Thursday, September 23, 2010

Now we are four

This is Mattias's birth story. I am aware that is will probably be of no interest to anyone but me and those directly related to me, but I wanted to write it down while it is still fresh... hopefully one day Mattias will be interested in hearing about his arrival into our world.

Elise's story was very different and it was interesting to compare the two. Of course, we knew from the beginning that I was going to have a planned c-section with Mattias. I would have liked to try a VBAC, but the complications are a little frightening to me, plus I LOVE my doc, and going for a VBAC would have meant going with another doctor. I'm a tad bit finicky about who I let slice me open and root around inside me.

We chose a 12:00 pm surgery time because it worked best with Elise's schedule, and I really wanted her to be there for the birth. Given my history with any plans I make associated with birth, I should have known better. We checked into the hospital at 9:45 and settled in for what turned out to be a long wait.

My doc was called into an emergency, so my surgery was pushed back. I was getting so nervous and I just wanted to get it over with. Noon came and went, with no ETA. I was all dressed up in a gown that showed off my booty, and no place to go! They had me hooked up to a monitor and I was having some pretty strong contractions that were getting closer and closer together. Mattias wanted to be born that day, one way or another!

At lunch, my husband thought it would be appropriate to get Chick-fil-a for himself, Elise and my Mom; and they all merrily ate in front of the poor preggo who hadn't eaten anything in almost 14 hours. Then they all acted surprised when I was all surly.

Unfortunately, after lunch my Mom had to take Elise home because it was nap time. I was catching up on some blogs when my doc finally stuck her head in my room. It was 1:51 pm and all of a sudden I wasn't so sure I was ready. Things happened pretty quickly after that. They rolled me to the operating room, and the anesthesiologist (aka drug doc) got to work on my spinal. I was so nervous about this part, but turned out to be no big deal.

As I was being prepped, the nerves started up big time. Fred was brought in, all done up in his OR duds and before I knew it, the slicing began. My husband, being the weirdo/rockstar he is watched the whole operation from start to finish. All I could do was thank God for that beautiful blue curtain.

At this point, I received one of the nicest compliments ever from my doc... as she was cutting into me she exclaimed that I had almost zero fat and that my belly was ALL baby. When you're 9 months pregnant the weirdest things will make you happy. I'm just sayin'.

The drug doc did a great job of keeping me occupied from the start of the surgery until Mattias was born. There are really no words to describe the sweet sound of hearing your baby's first cry. It is one of the most unreal experiences in the world, and I wish I could have recorded it to listen to over and over again. Of course I started to cry too, and all I wanted was to lay eyes on that beautiful baby boy of mine. The waterworks really started a soon as I saw his sweet face. Love at first sight!

The rest of the story is pretty mundane; I was taken back to recovery, given some super-awesome drugs, was able to hold and nurse Mattias for the first time (awww, my heart absolutely swooned... this was one of the things I missed the most), and then wheeled into my room where I got to witness Elise meeting her brother for the first time. At one point during my journey from room to room, I remember waving the "queen's wave" at my doctor. What can I say, I love me some good pain killers!

Welcome to the world baby boy... I'm awfully glad you're here.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Sleepy Time Smiles

Ohmygoodness, don't you just want to eat him up? And I get to kiss this little face every day. Sigh, this picture makes me happy.


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

She loves him

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

One week old!

Has it really been a week? Already? I can't believe my sweet boy is one week old today. We are head-over-heels, crazy in love with this little guy. So far he is so mellow and all he wants to do is eat and snuggle.

I swear that I could just sit all day with him cuddled on my chest and smell is head. Does that sound weird? Have you ever smelled a newborn's head? Dear Lord, it's enough to make your uterus quiver. I mean, mine is already all twitchy from all the post-birth stuff, but I'm already dreaming of the next one. Just don't tell Fred...

Anyway, here's our adorable little one-weeker just hanging out.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Mattias's Birth Announcement Video

Introducing...


Mattias Linden Cunha was born on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 2:27 PM CT at Las Colinas Medical Center in Irving, Texas. He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 19 inches long. That translates to 3.48 kilograms and 48.3 centimeters.

Check out www.helpmefred.com/mattias for all the info...

Everyone is doing well :^)

Stick a fork in me...

I'm done!

My last pre-birth picture. I'm going to meet my son in a few hours and I CAN' WAIT!

Hopefully Fred will have time to hack into my blog account to post some updates, so stay tuned. Thank you to everyone for all your prayers, thoughts and well-wishes.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Happy Birthday Elise!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet little Bean! You are one of the best things that has ever come into my life and there aren't enough words to describe how much I love you! You've come a long way, baby!




Just as sweet as the day she was born!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Just more of me to love

Ahhh, probably the penultimate obligatory belly-shot.

To loosely quote So I Married an Ax Murderer; "Look at that thing, it's HUGE! A virtual planetoid... it has it's own weather system!"

Or at the very least, it's own zip code.

Four more days, four more days, four more days...

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

We bought a crib (for $22)!

I was starting to believe that Mattias was going to have to sleep in a box beside our bed after he grew out of the bassinet. I knew since we started expecting this baby, that we were going to need a new crib. Elise's had been handed down to us, was about 8 years old and seriously needed to be condemned.

I decided to start looking at Craig's List. Like, every day. Wow, that place is a black hole for crazies and people living in a fantasy world. It just seems to suck them in by the the boatloads. Sir or madame, I am glad that your crib served you well for 5 years and 6 babies, but you are out of your ever-lovin' mind if you think $250 for a crib you originally paid $300 for over half a decade ago, is a good price.

And no... I DON'T want your crib that has been recalled. Not even if it's only $25. Or just waiting outside of your house to be picked up for free.

And one last piece of advice; if you actually WANT to sell your baby furniture, don't use the "cheap" in the title. As in, "Great, CHEAP crib for sale". Cheap and crib should never be uttered in the same sentence. What you need is a thesaurus.

Whew, glad I got that off of my chest.

So how did we get such a great deal without stealing (or deciding to go for the recalled crib that was free)? Well, last week I got an email from a popular baby store that was offering 25% off a new crib when you brought back your old, broken-down one. But wait, there's more!

We also had some gift cards that were given to us as presents, as well as store credit for some returns, so the entire out of pocket expense to us for a $170 crib was just $22! Sa-weet!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go take the linens out of that vegetable box I picked up at Costco yesterday.