Modern Housewife

My mom left a few days ago and it is now just me and Stella all day. I have to admit that at first I was a little creeped out by the silence and the lack of busy work that used to consume my life. The first few days I filled my time with noise from tv. There isn't much on during the summer but during the day in the summer--even worse. Plus, somehow I would and still occasionally do, get sucked into some crap tv show such as Mystery Diagnosis (which I can't watch when nursing because it causes too much pain to watch when I am getting clamped down by an infant's mouth). I have turned it off and now find other ways to occupy my time. I have started to listen to podcasts and audio books during my nursing time.

I listen to This American Life religiously now. I also am able to read a book and rock Stella to sleep. Right now I am reading the Time Traveler's Wife (which I commandeered off of Seth's nightstand--so sneaky). It is a total change in my life. Stella pretty much dictates the pace and how much or little I will be able to accomplish but I really love it. I feel like I am able to hear my thoughts again and it is refreshing.

Stella Sleeps

Grandma came and stayed with us for a few days. It was so much fun to have her here and she really helped me recover. Considering she had 4 C-sections herself she understood my limits. The great thing about her is she loves little babies. I think they scare a lot of people because of their wobbly heads and small size (I was scared before I gave birth and shortly after of her wobbly head and small size). My mom really helped out and was able to bond with Stella. And of course she finished the mural so my daughter has a kickin' nursery.


Stella always seems to smile as she drifts to sleep. It is seriously cute.

And here is a video of her falling asleep.

Watch me as I grow

Today marks Stella's third week of life. Seth and I have had so much fun watching her grow. In the past 21 days Stella has gained 20% of her body weight, strengthened her head, discovered her hands, and started to smile. I don't think bamboo grows as fast as this kid does.


And due to popular demand...more Stella pics.


In the first picture Stella had a bath...in case you forgot what stage of life she is the towel reminds you...this is a baby.














Grandma came and painted Stella a mural. This is her flying machine mural.

Parental Bias

I know they say there is a parental bias where you think your kid is the cutest kid and everyone else thinks newborns look weird. Well, my kid is the exception, she really is the cutest kid on earth. Here are some pictures.

Stella Hiccups

Sunny shot this video from the hospital the day after Stella was born. Hiccups!

And the Two Become Three

Guess what? I am someone's mommy.

Stella was born Monday, June 4th at 4:40 pm. She was a whopping 9 lbs 13 oz.

Seth and I are in love with her. She is amazing, beautiful, perfect and innocent. We are thrilled.

Looking Down the Barrell of a Gun

Yesterday was my last prenatal appointment. For now on all my doctor's appointments will just be natal. It was exciting, scary, and a time to make some serious decisions. I never fully understood how completely personal and private birth can be. You are your most vulnerable and no matter how you go about it, it is going to be somewhat painful.

Faced with these options, Seth and I have decided along with my doctor, due to my health conditions and the progress, or lack thereof, of my baby dropping, it is in our best interest to skip the induction and go straight to the cesarean. I am not excited about being cut up but after talking to my doctor I realized that this is the best option for me under my circumstances. Put it this way, if I decided to induce, it would be like telling my body to go from 0-60 in ten seconds. My baby is about 6 inches from dropping, no effacing, no dialating. Pretty much my body and Seth's body are at the same level of baby birthing readiness. And there is some question as to whether the baby can even fit. To force it to labor is going to be rough and give me a high chance of attempting and failing with the final prize of a big ole cut at the end. Instead, I am cutting my losses and trying to mentally prepare for a c-section. They don't teach you how to do that in your pre-baby class. They should considering 20% of women get them. Part of me feels sad about this, it isn't how I planned it. So this is my advice to all pre-mothers...never plan on having it one way, give yourself flexibility because nothing goes as planned.

I was scared to tell people about my decision because of the backlash of el natural birthers. Those who assume you chose a c-section for convenience or because of wimpiness. If I attempted induction it would just be to ward of nay-sayers and that isn't a good enough reason. So here I am 3 days away from being a mommy. Now that is something to be scared of.