experiencing. Oh the joys of parenthood... I'm counting down the days of the first month.

Finally! Different Hats!

Yay! Daddy decided to dress me today and he tried on a few different hats... Mommy liked my long sleeve onesies so much that she went out and bought a whole bunch yesterday. Now I have 10 different ones in all different colors and styles. But I still need more hats!

Happy 1 Week Birthday!

Isabel has been here with us for a week now! She's officially 1 week old. Wow, can't believe we made it through 1 week already. It seems like such a blur! Being at home with the baby and my husband has been both trying (baby) and rewarding (baby and husband). I know that the 1st month is always the hardest (I hear ya Catherine) but I can tell why women would choose to stay at home (happy Jessica & Catherine). I can definetely see myself being at home. The best part is right now that Ben is here with me. I am going to get super emotional right now when I talk about him because you never know what love is until you really need someone to support you. During my delivery and hospital stay I have come to realize how much I love and adore my husband. You never truly appreciate someone until an event like HAVING A BABY brings you to vulnerability that is speechless to describe. Everytime I see Ben now, I am completely overwhelmed with emotion. Maybe you all say it's the hormones but somehow the feelings are there and I don't care how it got there. It's worth it.

Here is my darling being a little gangsta... She loves her free hospital hat. I think it's in every picture... We're going to have to change that...

She's yawning...now I wish she would do that more often in the middle of the night. Somehow she knows that between midnight at 2 am is the best time to wake up and party like a rock star. I could be an open buffet and still she's not ready to count those sheep...

Proud papa and his little one. My camera is getting plenty of use these days! It's amazing how many diapers Ben has changed. I haven't changed as many as he has... not even close! He's really hands on with Isabel and I love it! He is totally the SUPER DAD type. He's not afraid of anything and as much as Isabel tries to attack him with her projectile poop, he's been able to avoid it. I think she has to go through at least 20 diapers a day... Hmmm... I started out with a box of 96...

1st Doctor's Office Visit

Today we had our first check up after our hospital stay. It went really well. Isabel had a bit of jaundice when we left the hospital so we had to use a bili-blanket the last two days at home with her. That thing is soooo cumbersome! We had to make sure we rotate it on her back and belly every 3-4 hours. So this morning we were thrilled to hear that her jaundice was all gone! Yay no more silly blanket. She actually grew to 19.25" since she was first measured her at the hospital. Her weight is now 6lbs 2oz. She lost some during her hospital stay but then picked it up when she left.

She's been a super good baby during the day and except for 2-3 hours of crying at night, I'd say it's been a quiet first few days at home. What we can't get used to right now are her long sleeve onesies which take us forever to get on. She'd grab at everything she can get her tiny fingers around. Very nimble little girl! The gloves I bought her are way too big for her and they just end up coming off her anyway. She keeps finding ways to escape her swaddle! I feel bad when it's too tight, especially when it's warm during the day. She's sooo cute! I can't get over it. We're going to Babies R Us today to pick her up some clothes since all her clothes are a little too big for her right now. Even the newborn ones!

She's Finally Here!!!!!

It's the day nine months in the making! The birth of our first child, Isabel Delmay Bayani! We are sooo excited to have her join our family and be a part of our lives. She arrived on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 @ 11:17 pm, weighing 6lbs 4oz and 17.25" long. She was exactly 14 days (2 weeks) early. She was an itty bitty little thing! On Sunday morning my water broke and we were admitted into Good Samaritan Hospital at 9:15 am. The water breaking scene has got to be the strangest experiences I have ever had! Well the entire birthing thing was definetely an experience in itself! After a long day of what we thought was really great progress I couldn't get past 7 cmm dilation so I had to receive a Caesarian section. We really had our heart set out on a natural birth and I thought I could do it since I had been active all the way up to the day my water broke. Anyhow the Caesarian went smoothly and Isabel arrived safe and sound. She is totally perfect! I have to say, the C-section is something I will never forget... It's definetely an experience.

Here is our perfect little girl all bundled up.

She looks like a little elf... She is soooo insanely cute. We're in LOVE!!

Here is the proud papa! After 4 days in the hospital we were finally able to go home on Thursday. She makes us soooo happy already!

Doctor's Visit Update

On Wednesday I had my weekly doctor's appointment and surprise, surprise, I was already 1 cm dilated! I didn't even know that could be possible but I guess all the running around helped everything along. So I have been reading that I'm in "early labor" now so hopefully it won't be too long. I did ask my doctor if she thought I could be delivering past my due date but she said that since I am already 1 cm dilated and I'm really active, hopefully I won't be late. That's great news to me! I can't wait! So I have another doctor's appointment on Wednesday so we'll see how that goes. BTW, I have been working with the state disability program AND my own company's short term disability and let me just say what a big PAIN IN THE ASS these programs are. It's like they make it impossible for you to receive any MONEY! To be a woman and be pregnant AND then go through all the hoops of paperwork it really really sucks.