Laura

Today Great-Aunt Laura came to visit all the way from New York City! She's headed up to Sante Fe this afternoon, and we were very happy to see her. Sophia was so excited she slept through the whole thing!

Feeding

Geek Fairy Tales

This is how daddy calms down Sophia at night:

You got baby on my dog!

Sophia with her older brother...

New photo album

Week 4 album is up and will be updated regularly: http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.miranda/SophiaWeek4

EAST COAST!

Sophia giving a shoutout to all her peeps on the East Side!

The sleep schedule

So, the sleep schedule might actually be working. Liz may disagree, I dunno. Here's the daily schedule:

10 am - 7 pm ish: Tim works, Liz on call for the baby. Tim can take baby during lunch if necessary.

7pm - 11pm: Both on call with baby

11pm-2am: Tim on call, Liz sleeps.

2am-7:30am: Liz on call, Tim sleeps.

7:30am-10am: Tim on call, Liz sleeps.


Good times! Theoretically this lets us each get about 5.5 hours of sleep a day, plus any naps people can grab during the day.

"You got to keep her off the pole!"

Funny piece by Chris Rock about how to be a good dad.

The swing works!

This is the first time she has actually fallen asleep in the swing. Previously, she would sit in it for 10 seconds and then lose her flipping mind. Very exciting times in the Miranda/Stewart-Miranda household.

"LET ME OUT OF THIS INFERNAL MACHINE! I'M BLIND!"

Pictures from the outing

So, put some pictures up on the Week 3 album (http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.miranda/SophiaWeek3) of all of us over at Aunt Teri's house for some tasty burgers.

first real outing!

So we had our first real outing today. Went over to Teri and John's for some din din (note, due to the baby, major nouns will now be pronounced a mono-syllabic repetition), and it went really well. She slept for the car ride, going and leaving, and slept through most of the dinner. We successfully executed a diaper change using the MDCAFU (Mobile Diaper Change and Feeding Unit) at their house, and a feeding to boot.



We'll have to do this more often. It's fun to go out and not have the destination be a medical building.

What did she eat?

It smells like baby food!

 

Oh wait.

 

Yeah, she's no longer constipated as far as I can tell.  DAYAMN, it's EVERYWHERE!

 

More photos up

We have a new album up (Week 3) for y'all to peruse:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.miranda/SophiaWeek3

Good times!

Measurements

Went to the pediatrician today, and Sophie is looking right on target. Here's her stats:

Date: 03/23/2007
Weight: 7 lbs 12oz
Height: 19 3/4 in
Head Circumference: 35.5 cm

Visits

So, we are wide open for visits, just to let you know. Any time pretty much, since we are living in 3 hour chunks right now. Feel free to drop by!

Sophia's Choice

Here's sophia enjoying her new favorite toy - one of those vibrating chair things. It has full netting built into it, so we don't have to worry about the cats. She'll sleep for hours in this thing, it's awesome. Doesn't like the vibration though, but that's okay.

The poo is flowing

So she's doing the #2 about three times a day now.  That's very exciting, because it means she isn't backed up anymore.

 

Well, exciting to me.  Gross to you, probably.  Unless you are gross yourself.  Gross!

 

New photo albums

Special note: Kodakgallery (formerly ofoto) has been pissing me off lately, so I've decided to go with Google's web albums.

The new page for our albums will now be at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.miranda

Where you can find all of Sophie's various albums (first few days, week 1, week 2, etc).

Sophia's first walk

Sophia's first walk around the neighborhood. Or stroll, to be more precise. Here's the after party:

Who's hungry? Is it you? Is the bottle bigger than your head? Yes it is!

Sophie and my dad

Here's my dad working hard (or hardly working) at keeping the baby asleep. She's been passed out on him for about 3 hours now, it's terrific.

Damn, I should have taken a nap during that time.

Oh well!

(Picture is also up on the kodakgallery album of course)

She's so punk

 

I swear, I didn't pose this. She was falling asleep and just stuck it out. She's definitely mine!

More pictures

More pictures from this week with Sophia.. hope to get more of my dad with the baby soon, but the baby's been really cranky and impossible to move around once she's settled, for fear of setting her off again:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/miratim/main/sophia_-_week_1?

Jaya the Cat

So, Jaya has been sniffing the baby on and off, but no particular interest. Tonight I brought the baby slowly over to her, while the cat was on the sink. Jaya sniffed her whole head, and then bonked the side of the baby's head with her head.

Jaya head butts are her ultimate sign of affection, so that was awesome.

We have found netting systems for both the crib and the playard, so the cats can't jump into them, and they have tent poles so the cats can't collapse the tent by jumping on it. Very exciting.

Poopies!

We have poopies! After a two day dry spell, she has turned on the factory. I almost wept with joy. Then I wept from the stink.

feedings are hard

Man, this kid wants no part of breastfeeding.

So we are "supplementing" with formula, which the pediatrician thought was a good idea.

But we have had no bowel movements since the hospital on monday. that's no good.

More photos

Some more photos online of our last day in the hospital..
http://www.kodakgallery.com/miratim/main/sophia_elena_miranda?

Hunter, Sophia, and Liz

Hunter discovered the joys of using Sophia as a pillow this evening. He was very gentle.

We're home!

So we got discharged around noon, and we are back at home.

And, funny enough, the breastfeeding all of the sudden has become much better. It may be a fluke, but I think both mom and baby are much more relaxed at home.

So we're here with Liz's parents, who will be here for a few more days. Then my dad gets in for a week, which is really great.

The plan? Liz needs to recover from the c-section, so we will force her to only exert herself for feeding the baby, herself, and doing hygiene stuff. We will do the rest..

It's 3:20 am

Do you know where your children are?



Mine's in the nursery.



Time for parent sleepy.

more photos

More photos with Liz's dad and the baby are available on the same ofoto album as before (we will use this album for the next few weeks):

http://www.kodakgallery.com/miratim/main/sophia_elena_miranda?

breastfeeding is hard

This whole feeding thing is stupid. Such an natural process shouldn't be so unnatural for both mother and child to learn.



Still working...

more photos available

We got some more photos up from today, with me and Liz holding the baby, etc.



Things are going well!

sleep and feeding

So we slept a solid 3-4 hours last night. woo hoo! I will force Liz to sleep again sometime this morning or afternoon for an hour, maybe a couple runs like that.



Baby is still feeding, stubbornly. Doing little supplements with formula as needed, but weight and color seems good so far.



Me? Thanks for asking! I'm still in a sleep deficet, which I know will always be true, but I'd like to, while we are in the hospital with a nursery and staff to watch her, to try and get in my sleep before we go home and that window disappears.



It would be nice to leave the hospital, but at the same time, any of the nurses are equipped to answer any questions we have, from feeding, changing, scheduling, as well as Liz's health questions. Plus, with the nursery, we have an automatic "watch her for a while, I'm sleeping" resource that we won't really have when we leave.



So it's mixed feelings about this place. Everyone on staff is awesome tho!



________________________________________

Tim Miranda - Software Engineer - Pegasystems

* (617) 866-6402 / + (yahoo) miratim

First set of pictures online!

Check em out at

http://www.kodakgallery.com/miratim/main/sophia_elena_miranda?

We will use that photo album to add all new pictures from the next few days.



Thanks for all the good wishes, we really appreciate it!



-Tim

yay! feeding! and pooping!

Probably won't be saying yay to pooping in the future, but after leaving her in the nursery for a couple of hours, she came back to us with a messy diaper, which is good because it means she's getting nutrition. And she peed a bunch during the changing, so we know she's at least somewhat hydrated.



Liz convinced her to feed a couple minutes ago, so they are in the middle of it now. We'll see how it goes.

good times

So, baby has had to be supplemented by formula, the breast feeding is being a pain in the ass. Sophia fed at 1:30am and 7:30am pretty well, but wouldn't feed in the morning or afternoon. So at 12:30, we got a lactation consultant and did a lot of things to try and make it happen, but she was just falling asleep on Liz every time.



The baby's blood sugar was a little on the low end, so in the afternoon we did about 15 ounces of formula, and she seemed to take to it.



Still haven't changed a messy diaper yet, since she's been mostly sleeping.



We put the baby in the nursery until the next time she wants feeding, which should be about now. So we'll see how it goes with the feeding. But it was a good rest for mommy (and me), although she's been having various problems which have been resolved. C-Sections aren't fun!

Sophia

Born march 9 at 12:18am. 7 pounds 8 ounces. Too tired 4 words.

C section

Doing section now

moving on up again

So we are up to 6 centimeters or so, 100% effaced now, and at -1 station (last time, at 5:45 pm, we were at +2 station). So very awesome. Things should speed up a bit now.



She's feeling the pressure of the baby on the bladder now, and the contractions are starting to be noticeable in terms of pressure.

still keeping it real at the Pres

So, the baby seems lower (non-official judgement from the doula and the mom). We're moving along.

bag is broken

So, they ruptured her water bag, and it was nice and clear. She's up to 4 cm, so she's "started" laboring I guess. They are expecting 1 cm an hour or so. The thinking now is fully dilated in about 6 hours, give or take. From then, with the epidural, it could take up to 3 hours after that before the baby comes out.



Liz is in great spirits, talking, lying around. Liz's mom is here now also.



Having the doula's around full time has been so great. They have been making Liz so comfortable, and explaining what's going on. And foot rubs.



Ok, will update at the next doctor visit (1 or 2 hours).

Up to 4 centimeters

So, they ruptured her water bag, and it was nice and clear. She's up to 4 cm, so she's "started" laboring I guess. They are expecting 1 cm an hour or so. The thinking now is fully dilated in about 6 hours, give or take. From then, with the epidural, it could take up to 3 hours after that before the baby comes out.



Liz is in great spirits, talking, lying around. Liz's mom is here now also.



Having the doula's around full time has been so great. They have been making Liz so comfortable, and explaining what's going on. And foot rubs.



Ok, will update at the next doctor visit (1 or 2 hours).

same ol' same ol'

So, still chilling. Doctor should be here any second for another exam, to see if the baby has moved down. We're going to see if we can just break the bag of water and get this stuff going. Liz's mom is coming to the hospital now too, so maybe she can light a fire under their asses or something.



We were at 3 cm, 75% effaced, but only -2 station about 2 hours ago, so hopefully we've increased all those numbers for this upcoming exam.

epidural stylee

So, around 7:30 AM this morning, they switched from the Cervidil (softens the cervix) to the Pitocin (induces labor). Her contractions starting getting pretty painful after that, helped along by the Pitocin, so they put in the epidural around 11:30 or so. Liz is feeling great now - contractions still going about every 3-4 minutes, but they don't hurt at all. She is required to lay in bed now, but that's okay because of the pain meds.



Baby is still not going down much since this morning, but is looking nice and healthy.



Overnight was kind of tough, she couldn't sleep much due to frequent need to go to the bathroom, but she did get some spots of sleep. I slept too, but not particularly well.



They are going to send in the doc soon to talk about the next steps so we can move past 3 cm and into some later stages of labor.



So we are just kind of hanging out again - they kicked me out of the room for the epidural, so I got some lunch.



I think the expectation is that Sophia will be delivered sometime today, probably in the evening.

sleepy time

So the doctor's pushed some Demerol due to a migraine that Liz was getting. So she's sleeping (I think) right now, I'm going to try and catch some z's too, although I'm too nervous to sleep. We have, supposedly, until 5 am or so before the labor is supposed to start, so would be worth it to sleep a few hours before she has any serious contractions.



She's been having small ones throughout the day, some painful.



And the IV was no fun - she had a pass-out-like reaction to it being put in, but she got through that.



Good night!

Induction

So going well. Started softening meds at 5 pm and that is 12 hour thing. Then they start induction in the morning. Watching tv now in our labor and delivery room.

induction

We are going to hospital for labor! They are going to start induction now.

back to normal

So false alarm. Again.

First time parenting is teh stupid.

Hospital?

So, Liz went off to the hospital to get her blood pressure checked. Having some unfortunate leg and foot swelling that they want to check out. She had a high reading a couple days ago, but then a bunch of normal ones, so who knows what's going on.

I'm at home tidying the place up for now, just in case..

Going well

So, things are on track for March 21st. Baby is a good average size, and is still head down.

I feel like it's going to be a long 3 weeks or so..