One month in

I know, it's not exactly a month since Peyton was born but, regardless, I just wanted to post my progress in raising two children.

I knew raising children would be difficult, but I didn't know exactly what to expect. Alana is now walking, almost running at times and having a running toddler and a newborn is just crazy! Peyton is steadily gaining weight and I always say that she is definitely catching up for missed time incubating in my belly. She's getting chubbier by the second.

Alana has finally learned that her little sister is no longer in my belly but outside. She kisses her, and only her on command. When we ask for kisses, she runs away, however ask her to kiss her sister and she's all over her. However, she's a bit heavy handed so we always have to watch her around Peyton.

So far, no jealousy as of yet, unless you count the heavy-handedness which I'm not quite sure of yet. I've read that older siblings will get aggressive if bored, hungry or tired, but as of right now it just seems like she doesn't know her own strength. Maybe I'm in denial but one thing is for sure, Alana loves her little sister and Peyton loves her right back.

Can't wait for what's in store in the coming months!

Mommy Mondays

Out of all of our closest friends, only one couple has kids and lately it's caused a huge strain on my relationships. I knew this was going to happen, but it still saddens me. People without children aren't exactly entertained by all the little details about raising children. They may seem amused for a few minutes but I'm sure it gets old after a while. And for me, I've pretty much been confined to the house for the past 2 months with the exception of the occasional doctor's visit and trip to the grocery store, so it's not like I have much else to talk about! I try to talk on the phone with some, have people stop by or have dinner here, but it gets daunting when I constantly get interrupted with diaper changes, feedings, crying and the constant need for attention from Alana. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change a thing, but I wish I could just learn how to balance everything, but unfortunately, it takes a lot of learning, effort and patience. 

Thankfully Pam, the only other mommy of our group at the moment, has graciously offered to visit us every monday just to spend time with me and help me out. Her daughter Lily loves Alana and Alana definitely follows her around like a little sister so it works out perfectly. Our first "date" was this past monday and I couldn't have had a better time. The kids laughed, Alana was funny as usual and Pam and I were able to squeeze in some mommy time and catch up. After our time together, it made me feel a little bit better about managing my relationships. I just have to get a little creative and find other ways to spend time with people.

Thank you Pam for the few hours of talks and laughs. I look forward to more Mommy Mondays to come! Can't wait. Maybe next week or the following, RJ can meet us up at the house and I can cook for both our families. What do you think? 

(Sadly I forgot to take pictures of Lily and Alana playing. There's always next week!)

Thank you for visiting

Earlier today Francis' cousins visited us to welcome Peyton to the family. It's not often that we get to see the since they live in San Diego so it was nice to have them over for the day. I only wish that they lived closer to us so we could see each other more often. Hopefully we can start to take our kids on trips to SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo so we can spend more time with them.

Alana's not really used to sharing her toys so it was pretty funny to see her and her cousin Raynen fighting over them. By the end of the night they eventually learned how to share. You can see for yourself how cute they were below

A year of new beginnings

2012 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster for Francis and I, but I'm so thankful that I have had the privilege to experience it all. Both Francis and I started new jobs, we bought a new house and welcomed a beautiful baby girl all in one year!!!!!!

I look back on these past 2 years and realize that Francis and I have been through a lot within the past 2 years and I couldn't ask for a better person to be standing beside through this all. Raising kids and owning a house is not easy by any means and I honestly don't know how single mothers do it. I can barely manage these two with Francis right next to me, so I can't even imagine the struggle. I definitely have a new found respect for single mothers. 

This New Years was a little boring but regardless my growing family welcomed 2013 with open arms. It will be a year of firsts for Peyton and good times for us all.

Happy New Years everyone!!!!!

Christmas at Ludlow

On Christmas morning we're usually at Francis' family party but this year since we were blessed with an early Christmas gift, we stayed at home and the families came to us :) I felt so bad this year because my doctor put me on bed rest so early that I didn't have a chance to do any Christmas shopping for anyone this year. Thankfully our families have been amazing through everything this year. Honestly I feel lucky to have the families we do and I don't know what we would have done without them this year. To our amazing families: We love you so much. Merry Christmas everyone!

Below are a few pictures of the babies from earlier today. 

We'd like to introduce

Our beautiful daughter Peyton Aurora Vita!!!!!

On December 11, 2012 Peyton was born in Providence Holy Cross Medical Center by Dr. Mojan Gabbay via C-Section. She is a tiny 4lbs 14oz and 19 in. This little ball of love arrived a bit early but we couldn't be happier. She is the best Christmas gift I have ever received. She's beautiful :)

Around 2am Francis and I decided to head to the hospital after getting a blood pressure reading of 186/110. We tried waiting it out hoping that my blood pressure would go down but no such luck. So we were off to the hospital. I think deep down we knew that this was it, so we nervously packed our bag and double checked everything before going to the hospital.

Upon our arrival, we were admitted into tiny, freezing cold room to wait for morning to hear from Dr.. Gabbay. The admitting nurse said what I was so nervous to hear but knew was coming, "I think they should just deliver you". My blood pressure was consistently elevated throughout the night and when morning came, it was decided. I was scheduled for my C-section at 4:00pm. Last time I only had a few minutes to deal with knowing I was going to have a C-section, so 9 hours was just torture. I  had 9 hours to think about all the ways that this could go horribly wrong. I talked to Francis for a bit about how nervous I was, and being the sweet husband I married, he reassured me and reminded me how strong I was. Then we talked about how by the end of the day we were going to have little Peyton in our arms. I knew whatever happened today, it would all be worth it.

Right before I was wheeled into the surgical room, our families came in to see us. I felt better knowing that they were there. They started a spinal on me, laid me down on the bed and prepped me for surgery. All of a sudden I started to get a horrible headache and I told the anesthesiologist right away. I was nauseated and as soon as he gave me something for that, the headache started. The pain went from unconfortable to excruciating within a matter of seconds. I looked to the right and saw my blood pressure climbing. 170/100. 180/110, 200/110, then finally 232/?. I didn't dare to look at the bottom number in fear that seeing it would make it go higher. At that point I felt like my head was literally going to explode and the only thing I could think of was "stroke!!!". I remember hearing Dr. Gabbay ask me if I was ok, but the pain was so excruciating that all I could do was shake my head and cry. The pain was worse than any contraction or labor pain I've felt. Then finally the medication kicked in and the pain slowly subsided. Francis was walked into the room when they had my BP under control and the surgery began.

A few minutes passed and I heard the most beautiful sound a mother could hear. I heard Peyton cry!!!! Beautiful and tiny, she was placed in my arms and it was a moment of complete bliss. Francis and I had just brought another beautiful baby girl into this world! We were in love for the third time. There's no happier feeling than seeing your child for the first time. Nothing else mattered in that moment except for her. She was perfect! After recovering a bit, the family trickled in one by one to meet her.

The next few days were a complete blur! I got a whopping 2 hours of sleep over 3 days (10-20 minutes at a time), Peyton had jaundice, and I cried uncontrollably every time Alana went home with my parents. Between the exhaustion and raging hormones, pretty much anything made me cry. And the recovery fro the C-section wasn't a picnic either. The only thing that kept Francis and I going was the fact that we now had 2 beautiful daughters to come home to. As painful as everything was, going home with my growing family kept me motivated toegt through it.

Looking back on this past week, I feel so lucky. Peyton is beautiful and healthy and that's all a mother could want. I didn't think it was possible to love so much, but my little one made room in my heart just for her.

Tick tock

These days I feel like a ticking time bomb. My blood pressure is constantly up or down and I can't believe that even with medication, my blood pressure is still through the roof. Besides my pregnancy-induced hypertension, I've never had high blood pressure so it worries me. Some days my blood pressure is so high that I wonder if I need to go to the hospital, but then when I recheck it goes back to normal. I feel like just thinking about it makes it go up, but how can I not? I want to make sure that the baby is healthy. The wait is driving me crazy! 12/28/12 is my scheduled C-section date, but I have a feeling that she's not going to wait that log to arrive. Either way, as long as she's healthy, that's all that matters. 

18 more days!