Little Miss Giggles

If you didn't know, Nick's nickname in college was Giggles.

Ellie and Mallie

So Mallie seems to be cool with Ellie. A little afraid of her, especially when Ellie is crying (which honestly isn't that often). And Ellie could care less about Mallie. Mallie is a little curious, but she tries to smell her at a distance. So far so good.

Labor and Delivery...a summary

For those that are interested here is a summary of how Ellen came into the world.

I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, the 18th, where they checked and told me that I was 3.5 cm dilated. After some monitoring, they informed me that I was also having contractions. Now, my whole pregnancy I was convinced that I would have no idea when labor started and wouldn't feel the early phases of labor. Everyone laughed at me. Well...

Early Thursday morning (2:30 am abouts), I woke up to use the bathroom. Then I felt these very minor cramps which came and went every couple of minutes. Based on my mom's experience with me, we decided to go to the hospital. I barely felt these cramps and was not in any pain. (As a side note, Nick stopped to get gas. I think its funny, his wife is in labor and he stops to get gas. Good thing I wasn't really feeling these contractions!).

When we got to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, they checked and I was 4.5 cm and having contractions every 5 minutes or so. I really wasn't feeling the contractions. However, I was admitted. My doctor was on call that night and saw me before she finished and told me that I was going to have a baby that day, we just didn't know if it would be 10 am, 3pm, or late at night! I was able to nap quite a bit as I still wasn't feeling contractions. We had to save up our energy for whenever I would start to feel contractions and really have to labor.

We had decided on a midwife birth as I really wanted to have a natural birth without pain meds. My huge needle phobia kept me from wanting someone to stick a needle in my back. Around noon, I still hadn't dialated anymore so the midwife decided to break my water to get things moving. I still wasn't feeling any contractions. Around 5 they checked me again and I hadn't changed much. Since my water was broken we couldn't let labor progress this slowly so they started with Pitocin to jump-start things. I still hadn't felt a contraction.

Earlier in the day an anesthesiologist came in to discuss pain control options and what woudl happen if we needed an emergency C-section. His converstaion about how an epidural was done almost made me hurl. However, he did inform me that only 10% of women at this hospital give birth naturally without any pain meds. I was shocked at this, 10%?

At 7:30 I started to feel some contractions. I was about at 6.5 cm now and the Pitocin was definitely kicking in. When 'My Name is Earl' started I was definitely feeling contractions, however they weren't that painful, and started to labor by walking around and leaning on the bed. We made it through 'Kath and Kim' and right when 'The Office' started (9pm EST) I was really feeling the contractions which were coming about every 90 seconds. They stopped the Pitocin sometime during 'Kath and Kim'. At 10:30 I was just about done with this whole contraction thing and the midwife moved me to the bed to check where we were.

We were at 9.5 cm and I had the urge to push. Now, this may be contary to popular belief, but pushing felt great compared to the contractions. It didn't hurt at all. My hips hurt from pulling my knees back, but the whole pushing thing really was a relief. We pushed for one hour until Ellen was born at 11:31pm. And we didn't use any pain meds throughout the whole labor and delivery. I was really proud of myself.

So, I pretty much missed early and active labor and really only felt the last part and hardest part of labor called the transition phase. Not to shabby for a first baby who weighed 8 lb 12 oz !! Susie was in the hospital when Ellen was born and came up to visit for a few minutes after the midwife was finished "fixing" me up. We then moved to the postpartum floor and our room around 1:30am. I think Nick and I got about 2 hours of sleep total...we were so excited to have little Ellen and be a party of three!

One Week Old

Today is Ellie's official due date. As we know, she came just under a week early. We've had quite a ride this week getting to know each other. Not a lot of sleep. I try and set one goal for the day to accomplish. Today's goals were to take a shower and since it was over 50 degrees out today, go on a walk with Ellie. Both goals were accomplished! We have spent some time at the doctors as Ellie is a little jaundice. However, it appears to be going away.

Her cord fell off on Wednesday, actually at the doctor's office. We are doing a lot of laundry. I was anticipating lots of laundry, but the amount that Ellie decides that she isn't finished when we are changing her diaper is quite astounding! I'm really happy she is a little girl.

We gave her, her first bath this week. She wasn't sure what to think of it but was a real trooper.

She really likes her bouncy seat, as do we. Its pretty awesome as it vibrates and plays music. However, you can hook up your iPod, or other MP3 player, and play music that you actually want to listen to.

We are eating. Susie went grocery shopping for us before we came home from the hospital. And she came over last night to cook dinner. And tonight was Lou Malnati's pizza night, thanks to our good friends Sarah and Joe. They sent us a Malnati's congrats pack with two deep dish pizzas and an adorable onesie. Totally hit the spot.

I'm recovering well. Based on my experience, I understand how our ancestors gave birth without pain meds, however, the recovery process...wow, poor things didn't have any Tylenol (but I guess they had mead...same thing right?).

The funniest thing Ellen does is the startle reflex, which every baby has. When she is startled she extends her arms and legs as far as she can to make herself appear really big (reflex going back to caveman days when babies had to try and protect themselves). She does it so often though, especially on the changing table.

When I was pregnant Barca would get the hiccups everyday. I started feeling the hiccups early, around the 5th month. It was painful for me because I couldn't do anything and this little being in me had the hiccups. They were so bad that at the end of my pregnancy it would move my entire belly! Well, Ellie now has the hiccups everyday. I feel so bad for her as there is nothing we can do. However the vibration in the bouncy seat seems to help a little bit.

I can't stop staring at her and taking photos. We have so many photos of her. Tomorrow's goal is to do an official photo shoot, hopefuly we can cather her while she's awake and have her model some outfits for the grandparents and great-grandparents. And now some photos from this past couple days...

Just needs to grow a little bit more before she can come to work with me.

Nick showing affection for his little girl.

Happy and chilling her bouncy seat. You can barely make out the dimples.

Photos from our first walk, and Ellie's first visit to the Bunker Hill Monument

All bundled up for her first walk...

Flashing her baby blues...probably one of my favorite photos of her so far.

Swadled and ready for bed.

A very tired mommy and baby

More pictures of Ellie...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26038463@N07/

I know this seems a bit lazy.. but until we sit down and write a new blog post, you can find more pictures of Ellen on our Flicker stream. Just click on the above link.

We'll get back to blogging as soon as we can.

-Nick & Ann

Introducing Ellen Calvetti Harrer

We are so excited to announce the birth of Ellen Calvetti Harrer. She arrived at 11:31pm on February 19, 2009. She weighed in at a sturdy 8 lbs 12 oz and was 19 inches long. Below are a handful of some of the hundreds of photos we took while in the hospital. Enjoy!!

Ellie, Nick and I are all now home, happy, tired, and tired...we'll upload more photos as we move forward with this adventure in parenthood.

38 Weeks...Happy Valentine's Day!

So here we are, 38 weeks pregnant. Fortunately Barca decided that she didn't want to be born on Friday the 13th or on Valentine's Day. That makes me one very happy mama-to-be.

Our Valentine's Day was nice and relaxing. We did some shopping for Barca (she better come soon so I can stop spending money!). How could we have forgotten to buy towels for Barca? We went to Nick's favorite restaurant for lunch and then we went and saw Coraline (not a kid's movie, but fairly decent). For dinner, we did our Valentine's Day traditional special. Instead of fighting crowds and making reservations for dinner, we always have cheese fondue and chocolate covered strawberries. Usually we have a nice bottle of wine, but well...we're still staying away from alcohol in our house.

Today we did some final shopping for Barca (we realized we didn't have a second waterproof sheet for her crib nor an adaptor for the carseat to go into the stroller). I think we are finally done shopping for her. And of course we put up the decals (see Nick's post below). Growing up in a earthquake zone you learn its really important not to hang anything heavy over anyone's bed. Thus the decals are a perfect solution to blank walls!

And here is a picture of my actual belly. I never thought I'd be brave enough to post a picture of my stomach on the internet! Yes, that is a scar at the top of my belly. I had surgery over 5 years ago and have had that long scar ever since. It has actually grown quite a bit with my stomach.

So here we are, still waiting for Barca to make her debut...

Polka (Dot) Party

Ann and I thought the walls above Barca's crib looked a little bare and depressing, so we decided to spice it up with some removable wall decal polka dots. Hopefully they'll be more fun for her to look at than well.. nothing.

Barca's Room Unveiled

So here are some pictures of Barca's room.

Below is the corner with the crib/bassinet. We have the Stokke system which goes from bassinet to crib to toddler bed to junior bed and then to a desk. The bassinet is narrow enough and its on wheels that we can move it throughout our condo. Barca will be sleeping in our room to begin with. We will probably take the mobile off for the first few weeks. Note the sleep sheep attached at the base of the crib. This adorable toy plays white noise (nice to combat the city noises). Her sleep sack is what is hanging on the side of the crib. A basket of toys and the diaper pail are also in the picture. Along the long wall is the armoire with my wardrobe in it. And we have the long dresser (I only have two drawers, the rest are Barca's!). We put the changing pad on top of the dresser with accessories for baby changing. On the floor is Barca's bouncy seat and the car seat, just waiting to be utilized. Far on the right is the door to the closet.

In the other corner we have the rocker and bookshelf. Note the Animaniacs cells on the wall. I love those! And we will move the ball once Barca has arrived.

And finally we have the closet. Probably my favorite area. I hung up all her dresses on little mini-hangers. Everytime I open the closet it puts a smile on my face. So adorable!!

So, its clean and set up for Barca. Whenever she wants to come out and see her cool orange sheets and awesome Twlight Turtle (in the photo with the dresser, this toy is amazing and is probably mroe entertaining for me and Nick than for Barca) and her cute little clothes.

37 weeks...Let the waiting begin!

So on Friday, we were officially 37 weeks pregnant which means Barca is full-term. Even though we have a few weeks before the due date, Barca's lungs and other organs she needs to immediate survival are fully developed. Exciting huh? Yeah, well, I'm the kinda of person who doesn't like surprises and likes to plan major life events. So this whole waiting game thing is a real stresser for me.

I have begun "nesting". I cleaned out the fridge at 10 pm the other day, and Nick couldn't get me to stop cleaning the floors and vacuuming. Although we did go see Slumdog Millionaire this afternoon (seriously, a great movie!) because we aren't sure when the next time we will get to see a movie will be.

The smoke detector and the carbon monoxide detectors have been installed. And I got the car seats inspected last week. So we are pretty much ready for Barca. I have a feeling she'll come after her due date. Nick thinks she'll be really early (like this week!). I hope she comes after the 22nd, because both Nick's and my astrological signs get along better with Pisces, rather than an Aquarius. But I really hope she doesn't decide that Friday the 13th or Valentine's Day are a good day to come out and play...

I'm still feeling great and still at work. I am really fortunate to not have any aches and pains. Although, getting up three times a night to use the restroom is getting a little annoying! I know, I know...I'll soon be getting up more than three times a night for a different reason. But that reason will have cute little toes, and adorable ears, and a mini nose...

Kitty Cam

This is a test. I repeat, this is only a test.
(Have to make sure I know how to upload video before Barca arrives.)

Good to know it looks like Mallie will have fun with the camera, at least.

36 Weeks...its already February?

So yeah, 36 weeks already. We are approaching on being full term, once you reach 37 weeks. Barca could decide any day now that she wants to take a short trip and see the faces which accompany the voices she has been hearing.

We are ready. We have all the necessities we will need for the first couple weeks at least. We spent most of this past Saturday picking up stuff for Barca. Really the only two major to dos left are to install the smoke alarm in her room and get the car seats inspected. One of these days we'll tidy up her room and post some pictures. It is coming together really nicely.

We also have everything washed and put away for Barca. While doing some Barca laundry on Sunday we lost a sock (these things are tiny!). Well, we went to a friend's house to watch the Superbowl and when we returned we found a pleasant surprise. Mallie had apparently found the sock and left it in the middle of the floor for us to find (no doubt after she played with it a little!). Good to know Mallie is great at finding lost baby socks!

And to commerate the events of 1-20-09, Nick purchased the following toy for Barca...

Yes, it is a Barack in a Box! Cute huh?

Well, until next week when we will be full term! We are really starting to get excited!!

My shower in Boston

Last weekend my sister, Susie, hosted a shower for me. It was a small gathering of friends and family for brunch at a restaurant in Cambridge. The restaurant's decor was very Alice in Wonderland which was really fun. The food was really good too!


It was a good time and Susie and I were able to get reaquainted with our cousin Lori. The last time we saw Lori was at her UCSB graduation party and the day I took the ACTs, almost 10 years ago! The picture below is of Susie (left) and Lori (right).

We played a game where everyone brought a baby picture of themselves and we had to guess who went with which photo. Congrats to my friend Enza who got every single one correct! Susie and I brought photos of us at about the same age in the same outfit. Our parents have a hard time telling the photos apart! Below are the two pictures, can you tell which one is Susie and which one is me??

Below are some of my friends in attendance, Stephanie, Enza, Paige, and Timmy. Timmy is just about to celebrate his 6 month birthday soon. Victoria, Timmy's mom, isn't pictured.

Susie made an adorable cake (which was also delicious!). She decorated it with ladybugs and yellow flowers! It was really sweet. It was a great afternoon.

Even the guys got into it. Some of the husbands of my friends met Nick at a pub across the street for an "alternative" shower!

Thanks everyone for a great afternoon!!

(By the way, Susie was the top picture and I'm the bottom picture!)