A special visit ...

Zoe and I have been fortunate enough to have visitors every day or every other day. Lots of people are excited to see my little angel and I am more than happy to share her with the world. Today, however, we had a "special" visitor. Jay asked me if it was ok if he could bring his "friend" Monica over to meet Zoe. I knew right then and there that things are getting pretty serious (or heading towards that direction very quickly) if he was actually going to bring a girl around. I was excited on various levels =). Zoe of course instantly liked Monica. She kept looking at her as if she was trying to size her up or pick up on her good character. For such a small baby Zoe sure does have a very inquisitive brain! Aside from Zoe liking her, Monica gained extra points from me since she brought the most delicious sapin sapin (what can I say, I'm easy to please!). Double bonus points for Monica singing Zoe a lullaby as she rocked her to sleep.

It was great to finally get a chance to see her again under these new circumstances. Jay seemed really happy to have all three of us ladies interacting and enjoying each other's company =). I have a good feeling about this one. I hope she's the girl we've all been praying about for Jay. Can't wait to get to know her better!

Zoe's first mass

Today is our first Sunday out of the hospital and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate it than at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. We were excited (and a little nervous for all the germs) to take her to her first mass. Since she hasn't had her shots yet, we figured we'd go to the earlier, less crowded, mass. I dressed her up in one of her many cute outfits (it was kind of cold so I'm glad she actually fit into her coat!) ...

We weren't really sure how to do the whole stroller at mass thing. It was our first time as a family to go out with the stroller so it was kind of awkward at first. We didn't feel like sitting at the very back of the church where most of the babies stay so we decided to go towards the middle where we knew there was a part of the pew that went up to accommodate wheelchairs ... or in this case, it was the perfect stroller parking! Zoe was such a good girl throughout the whole mass!!! She slept for almost all of it and was pretty observant when she was awake. After communion, one of the volunteers approached us and said Monsignor Kevin wanted us to sit in the front pews. He said he wasn't sure what he was going to do but we guessed it was Zoe-related since he said make sure you take her out of her carseat. Yikes!!! So we went to the front pew and took Zoe out of her carseat. After the announcements were read, Monsignor Kevin asked the church if they remember our "We're Expecting" homily that we gave back in December. He said Zoe was at the Cathedral for the first time and he wanted to introduce her to everyone!!!!!!!! So he walked over to us, picked her up and raised her up Lion King style while the entire congregation applauded for her!!! I think the roar of the claps scared her and she ended up spitting out her pacifier and spitting up!!! It was so funny!! How blessed is this child?? We were so honored to have her presented to her church for her very first mass! We made sure to take pictures with her ninongs Fr. Francis and Msgr. Kevin. As a special blessing, Msgr. Kevin called over Cardinal Mahoney and asked him to give Zoe a little blessing!! Again, Zoe is such a blessed little girl!!! Not many people have access to Cardinal Mahoney and to think at just one week old, she got up close and personal and even got him to give her a little blessing =)!

Afterwards, we got a visit from Mike's family. Aunty Isabelle was finally well enough to hold her! I'm sure they'll be great buds sharing their beauty secrets and boy stories =)

Here's the link to the video footage of her presentation at the Cathedral:

EXPLOSION

While we were at mass today, Zoe had her first diaper explosion! We have been warned by other parents that within Zoe's first month, she will inevitably have a poop that would explode past her trusty diaper. We've been keeping a lookout for this the past couple of weeks but nothing too major happened... until today while Mike and I stepped away for a few hours. Unfortunately, Tito Charlie, Tita Bot and Ima had to be the ones to clean up the damage!!! They decided no number of baby wipes would do the job so they ended up washing her in the kitchen sink. This of course resulted in the most hilarious pictures ever (also one of my favorite pictures of Zoe -- she looks like a model underneath the towel!)

First post-partum experience =)

Mike and I went to mass for the first time today since Zoe was born. We left her at home since she was too tiny to bring out into such a big and busy space. As we were parking the car, I realized that was the first time me and Zoe had been apart since she was conceived 9 months ago. The thought of that made me miss her sooooo much and I started to tear up!! Mike started laughing at me and pointed out that I was probably having my first post-partum depression thing. Weird how that stuff hits you!!! Hormones are no joke! Lol.

After mass we went to buy Brewers Yeast as a suggestion from a good friend of mine. I'm having a hard time producing breast milk and she said it helps with that. At this point, I'm willing to try anything to get my milk production going. I always had this vision that I was going to be able to produce sooooo much milk we would be able to freeze it for later. Mike had the vision that we could even sell my breast milk on ebay or something! However, the reality was that my body was not producing milk fast enough to keep Zoe full. Although her jaundice was gone, we were still having to supplement the breast milk with formula to make sure she was getting enough to eat/drink. I was pumping like crazy and still not able to get more than 2 or 3 ounces. I was also breastfeeding directly but it didn't seem to make her full enough. I was starting to feel like such a failure (the pressure to produce milk was totally brought on by me ... Mike just wanted to make sure Zoe had enough so he was fine with formula). In addition to the brewers yeast, i was also taking fenugreek seed. Hopefully between the two, we can get the girls going. I heard it may be because I had a c-section and my body wasn't able to release that hormone that signals the body to produce milk which normally happens during normal childbirth. I also heard that because of the severity of my surgery, my body may still be in shock from all that. I guess we'll see where this goes. I'm hoping to be able to breastfeed her (even if it's only supplemented) for as long as I can. I have an amazing immune system and I want to be able to pass that gift along to my Zoe!

Meeting Lolo Buddy, Lala Flory and Uncle Frank

Mike's family came to visit Zoe today! I'm glad they finally got to hold her since the couldn't at the hospital due to their colds (they even wore face masks to be extra cautious). It was great seeing them interact with her -- especially Frank who was so scared and nervous to hold such a tiny thing.

Zoe's first bath!!!

Today is Zoe's first official full day at the Sunbeam Residence. Me and my mom took her to her doctor's appointment to check up on her jaundice. They had to draw her blood again to check for the bilirubin levels. I HATE watching them draw blood from her (they prick her in her foot). Zoe doesn't seem to mind it so much but I most definitely do! I hope the jaundice has gone away (unfortunately, we are still having to feed her supplemental formula to flush it out). The doctor said it's looking better but to keep giving her formula so she can get it out of her system. It's such a tough choice -- I've read that you should try to breastfeed your baby no matter what (even if the doctor tells you to supplement with formula) because it will ensure your baby doesn't get confused between your breast and a bottle. However, we also want to make sure her jaundice goes away ... so it's been difficult to go against when I initially thought I would do (stick to my guns).

Today is also the day we gave Zoe her first (sponge) bath!! It was pretty scary at first becuase she was so tiny and it was all our first time. It was definitely a group effort (me, Michael, my mom, Tita Bot, Jeric, and Ima) and Zoe did great (cried a little, but overall, she was a good girl).

The doctor said we only need to give her a bath every 2 or 3 days (phew!) since she doesn't really get dirty at this age (and the parts that do get dirty get cleaned with every diaper change). I heard bathing a baby gets easier and less scary with practice ... I'm just glad we all survived her first time =)

Going home!

After 5 long days in the hospital, we FINALLY got to take Zoe home today!!! Being in the hospital that long was really starting to take it's toll on us ... I don't think Michael and I have had a good night's rest since Zoe was born. And it's not because of Zoe ... it's all the nurses that come in the room every hour or so to check on my vitals. Don't get me wrong -- I'm grateful for all the nurses and personal care assistants that took care of us (Huntington Hospital is AWESOME). I was just looking forward being out of the hospital. I almost wasn't able to get discharged tonight. For some reason, my blood pressure was really high. They said it may be due to the meds or just that my body was reacting that way from the type of surgery I had. I was so ready to leave and when the nurse said I may have to stay until they get my bp down, I was devasted. I guess the hormones also kicked it because when Michael said "Your blood pressure is high probably from all the McDonald's you ate while you were pregnant". It should have been a funny joke, but for some reason, when I heard him say that, all I heard was "You are a failure. You aren't doing this motherhood thing right". I started bursting out into tears. Weird!!! That was probably my first and only hormonal breakdown. Mike, of course, felt horrible and quickly tried to make me feel better. I guess I was just frustrated with being in the hospital ... with being pricked and prodded ... and all I wanted to do was get out of there! I finally calmed down and rested for a bit. They ended up taking my bp again a couple of hours later and I was fine. I was discharged around 7 pm -- not exactly how I planned Zoe's going home day, but hey, at least we were going home!

As soon as we got to Tita Bot and Tito Charlie's place and got situated, it finally sunk in that we were PARENTS. No more nurses ... no more doctors at our beckon call. It was just us and HER. For some reason, I still couldn't quite get some rest (too much adrenaline maybe?) so I decided to test out the breast pump my friend let me borrow while Zoe and Daddy slept. It was around midnight at this point and I had no idea how to use the pump. Let's just say it was a major FAIL. I got one, maybe two, drops out of me and I gave up. I figured I'd better read the manual the next morning and call it a night. I would have to wake Zoe up in about 2 hours to feed her anyway so I better get some rest.

Again, I still can't believe I'm a mommy and I can't stop staring at my baby girl's sweeet sweet face =).

Zoe and friends!

We have been showered with so much love and support the past couple of days ... even though we'll be in the hospital for a little longer (doctor said with my incision and the kind of surgery I had they would probably have to keep me here for about 4-5 days). Although at times my incision can be pretty painful, I'm getting better everyday. I was able to sit up yesterday and will start trying to walk soon. The nurses who have been taking care of me are all surprised to see a vertical incision and say I'm being quite the trooper =). I say, it's all worth it as long as I got Zoe in return.

We have had so many people send flowers, come visit and bring us food. Today our good friend Monsignor Kevin even stopped by and had a mini-mass for me and my family. I was able to take communion and give thanks to our Lord for all His blessings. It's been wonderful to share Zoe with our loved ones and I know that already, this little girl is blessed to be LOVED LOVED LOVED!

Here are some pics from the past couple of days:

(The first one was taken by Ninang Tasha and is one of my FAVORITES!)