I may just have figured out a workaround, albeit an inelegant one, to updating my Multiply blog when I post to this blog. This is a test post to find out whether it works. *crosses fingers*
I’m catching up on the photos instead of sleeping. LOL. Both Dennis and Dylan are asleep right now, it’s 1:30 am.
So here’s week 4, ending in a real photoshoot with Kim Robbins.
Day 23: Taken with my iPhone. This is Dylan’s “food coma face” after he has eaten his fill.
Day 24: Lola feeding Dylan his first bottle! Full of breastmilk, of course. I about teared up when this happened.
Day 25: My sister and cousins came over to hang out! I’ve missed them and thoroughly enjoyed their company.
Day 26: This is Dylan’s first bath! It was so tricky to lean over the bathtub edge and bathe him. I was afraid he was going to slip and get hurt, or get too cold and get sick, so we made the bath a quick one!
Day 27: Dylan is a model already!
Day 28: Teeny tiny toes are adorable.
Day 29: This is a photo of Kim taking Dylan’s photo.
Check out her shots of Dylan. I am loving them!
Ok, time for me to sleep now. More photos as soon as I can.
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I’m a bit behind, but I guess that’s to be expected when you’re taking care of a newborn. Here are his week 3 photos, culminating with an attempted photo shoot by me.
Day 16: This is me giving Dylan his daily sponge bath, at least until his umbilical cord falls off.
Day 17: Dennis & I were dressed up to attend a baptism that day.
Day 18: Tita Maris, Tito Boy & Kamea came by to visit Dylan.
Day 19: A discreet shot of me breastfeeding.
Day 20: Dennis and Dylan just chilling together.
Day 21: Dylan hanging out with his Lola as she sorts through photos.
Day 22: Dylan is 3 weeks! Here is one of my shots during my “photoshoot” of him.
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Being a new mom is tough. Don’t get me wrong, it is totally worth it, but it is not easy. It’s more than just the lack of sleep for more than a few consecutive hours. It’s not just continuing to offer your child nourishment, no matter how sore or painful it can get. It’s more than being on call every 2 hours at the least, or even every hour or so when your child is especially hungry.
I think the toughest part of being a new mom is the responsibility, and the emotional growth that has to come with it. It is scary to imagine that you are wholly responsible for the well-being and survival of this tiny helpless being. But even more than that responsibility is being able to put your child first and yourself last. It sounds easy and natural, just something that mothers do. And we do. But when your whole life has revolved around getting your needs met, it is a complete shift in perspective from what you are used to.
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t eaten yet and are starving, if your son is hungry, he comes first. It doesn’t matter that you’re so sleepy you can barely sit up, if your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, you get up and rock him back to sleep. It doesn’t matter that you feel absolutely gross and would love to shower after your baby spit up all over you, you make sure your son is clean and changed first. It doesn’t matter if you have a ton of things to do around the house, if you haven’t had time to scrap in weeks, or if your only time for yourself is when you can finally shower, if you start to hear him cry, his needs come first. All of a sudden, your needs don’t matter. Add to that your usual responsibilities around the house, such as keeping it clean, doing the laundry, shopping for groceries, and making sure dinner is on the table, it can all get overwhelming at times. Especially in your sleep-deprived state.
But like I said, it’s tough, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it when you gaze at your baby’s face after he falls asleep after a feeding. It’s worth it when you hold him close as you both drift off to sleep. It’s worth it when he makes faces back at you when you talk to him. It’s worth it when he stops crying once you’re holding him. It’s worth every bit of it, and more, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
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I’ve missed having a journal, an outlet for my feelings. I used to be able to pour out my emotions on my blog. I haven’t done that in a very long while. I’d like to be able to get back to that, no matter who may be reading.
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I’ve been pretty good about taking a photo a day of Dylan, I’ve only missed 2 or 3 so far. But on some days I have a lot more photos to make up for those missed ones, so no biggie. Finding the time to edit and upload them to my blog has been a bit more of a challenge.
So here are some updates from his second week:
Day 8: Dylan in his rocker
Day 9: Me and my baby!
Day 10: Asleep in his co-sleeper. We don’t actually get to use it on the bed, since he still slept better next to us. It’s now his “downstairs bed” and is on the sofa. He’ll be too big for it any day soon!
Day 11: Ate Freeda and Vince came to visit!
Day 12: Me and my baby again!
Day 13: Not the best shot of me, but I didn’t have many that day.
Day 14: Dylan’s winking! Who’s he winking at?
Day 15: Dylan is 2 weeks old!
Here’s me at 2 weeks old, what do you think?
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Dylan is one week old today! To celebrate, here are a week’s worth of photos. I’ve been taking at least a photo a day, and I’m hoping to keep it up for an entire year! That way his whole first year of life is documented. 
Day 1: You’ve already seen his solo shot, so here’s a family shot for his first day:
Day 2: The first poopy diaper, with many, many more to come. Check out my mom’s expression, too.
Day 3: In the hospital, waiting for a pediatrician and the lab results.
Day 4: Dylan meets Kuya Idris. Shot with my iPhone, since my camera was downstairs.
Day 5: Dylan at 4 days old.
Day 6: Sunbathing by the window. We were worried about jaundice since he looked a bit yellow.
Day 7: First nail cutting. Those tiny nails are sharp!
We also had our first appointment with his pediatrician today. We were a bit worried because of the whole issue with the hospital-assigned pediatrician, but it looks like we lucked out with a great doctor this time. He takes the time to explain stuff, and patiently answers all our questions, which is important as first-time parents. Dylan weighed 5 lbs 15 1/2 oz, which is a bit higher than when he was discharged from the hospital.
Dylan was also circumcised today! After hearing what Idris had to go through, I was very worried, but they applied a numbing cream and lidocaine as well. I stayed outside in the farthest corner of the lobby during the procedure, so I wouldn’t hear Dylan cry. When they called us in, he was pretty calm, and they told us he was ok during the procedure. I was the one almost in tears as I hugged my brave baby boy. He seemed ok during the rest of the day, he didn’t seem to be in pain.
In the afternoon we brought Dylan to the lab to get his blood drawn to check for jaundice. Poor baby, two painful procedures in one day! Mom was in the waiting area, but got up to check on Dylan when he cried. The technician was sweet and told us that when her daughters were small, she had no problem drawing their blood, but when it came to her grandchild, she couldn’t bear to do it herself.
Then we went to Target, for Dylan’s first official shopping trip! He loved being in his stroller, but didn’t like it when we would stop. He wanted to keep on moving! My mom ended up getting her exercise while pushing him around the store while Dennis and I shopped for some essentials.
What a busy day we all had!
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Disclaimer: Don’t read this if you don’t want to read about the details of labor.
I was due to turn 40 weeks on Saturday, March 14th. I had already been anxiously waiting since week 37, hoping that I would give birth soon. On March 10th, Tuesday, I went in for my weekly checkup. I was slightly dilated to 1 cm, and my doctor scheduled me for an induction on Thursday the 12th. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted labor to be induced, but after thinking it over and getting some other opinions, it felt like the right decision. I still wanted labor to come naturally if possible though, so I did a lot of walking while doing errands for the next couple of days. Good thing I had my mom to keep me company!
In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, at around 12:30 am, I started having regular contractions that were about 5-7 minutes apart for about an hour. I took a shower, and the contractions were spaced further apart afterwards, so we went to sleep. I woke up at around 5 am with my belly hurting from more contractions. I also felt damp, so I wasn’t sure whether my water broke. Since we were scheduled to come in by 7:30 anyway, I woke Dennis up and said we should just go early. So we all got ready, and I had some breakfast to give me energy.
We went into Pomona Valley Hospital and got settled into the room I was going to deliver in. I was still having contractions, still quite tolerable though. Then they broke my water, and put an internal monitor on the baby, which the entire experience just left me sobbing. They got an IV started, and gave me Pitocin. After a while the contractions started getting longer and stronger. At around 1:30, they were so bad I was crying from the pain. Thankfully, at that point I was dilated to 4 cm and they gave me an epidural. It took a while and several pokes to get the epidural in, apparently my intervertebral spaces are quite small. It was totally worth it though, I went numb from the waist down and couldn’t feel the contractions anymore, even though they were registering in as stronger than ever.
In about 2 hours I was dilated to 9 cm already, my labor was progressing quickly. I remember being uncomfortable with the baby continually kicking against my ribs, but that pain was very much tolerable compared to what I had previously been experiencing. I don’t remember how long it took until I felt more pressure inside me, and they told me they could see the head. I could feel the contractions this time, not the pain, but like a “need to pee” kind of feeling. My nurse told me that I had an ideal epidural, since I could still feel something to help me direct my pushing. I told her I didn’t want an episiotomy unless absolutely necessary and she relayed the information to my doctor. They told me to start pushing with each contraction. At first, I wasn’t pushing very hard according to them. After a while I figured out that I was exerting too much effort in my arms that was taking away from the actual push. My pushes started to get stronger. They could see the head getting lower, but not yet coming out. They said that my baby’s heart rate was starting to go up. I mentally committed myself to two more rounds of extra hard pushing, before I would consider the episiotomy. I pushed and pushed, and the nurse said I was pushing very hard, but the skin was still holding the baby’s head back. At this point they said that his heart rate was getting a bit higher. I consented to the episiotomy, and with my next contraction and pushing, the doctor did the procedure and delivered my baby.
I couldn’t hear him cry immediately, so I was panicking and asking how my baby was. It was such a relief when I heard him cry. I was being sewn up, and soon delivered the placenta. I asked what his APGAR was, they told me to wait a bit since 5 minutes hadn’t passed yet. Then they reported that he passed with flying colors with an 8/9. My baby was finally bundled up and placed in my arms. All the months of discomfort and anticipation and waiting, and the pain and hard work of labor were all worth it as I gazed into his tiny little face. I would say it was love at first sight, but I fell in love with him even before I ever laid eyes on him.
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Dylan Abe Necesito was born on March 12, 2009 on a Thursday evening at 6:41 pm. He weighed in at 6 lbs 2 oz and measured 18 inches.
Welcome to the world, my baby boy!
The rest of the photos taken on his first day are here.
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Today may just be the last day with my belly. I’ve watched it slowly grow and balloon to its current watermelon size, with matching stretch mark stripes. (You have no idea!!) I’ve tried not to scratch when it was itchy, and lovingly slathered it with cocoa butter every day. I’ve carried it around everywhere I went, and even bumped it occasionally when I forgot it was there or how big it was. I’ve put a pillow under it when I sleep, and carefully shifted the weight around when I need to roll over. It has been in the way when I bend or try to reach my feet, and it makes me waddle when I walk. It has been touched by complete strangers, and rubbed lovingly by family members.
I’ve felt the kicks and the hiccups, and even sometimes watched in amazement as I actually saw the movements across my belly. I’ve talked to it, sang to it, and had Dennis give it a kiss.
No matter how uncomfortable these past few weeks have been, I can’t believe I might actually miss this big belly of mine. But what I’ll have will be even better. I’ll have my baby boy in my arms, to talk to, to sing to, to cuddle and kiss. I can’t wait.
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