reconstruction

I love making clothes for Vivian, but it can be hard to have enough time and energy to sew something complex in the time from when she goes to sleep and I fall into bed.

I was going through my fabric stash when I found an old pair of Richard's jeans. I noticed that the width of the leg was the same as the width of Viv's jacket. So with a few cuts, and a couple of seams, I turned one leg of his jeans into a vest! After I sewed it together, I broke out the embroidery floss and stitched her first and middle initials on the front, and her name on the back.

Front:

Back:

I loved how this project turned out, especially given that it took all of about 2 1/2 hours to complete.

And to finish on a completely different topic, I leave you with a photo that depicts how things are going at home, now that we've introduced Vivian to solid foods.

This is what Vivian thinks of carrots!

Just keep truckin'

On Saturday, the Reeve-Manfredi clan hit the road, driving from LA to Tucson, AZ, where my mom, stepdad & sister have relocated this year. We three piled into the car at 7:30 a.m., and after getting an infusion of caffeine at Starbucks (thanks for the gift card, Dad!), we got on the road. Directions: get on the 10 East, and drive. If something gets in your way, turn.

8.5 hours later...

We rolled into Tucson (107 degrees!) that afternoon to see family, and we promptly hopped in the pool. Because that's how I roll (at least when it's 107 degrees). Vivian didn't hate the pool, but she wasn't sold on it, either. But look how cute that swimsuit is! I had to get her in it, while she still fits in it. Vivian got to spend quality time with the family over the weekend, with Aunt Jenny... and Grandma... And Great-Grandma... I haven't seen my grandma in years, so it was great to be able to introduce her to Vivian.

Rich & I also got our first night out, sans baby. We, along with Jenny, went out to karaoke while Grandma Susan & Grandpa Bob watched Vivian. It was hard being away from her, but we had a good time anyway. Rich and I sang the Johnny Cash/June Carter Cash duet, "Jackson," and the minute we got up from the table, Jenny was descended on by guys hitting on her. The girl's still got it!

The drive home on Monday wasn't quite as easy as the drive there. We left at 2:30 p.m. and got home at almost 2 a.m. Now, we stopped in Phoenix to see Rich's friend McClane, which was fun, sharing stories of parenthood (his wife just had twins, bringing their total number of kids to 4). And then we got stuck behind a bad accident on the freeway, which stopped us for an hour. And Vivian was not happy with the delay. Let's just say that baby was fussy. For hours. It was hard to keep her happy, having to be in the carseat for so long, when she really wanted to stretch and be held. But I think we'll be doing this trip fairly often, since the family is fairly convinced that they like Vivian and would like to see her regularly. So, viva el 10!

Vivian thinks road trips are fun!

Notes on sleep and a baby

Viv is everything I could ever want, but taking care of a preemie is more work than I could have been prepared for. The last few days, Vivian has decided that the 3-4 hour stretches of sleep were entirely too long, and has instead preferred to wake up every 1 1/2 hours between 12 a.m. & 8 a.m. to be fed and changed. Awesome!

So here is our average 4 a.m. wake up schedule: wake up, pick Viv up. Take her into the nursery to change her diaper. Ask Richard to go warm a bottle. Take Viv back to bed, try to find the nipple shield, put it on, try to breastfeed Viv (lasts 5-10 minutes). Take Viv off boob (and try not to get covered in milk at the same time), and hand her to Richard to be bottle fed. Set up the breast pump and get milked like a cow for 15-20 minutes. Richard tries to burp Vivian. After I pump, I hand Richard the bottles/bags full of milk and he hands me the baby. I lay Viv down and try to swaddle her as best as my sleep deprived mind will allow while Richard puts the milk containers in the fridge/freezer. Repeat as often as necessary.

It's a good thing she's so cute, because she's a lot of work.

Surprise! Here, have a baby

Long time no post, but I swear I have a good excuse. No, really.

Please meet Vivian Bliss, who made her appearance a few weeks early on Friday, June 29 at 10:43 a.m. At only 34 weeks, she was already 6 lbs, 2 oz.

After 9 days in the NICU, Vivian is finally home, and she's doing great. Her parents are a little worse for wear, but she's worth it. She is everything we have ever wanted. We'll always keep her big sister Eliza in our hearts, but now we can hold Vivian with our arms. And that's pretty wonderful.

the good, the bad, and the surprising: a baby update

As of yesterday, we are at 34 weeks. We had an ultrasound yesterday, and unfortunately, there aren't any good photos because she's too big (and she's a bit antisocial and just wants to bury her face in the back of my uterus). So, here it is:

The Good
Vivian continues to grow at a record pace. According to BabyCenter.com, the average 34-weeker weighs in at 4 lbs., 12 oz. Vivian is (drum roll please) 6 lbs., 7 oz.! Her measurements continue to be in the 98th and 99th percentiles (except for the legs, which are now in the 65th-70th percentile -- which is still better than the 58th that they were in 6 weeks ago). Now, weight estimates based on ultrasound can be off by quite a bit, 1/2 lb to 1 lb, but even if the estimate is off by a pound, she's still much larger than average. As people keep telling me, big babies are good, as they are more likely to sleep well (hurrah!).

The Bad
Vivian's kidneys are still not cooperating. They aren't getting better, but at least they aren't getting worse. We've been referred to a pediatric urologist, so we'll know more once we meet with him. The worst case scenario is that if the reflux issue does not improve, she'll have to have surgery when she's about a year old. But I'm not going there yet. It's still very much a wait and see issue.

The Surprising
Once we confirmed with my doctors that we would be having a repeat c-section, we were told to expect to be scheduled around 39 weeks, 1 day, or August 2. At our appointments this week, however, both our OB and our perinatologist told us that we would instead be scheduled around 37 weeks, or sometime around July 18! I know it's only a 2-week difference, but it feels like a huge shift.

Basically, the reasons we were given are that, 1) I've had a classical c-section (vertical incision) and they don't want me to go into labor (due to a chance of uterine rupture, which really, I'd like to avoid if possible, as it sounds bad), and 2) with a history of preeclampsia, if Vivian is ready to come out, why take the chance of prolonging the pregnancy and possibly developing pre-e again? (even though I have no signs or symptoms at this point). So, it looks like we'll schedule our delivery (and that's the hard part, because the maternity ward is very busy) and then schedule an amnio the day before to check her lung maturity. If all is well, we'll move forward.

So, Rich & I are basically trying not to freak out, and just calmly getting things ready. Easier said than done. Ack!

Shower photos

My baby shower on June 9 was awesome. Yes, I know it's now the 26th, and these photos are a tad late, but hey, better late than never, right? (All photos are stolen from other people's Flickr streams, because I was to busy opening gifts to take photos!) These are two of the dresses my little sister Teresa made for Vivian. They are full-on princess dresses, with a crinoline underneath and everything. Look at this fabulous USC hat, knit by Mel. The interlocking SC are perfect!Here are Carrie & Christa, who drove down with Elizabeth all the way from the Bay Area that morning just to celebrate the Baby Vi (and drink a few Bud Lites).

And here is the beautiful pumpkin-themed blanket that Catherine crocheted for Vivian. I love it, even if Catherine had to lie to me that she didn't know how to crochet... This is the beautiful felted diaper bag made by my sister Jenny. It's gorgeous, and even lined with a waterproof (pee-proof) liner! This is the most awesome mobile ever -- an Awesome Helicopter Ninja mobile, complete with hanging ninja stars, helicopters and glittery kickballs. Made by Kelley & Michael. Here's Baby Mark, passed out after a few too many... sucks of milk. And here is Vivian's very own Hobbes, crocheted with loving care by Jenny. What kid doesn't need a Hobbes?

And, yes, an oh so flattering photo of me and my belly (which has the Baby Vi inside, so I guess it's beautiful).

All of our friends have been so generous and wonderful. I can't list everyone and all their gifts, but please know that they are are very much appreciated.

dream a little dream while dreaming

Last night, I dreamed some weird dreams. The best one was so realistic, it was hard to believe it was a dream. I heard Vivian crying from her co-sleeper, so I picked her up and realized she must be hungry. I took her out to the living room, and sat down on the couch and started breastfeeding. I realized she was sucking, but not swallowing, so I took her off, and she spit up all over herself. She started laughing, like this was the funniest thing in the world, and that made me laugh, too. It just felt awesome. And then I woke up, and told Richard about my dream. He said I must have been dreaming about Vivian eating because we had been talking about breastfeeding.

And then I really woke up.

I dreamed a dream within a dream. And it was wonderful.

Transitions

Today is the day I have been anticipating, dreading, looking forward to since I got pregnant. 25 weeks, 2 days. Last year, on July 4, I was 25 weeks, 2 days pregnant with Eliza. And I lost her. It was the worst day of my life. But this year, on April 27, I am 25 weeks, 2 days pregnant with Vivian. And she's doing great. She's big and strong and active. I'm on medication, and my blood pressure is behaving. There is no sign of the horrible swelling that I had last year. I have energy, and am sleeping pretty well. At this point, there isn't much more I could ask for.

We had our ultrasound on Wednesday, which was a huge relief for me. The doctor was very thorough, and looked hard at the blood flow through the umbilical cord, which looked good. He thinks that Vivian is actually big for her gestational age, already 1 lb., 15 oz. For comparisons sake, Eliza was only 1 lb., 2 oz. when she was born. So Viv is growing big and strong. All of her measurements are in the 80-95th percentile (except for her legs, only 54th percentile. Well, looking at her family, I guess it makes sense that she'd be big all over, but with short, stumpy legs).

And tomorrow starts a new phase, one that I'm really looking forward to. Our next milestone is 28 weeks, when, if something happened, and Viv needed to be born early, she'd have a pretty good chance, not only of surviving, but of surviving without major health issues. We'll have another ultrasound then, and another chance to see how Viv is doing.

We're in a good place, and I'm excited to move forward.

Baby Vivian is flexible!

back to normal?

It's true. Richard is finally back from his journeys, and now has no work travel scheduled for the foreseeable future. I can't tell you how happy this fact makes me. Rich is not only my husband, but he is also my best friend, and everything that we've gone through over the last year has brought us even closer together. And when he's gone, I realize how much I depend on him to keep my spirits up. All this traveling has been hard on both of us, but it's over now, and we're both very happy about it.

Baby Viv continues to be very active. This week, our cat Doyle has decided that my stomach is a great place to knead and lie down on. Vivian is not really on board with this. When he lays down on my tummy, she starts kicking back. This doesn't seem to bother Doyle, so I'm caught in the middle -- cat pressing down, baby kicking up. Ouch. Next Wednesday, we have another ultrasound, so we get another peek at Viv. It's a scary time, but I seem to be doing really well, so we're doing our best to keep our spirits up.

This Sunday is the Arthritis Walk, and it seems to be going really well, despite the likelihood of rain. Yes, I work at the AF, but I'm also raising money in honor of my friend Carolyn, or Caro as we call her. Carolyn was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 3. JRA meant that she couldn't sit on the floor with her class, tie her own shoes or lift her arm to brush her hair. This disease ravaged her body, but not her spirit. For the last 13 years, she has dedicated her life to helping others living with arthritis.

Carolyn is now leaving the Arthritis Foundation staff to become a full-time mom. Currently 8 1/2 months pregnant, Carolyn has had a difficult pregnancy. She has had to stop taking many of the medicines that help her everyday, as they could impact the baby growing inside of her. Arthritis affects 1-in-5 people, including 300,000 children. If you'd like to help me make a difference, you can make a donation to my walk campaign by going here.

And finally, this Saturday, Allison, Jeff & Evan head out to Phoenix for a consultation with Barrow Neurological Institute. Hopefully, they'll get good news about Evan's tumor, and be able to set up a date for surgery. If you get a chance, visit Allison's blog and leave her a message. Allison, you'll be in our thoughts.

Donuts & Babies & Crafts, Oh My!

Richard was gone again this weekend, this time to Portland. It's the second to the last trip this spring, so I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And he did get on a early flight yesterday, so we actually got a real weekend night together, which was nice. After a very large dinner at the Brite Spot, we came home to a fantastic, if odd, dessert.

I bring you, a Voodoo Donut special, direct from Portland, OR, the Bacon Maple Bar.
Sooo goooood. I first got excited about this donut after watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, Pacific Northwest special. I know it sounds awful, but, as Richard said, "it tastes like breakfast." It's like pancakes and bacon, when your bacon slides into your syrup. Magnificent. I was almost afraid to eat it, but I'm so glad I did.

On babies (or rather, baby), Vivian is more active than ever. On Saturday night, after a lovely warm bath, I was lounging on the couch in my bathrobe, when I started to feel her kick. I looked down at my stomach, and my robe... jumped. I was in shock. I opened my robe to look at my belly, and again, it jumped. Vivian is officially kicking so hard that she can be seen (and felt) from the outside. I was so excited, I called Richard just to tell him. I think that for the rest of the evening, I just sat and watched my tummy dance.

Of course, on Sunday, when Richard came home, Vivian was much calmer, and not jumping around like a latter-day David Lee Roth. He really wanted to feel her, and she was just not cooperating. But about 1/2 hour after the Bacon-Maple Bar, she started twitching. I called him from the spare room where he was throwing darts, and told him to put his hand on my stomach. Sure enough, about 30 seconds later, she let loose a couple of karate chops. The look that came over Richard's face was amazing. I almost started to cry, I was so happy.

Vivian's dancing made me so happy, that I actually broke out the crochet hook, which I haven't done in several months. After digging through my stash, I decided to crochet the Princess sweater from Candi Jensen's Candy Babies in chocolate brown with baby blue accents. I finished it yesterday.

So yay for Baby Viv! And yay for Voodoo Donuts! And yay for my craftiness coming back!

Baby dances

Now, for people trying to get pregnant, the term "baby dance" refers to intercourse. This post is not about that. Sorry.

This post is about the little dance that my Pumpkin baby is doing in my uterus. Which I can now feel, and which is wonderful. I first felt a definite poke behind my belly button last week, while I was sitting at my computer. I'm almost 17 weeks along (as of tomrrow) and feeling Pumpkin move just made her all the more real. Feeling a baby move inside of you is a very surreal experience -- it's moving completely independent of you, and the fact that you are carrying a separate human being inside of you becomes a concrete fact.

I'm very excited that I've felt Pumpkin so early. With Eliza, I didn't feel anything (or at least didn't realize that I was feeling anything) until 20 weeks. So I feel like I have an extra 4 weeks with Pumpkin that I didn't have with Eliza. I'm treasuring every day.

I'm trying not to think about the fact that I'm only 8 weeks away from the stage when I lost Eliza. I'm trying to just enjoy every day, which is easier now that I can feel Pumpkin. I'm really only looking ahead a few weeks -- it just makes it easier to set minor milestones, instead of looking months ahead. The next three weeks should be golden. A diagnosis of preeclampsia very rarely comes before 20 weeks, so I feel like I have a grace period. And on March 21, we have another ultrasound, and we'll get another look at Pumpkin, and hopefully be able to definitively tell which gender she is (the doctor said last month that he *thinks* Pumpkin is a girl, but couldn't promise).

So, for now, I have a dancing baby in my uterus, and I am absolutely thrilled.