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isabella ~ one week old
we are taking time to adjust to our new lifestyle as a threesome (foursome including Nevada, our cat) so posts will be short here for a while.
but know that she is 143 kinds of cuteness and smells incredible...
thank you for your sweet congratulatory comments and emails. i am still reading through them.
please forgive me if i don't answer email for a while, i just can't stop staring at isabella.
"A dream is a wish your heart makes"
~ from the film Cinderella
Isabella Wish de la Rosa
8 pounds 6 ounces
20.5 inches
Born Monday March 24, 2008 at 1:28 pm and melting our hearts ever since...
drawer pulls i painted for her dresser last night
so.... um..... we are getting ready to leave for the hospital to bring our baby into the world now.
is there a word that describes excitement, relief, giddiness, joy and fear all rolled together?
i will update as soon as i can... thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your unbelievably amazing and loving support along the way.
38 weeks ~ canon digital rebel xt
It's only a couple more days until your daddy and I will meet you. Unless you decide you wish to be here earlier, your birth day will be March 24th, 2008.
You will be coming into the world by scheduled c~section as you decided that you were too comfy head up and didn't want to turn all the way around. Some days you would be sideways as if you were trying to turn, but ultimately I think you were just too comfy sitting Buddha style in my belly. I am okay with this, I just want you here safely and am not attached to any one birth plan. Being pregnant with you has been a journey of bliss, sprinkled with some twists and turns, fear, joy, gestational diabetes, pelvic inflammation, hormones, heavy monitoring, puffy legs and extreme gratitude.
One thing I have learned on this journey to bringing you here was that I don't have a lot of control in how things happen sometimes and surrendered myself early on to understanding what i was responsible for (taking extra care of myself upon learning I had gestational diabetes) and surrendering myself to those things I had no control over ~ your positioning for example.
It's been fun playing guess the position with you. Sometimes if feels as if you are practicing sun salutations in my belly, other times it feels like you are waving your hands in the air (er, amniotic fluid) like you just don't care and others it feels like you are connecting with the small amount of Irish in you and channeling Riverdance, right on my bladder, thank you very much. You are quite active and each time I have an ultrasound done, the doctor always comments on your cute cheeks and how active you are. You just don't want to sit still.
Does this mean you will be an active baby? A dancer? A martial artist? We can't wait to meet you and see your little personality develop and help guide you to follow your dreams. From what we can see on ultrasound, you look just like your daddy, but have your mama's nose and both of our cheeks since we both have round faces. You also usually have a few fingers in your mouth. I read that this is how baby's self sooth so it makes me happy to already know you know to calm yourself down. Not to mention it's pretty cute.
your daddy when he was a baby
People keep asking us if we have picked a name for you yet, and while we have a couple in mind, we have decided we need to meet you, see your sweet face, a bit of your personality and then decide on a name. I will be in the hospital with you for about four days so hopefully that will give us enough time to decide.
Your Daddy and I have been awaiting your arrival for so long that it's almost surreal to think this time has finally arrived. I look around our place and look at all your clothes and gifts that friends and family have gifted you, all your little diapers and your bassinet in our bedroom and we are overwhelmed with gratitude that this is all really happening. It's just wild to think you have been in my belly for all these months and soon you will be out of my belly and a part of this big, wide world waiting for you to explore it. We can't wait to bring you home next week, sleepless nights and all. But always know how much I have enjoyed this time nurturing you and growing you inside me. It's been an amazing ride and gift.
You will be meeting many new people over the next few months ~ don't worry, I don't expect you to remember names just yet. There are so many people who are anxious to meet you and shower you with love. One thing you will never have to worry about little one is how much you are loved. You were conceived in love and I believe that many of my life experiences have been in preparation for you. My entire pregnancy journey has taught me a lot about myself and my hope is that I will be able to teach you how important it is to love yourself as you embark on your own journey.
You will be receiving many letters from mama so you can see your early life documented as you become older. I wanted to start while you were still in the womb because as much as people tell me that I will be a mom next week when you arrive, the truth is that I have already been a mom to you for years. I felt like a mom the first time I became pregnant after trying three years ago and certainly throughout this pregnancy with you motherhood has just manifested itself more, preparing me to be a mom to you. If being a mom means worry, anxiety, sacrifice, walking around with your heart spilled open and unconditional love for your children, then I have been a mom for a while now. I don't expect you to understand this for many years, perhaps until you decide (if you decide) to have your own children one day.
We love you little one. We will be with you soon to protect you, care for you, love you and help you grow. Thank you for wanting to stay here with us. Please make it here safely on Monday. We can't wait to meet you and start the next journey together as a family.
Love,
Mama
three of my hottie cousins ~ kristin, dyer, andrea
i know i have been quiet lately. i have somehow been running around getting last minute things done for the baby and relaxing at the same time and not being on my computer as much. but i had to share what happened over the weekend.
i have been definitely feeling the hormonal surges of a pregnant woman in her last couple weeks of pregnancy: i am puffy, feeling heavy, more than excited for her to be here and my nesting instinct has gone into overdrive.
so much in fact that when jimmy told me that his friend was coming up from san diego for the weekend and we were meeting some other friends for brunch on saturday, i was starting to think he didn't care about getting things ready for our arrival. it seems for the past few weekends he had been coming up with every excuse in the book why we couldn't shop for last minute baby needs. i was starting to feel stressed and bit sad. i know it's ridiculous, but this is what hormonal pregnant women do. i know some of you are nodding your heads.
late saturday morning, we walked down to my favorite brunch spot to meet our friends, patrick and kelly, and since our table isn't quite ready i tell jimmy i need to sit down. i notice he is walking around a lot but i don't think anything about it. the next thing i know i turn to the entrance and see, one by one, members of my family walking through the door in front of me.
two of my hottie aunts ~ doodie and denise ~ and my hottie cousin, kim
this is surreal because the majority of them live in various parts of northern california and it kills me that i can't see them as much as i would like to and yet here they all are in silver lake? they are all carrying gifts and i immediately burst into tears as the reality sunk in that they were all really here giving me a surprise baby shower.
they had been planning this with jimmy for a couple months and the reason jimmy had been so lax in getting baby gear is because he knew this was happening and what they were bringing and was wanting me to just relax and wait.
upon seeing them all, i realized i didn't want anymore gifts (i have been gifted so much already) i was just so happy to see them all.
kelly, jimmy and me (after me being a crying mess)
as we all snuggle in i come to find out that all the girls left their husbands and/or kids home for the weekend in order to have a girly weekend and surprise me. we had an amazing brunch and shower and that evening one of my aunts had arranged for all the girls to spend the evening at the Magic Castle. this was also why our friend david was staying with us, so jimmy could have a boy's weekend too while all the girls were out playing. it all finally started to make sense and put my raging hormones at ease...
as i was getting ready later that evening, it hit me how long it's been since i've gone out. at night. after 7:00 pm. the Magic Castle has a pretty strict dress code, so it was pretty funny to me that i was all dolled up wearing a black long evening gown, big buddha belly, all made up, hair curled and wearing.... uggs. there are definitely perks to being pregnant, and i think i have started a new trend. {wink}
dyer, hottie aunt janie, me, denise and hottie tracy (my dad's wife) getting a private show at the castle
i have been floating on a cloud since the weekend. we all had so much fun that we decided we needed a girls' getaway each year where we leave the kids and/or husbands/dogs, etc. at home and engage in a weekend of family girl time. jimmy said he can't wait to have a weekend alone with our little girl while mama gets some playtime in.
ready for a night out on the town ~
tracy, janie, dyer, kim, kristin, carol, denise, andrea
to me, he really is the best husband in the world.
and i have the best family in the world.
i was completely surprised and still can't believe you all pulled this off.
i love yous guys!
Uggs ~ a nine-months pregnant woman's best friend
As much as I love being pregnant and am in awe each day of what is happening inside me, no one warned me about the swollen legs that take over in your last few weeks. My legs look like marshmallow shish-kabobs and I have cankles. It's not so sexy. I realized when I could no longer fit into any of my shoes because my feet were so puffy, my first thoughts turned to Uggs.
Uggs are something that I have avoided for years. It wasn't that I didn't think they were cute or comfy, rather it was something that stemmed from an old boyfriend.
Once upon a time in my early twenties, I went out with this guy (who eventually became a boyfriend for a short time) who wanted to take me to a really expensive, seaside restaurant for our first date. I pulled out the little black mini-dress and the heels (it was the era of Beverly Hills 90210 after all) and was looking forward to a fun evening. He showed up with flowers (cute!) and wearing faded jeans and Ugg boots. I thought this a bit odd considering where we he was taking me, but was even more confused when after a fairly quiet dinner he came back to my place... and promptly fell asleep. Wearing his Uggs. I must be a very boring date.
I forgave him when I found out he had just worked some crazy shift at work and hadn't slept in over 24 hours, but for many years I wasn't able to associate Ugg boots without thinking of him. Not that it was a bad thing, he and I are still friends, but something about them just turned me off.
That is until about a week ago when my feet swelled up like a puffer fish. Slipping my swollen, painful feet into these blankets of fleece-lined yumminess was instant love. I purchased them on the spot, wore them out of the store, and really haven't taken them off since. I had to buy them a size and a half up from what I normally wear, but I love 'em. They are my new best friends.
Now that my feets feel good, I started thinking about how quickly time has passed. Our little girl will be here in less than three weeks. THREE WEEKS. My doctor is inducing labor on either March 24th or 25th. I have so much to reflect on about this, but that will have to be another post. In this moment, I am just overwhelmed and amazed that this is all really, finally happening and all about the things we still need to get done.
In the midst of the excitement, I started thinking how blessed I have been. We are finally having a baby and growing our family and I am still in awe of how my friends, family and this lovely community have all come together to celebrate this baby with us. It's hard to put into words how appreciative and amazed I am.
Either I read it, saw it in a movie, or was told by someone a while ago that when someone does something nice for you, it is then your responsibility to do something nice for someone else. I feel that so many people have done something nice for me lately so I will be paying it forward for quite a while I feel. {wink}
I decided to start in two areas. Once I am done with maternity leave, I plan on growing Clover & Sage as a business plus opening my Etsy store by the end of summer. I've been thinking about all the details that go into starting a business and how I could possibly help someone else to do the same. I remembered reading about Kiva and thought this was a good place to start. This is a website where you can loan money to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them realize their dreams. After reading through some of the profiles, I found someone who I really resonated with and lent her money to start her business. Every little bit helps, so check Kiva out if you have a moment.
I then received an email from the lovely, Frida. If you read her blog, you know her experiences are so profound and thought-provoking since most of us will never experience what she has seen. She is a true angel and I have developed a serious girl crush on her.
She is now back in New Zealand after her time in Afghanistan and decided she needed to do something by raising a team of women to walk 100km to help raise money for Ghor through an organization called Oxfam. I wish I could support her more financially, but I know every little bit helps. If you are interested in finding out more, and helping her team, you can do so here.
Lastly, I find myself completely inspired artistically these days by Kelly Rae Roberts. I own a couple of her prints ~ they make great gifts ~ and her whimsy always make me smile. She is turning her dreams into a reality by making herself a full-time artist with a book on the way and writing articles for publications and she even showed up in my cool mom picks emails. Go Kelly Rae. You journey is inspiring many of us to follow our own dreams as well.
