Pau at SD Zoo!!!

We took Pau to the San Diego Zoo today. It was his first time. Can't say that he really enjoyed it because he went to sleep shortly after we arrived there. But here he is enjoying the flamingos!

It was chilly, but the zoo was decked out with Christmas lights for their Jungle Bells celebration. We were very lucky to see many animals tonight. We saw hippos, lots of monkeys, orangutans, gorillas, and the ever-elusive tigers!

Happy Christmas

Feliz Navidad to all! Looking forward to family coming in to celebrate the holiday later on this week.

We'll have two grandmas competing for baby's attention. God help us! I hope I can remember what he looks like in two weeks.

First Experience with Food is Great Success

So we decided to start solids today. We started with the standard rice cereal with milk and Pau loved it. He eagerly accepted the spoonfuls of rice and after each bite wanted more! This was not terribly messy. Most of the food went into his mouth and most of it was consumed. He did very well! Way to go little guy! Next week, we'll try some apples. I'll get a chance to test out the food mill and Pau will enjoy something with a bit more flavor!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We got this adorable little outfit from my mom's friends, Ann and Richard.
Unfortunately, Pau hasn't begun eating solids yet, so he won't be tasting turkey with all the trimmings until next year. Pau is showing tremendous interest in food. Every time we eat, he smacks his lips. I'm beginning to feel a little guilty. We'll be introducing rice cereal next month and hopefully some fruits and vegetables shortly thereafter. We'll document how that all goes and provide pictures of this exciting new experience.

I can hold my bottle!

Here is Pau holding onto his bottle all by himself. He's changing so much every day!

Tummy Time? Bring it on!

Pau is no fan of tummy time, but here he is tackling the task with the best effort we've seen so far. Pau is holding his head pretty steady and comfortably holding his torso up using his elbows. Hooray for Pau! You're growing so fast!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

This year was my 35th birthday. It amazes me how much has happened in this past year of my life. I got married to the best possible guy, had this beautiful baby boy and spent four wonderful months taking care of the little guy. Life is good.

Today, I made dinner for my family and spent the day with my son. A perfect day! I'm sure that once I start back to work, these are exactly the kinds of days I will wish to have more of.

100 days "baek-il"

Pau's 100 days celebration took place today. Here is the traditional Korean rice cake that you eat in order to provide good luck and long life to the baby. The 100 days is a celebration of the baby, but moreso, it's a celebration of the parents who have made it through the difficult first three months of baby's life. So raise a glass to Jose and me for, I think, we did pretty well. Molds d'anys!!!

Smiles and Laughter

We're thrilled to share that Pau is a very happy baby! Lately, he's been all smiles. He smiles at goo-goo sounds that mom and dad make. He smiles at the elephant and lion mobile above his crib. He smiles at the walls... It's simply adorable!

Does anyone know how to get Vaseline out of their kids hair?

So I read in one of the baby books that a good way to rid your child's scalp of the dry skin scales, or "cradle cap" is to put Vaseline in their hair, then comb out the scales. So we tried this and I must say that the Vaseline did the job. The bad part is, the Vaseline doesn't wash out too easily. Here we are 2 days post-Operation Vaseline and Pau's hair is still saturated with the stuff. I think I now understand why the term "greaser" originated. Grease is the word...

We're on our own...

After three months with mom taking care of us, (i know, i know...it sounds crazy!) Jose, Pau and I are on our own. Mom, Peka and Pop left for Michigan yesterday. It was a tearful goodbye as expected. We'll absolutely miss having mom around. Especially her cooking. I'm thinking back to last May when nervous thoughts of surviving 3 months with my mother was quite anxiety forming. It really surprises me that no one was bludgeoned to a bloody pulp. Yes, we all got along like peas and carrots. Although at times the carrots got a little bossy. Big love mom and thanks for showing me, yet again, what lengths moms go to support their kid!

Desperation Leads to Innovation

Pau has decided that it is better to sleep on the changing table rather than in his crib. So our innovation is to place the changing pad in the crib and presto! Sleeping baby!

First Bath in the Tub

After one month (minus a day) of life, Pau receives his first bath in the baby tub. His umbilical cord finally fell off this morning. Very exciting! You can see that Pau does not enjoy this experience. In fact, he screamed the whole time. Post-bathing excitement I noticed another two white hairs.

Little Hands and Feet

I've been guilty of kissing these little hands and feet too too often. He doesn't protest much, but I figure I'll kiss him as often as I can before he can say "yuck, mom, you're embarassing me!"

Oral Fixation

Pau has the most intense oral fixation. He will suck on anything you put near his mouth. Great for nursing, however, our fingers have also gone pruny due to his inability to calm himself without something in his mouth. Here he is sucking on his index finger. Very very cute!

Happy Birthday to PAU!

Pau Josep Cabanillas was born on July 3, 2009 at 4:31 p.m. Pau's arrival into the world was long and laborious. We went into labor on Thursday morning at 1:30 a.m. Jose and I went to the hospital only to be told that I had yet to dilate to 1 cm. They sent us home and so we labored at home with the help of Maggie, our doula until about 5 p.m. at which point we went back to UCSD. I was between 3 to 4 cm and so they decided to admit me. Jose and I had envisioned an unmedicated, vaginal birth, however, we were thrown several wildcards that made adjustments to our birth plan necessary. We labored well throughout the night and into the next morning, unmedicated. At 4 a.m. Friday morning, Dr. Bowman had told me that I had only dilated to somewhere between 4 and 5 cm. "You've gotta be kidding me!" He then broke my water and ordered the administering of pitocin. Both of these things were contrary to what I had written as part of my birth plan. We weren't given much of an option to try alternatives before this was to be done. Also with the breaking of water, it meant that we would have to deliver within 24 hours to prevent infection. Once the pitocin set in, I tried to endure the labor pains but the pitocin had increased the severity of my contractions significantly and at this point, we all were operating on very little sleep. Jose and I discussed being open to the use of an epidural in such a circumstance so we decided to order one at about 5:00 a.m. I couldn't help feeling very emotional about this decision. I wanted to labor and deliver free from the use of medication and I felt that this was something of a personal failure. It's cliche, but this was something I was determined to do. I found myself apologizing to Maggie, Jose and most especially to our son because I couldn't endure. For several hours after the epidural, the pain was muted and I was able to get some much needed rest. A little later, I realized that I was feeling the labor pains on the left side of my body and not on the right. It took a few hours and 2 anesthesiologists to discover that the epidural catheter had been placed in too far. The result, was a numb right side and feeling on the left. This needed to be adjusted, which it was and then we were back on track. At 2 p.m., Dr. Seelander came in with more bad news. The baby's face was looking up as opposed to pointing downward. This would make it more difficult for baby to come through the birth canal. Her suggestion was a C-section. Again, not at all a part of my birth plan. My reaction was to cry, then cry some more, and finally to say that I wanted to try and deliver vaginally so long as baby was doing alright. She consulted with the other attending Dr. Kingston who said I could have one hour to deliver vaginally, otherwise I'd have to be open to other options. She said she'd have liked to offer a vacuum extraction but the baby was too far up the birth canal and its use could lead to trauma to the baby's head. After both doctors had gone, Maggie and Tiffany (our nurse) reassured me that they thought I could bring this baby out. I had amazing support from Jose and the four of us worked to push this baby out. At about 3:30, Dr. Kingston returned and saw that the baby was more in a great position for vacuum extraction. I was progressing well, however, so she said that she would work with us to deliver without. Together we all pushed and brought Pau into the world at 4:31 p.m. It's hard to explain how wonderfully emotional and challenging this experience was. I still cannot believe what we went through to give birth to this little guy, but like all mom's I would say that it was absolutely worth every moment to have my beautiful son!

Baby Shower

Yeon Jae, Bomi, Kathy and Eddie gave us a baby shower that was such a nice surprise for both Jose and me. They went to great lengths to make it special and memorable. It was the nicest shower I could hope for. Here are some pictures of the precious details, food, guests and gifts. Thanks guys!

A "triplete" for Jose and new outfit for baby

Jose is thrilled that his son will be born the year of the "triplete" Barcelona won the Champions League, King's Cup and Spanish National tournament! Jose was even more ecstatic when Tomas' girlfriend, Elizabeth, brought back this official soccer jersey for little Pau.

Jose's Birthday 2009

Happy 36th, my love! Each year I try to find a special way to celebrate Jose's birthday. I have to say that they are always meant to be memorable. Although some are moreso than others. I have to say the best so far was the dolphin experience at Seaworld 3 years ago. Last year, it was dinner at Hooters! This year, I got a bit more creative again and booked a gondolier to take us around the cays at Coronado. It was hokey, but it made for a memorable time. The gondolier sang opera as we sipped champagne and nibbled on chocolate covered strawberries. Fun time!

Baby Shower at Seena's

My department head, Seena, was wonderful enough to throw together a baby shower for three of us who are having babies (all within a week of each other). Jo Renison, Mike Pink's wife, Sara, and myself. Seena prepared a mediterranean feast of dolmades, grilled chicken, greek salad, and more. It was delectible! Thanks, Seena! It was a wonderful time for Jose and I both!

Embarcadero Park with Eddie and Kathy

Eddie and Kathy came to see Jose and I for the weekend. So, rather than the usual dinner and movie, we took them to Seaport Village and Embarcadero Park.

We roamed around Seaport Village and had a lot of fun browsing around the shops and the bookstore there. Can't ever seem to remember the name of it, however, I always get great things for the classroom. This latest trip-Gandhi and Eleanor Roosevelt cards as well as some postcards of images of Ellis Island. Sure, everyone rolled their eyes, but I love this stuff.

Building the Nest

The nursery is set up. Apparently we need a theme, so we went with an alphabet and animals theme. Jose and I assembled the crib in 4 hours.

I managed to find these terrific fabric boxes for extra storage. His diaper station is stocked and ready to go. He has more clothing than he'll be able to wear. This little boy has all of the baby essentials needed to enjoy his first few months. Now we just have to sit on this egg and wait for it to hatch.

Winter Wonderland

Eddie, Kathy, Jose and I went home to Michigan to see my folks and spend the holidays with them. Most of our time was spent dressing up the dog in festive hats (poor doggie) and watching every movies out on video. There were marathon sessions of 8 hours of film viewing. Our brains were fried and we gorged ourselves on Korean food (made baby happy) and holiday treats.