Introducing...

SOPHIE SOSEFINA IAMALEVA 

born may 11, 2012 at 1:02 pm

4lbs. 8 oz. 18 inches

the daughter i've always dreamed of arrived by emergency c-section, 4 1/2 weeks before her due date.  she was small but perfect in every way.  thankfully, she didn't have to go the NICU  and didn't need help with breathing or eating.  that's my girl!  strong, healthy and on her own schedule. her birth story is definitely a story to tell, so i will.

i was 35 1/2 weeks and going to one of my 2x week monitoring appointments.  back story...at about 28 weeks, i wasn't gaining much weight and my belly was measuring small every week.  i went for an ultrasound and got bad news that she was measuring small. no real reason why but it happens and there's nothing i did wrong or can do to change it.  he didn't know who he was talking to.  i went home, had a good cry with matt, quit working out the next day and starting eating everything in sight, all while doing major research on why this might be happening and what i could do to help her grow (again, nothing).  4 weeks later i was back to check on her and miraculously, she was measuring right on track.  the doctor gave me the choice to still continue the monitoring and of course i chose to do it.  so on may 10th i had a routine appointment before work.  after he checked me, i was standing at the desk to make my next appointment when i felt like i wet my pants.  well, skip to the fun part...my water completely broke in the doctor's office.  everyone was in shock, especially me.  the dr. told me to drive straight to the hospital and have matt meet me there.  "are you sure i can't go home first and oh, i don't know, change, pack a bag, figure out daycare for jake???!!"  no, he said...go straight there.  So in type a fashion, i drove home, talking screaming on the phone to matt the whole way there all while my water was still breaking.

my mom and mita met me at home and matt was ready panicking as soon as i pulled up. we passed jake off to mita as i was uncontrollably sobbing about leaving him and feeling i didn't prepare him enough for what was happening (again, type a) and jumped in the car with my mom and headed to the hospital.  btw...at the signal on cherry and del amo is where we decided her name.  i know, so special, but hey we thought we had 5 more weeks.  jake wasn't named until 2 weeks before his birth...we wanted it to be equal.

we check in at the hospital and i've just soaked the 3rd pair of sweats.  fast forward a bit and i get into a room where we'll be for the next 24 hours waiting for her (all while my mom and matt torture me by eating in N out and jacks while i nibble on sugar free jello and cranberry juice).  no big contractions come by that night so they induce me.  next morning..still nothing.  i'm thinking at this point, why did she break my water if she still wants to chill in there for a bit?  well, answer is on its way.  at about 10am, after a long night sleeping in hospital chairs, matt decides to go home, get jake and bring him back to see me.  when jake comes, i can't hold my emotions.  all of a sudden, i'm not wanting him to share the limelight and i'm feeling like i wasn't ready for my "just me and him" time to be up.  i was completely irrational and hysterical.  my poor son just wanted some of my cranberry juice and to play with the hospital bed buttons.

so in "what happens to type a people when they try to control things" fashion, matt goes to take jake home and he's not gone but 30 minutes and i start bleeding...badly!  dr. is called, he checks me and in his cool as a cucumber voice, he says to the nurse, "i don't like this".  um, excuse me, what did you say?  hey, i'm over here...what was that?  he comes to my bedside, holds my hand and gently says, "we need to do a c-section...(pause) and we need to do it now."  um...my mind is reeling, i'm panicking, my mom is crying and MATT IS GONE!  WTH?!?!  dr. doesn't wait for my response and calls over the intercom, "CODE GREEN".  The next 5 minutes is something out of an ER reality show and i feel like i'm watching it happen to me from across the room.  6-7 nurses rush in and the rest is a blur.  "take your jewelry off", "put this cap on", "sign her", "drink this" "call down to the blood bank for her blood type". they're talking amongst each other in a hurried tone and i'm freaking the FU@K out.  i look at my mom who's frantically calling matt to rush back to the hospital all while trying to stay calm for me but i see the tears in her eyes.  this isn't what she wanted for me..for sophie.  this is a far cry from jake's smooth birth where we were all laughing and telling jokes for 12 hours in between contractions.

within 5 minutes, they're wheeling me to the OR by myself.  my mom stayed behind to wait for matt and i'm scared as hell that he's not going to make it in time.  i remember crying and telling the nurses as we're rolling down the hallway "please don't let me die, i have a 2 year old at home who needs me" (cue dramatics).

the next thing i know, i'm drugged up, feeling like i'm going in and out of consciousness and matt rushes through the doors and gasps.  ya see...they had already cut me open and the partition they put up so i can't see, was on the opposite side of where he came in.  sorry babe.  he's still a bit traumatized by my intestines on the table.  for as emotionally strong as matt is, the look that i saw in his eyes when i was going in and out, told me more than any "i love yous" he's ever uttered.  he was genuinely scared that he was going to lose me.  he kept tapping me to make sure i stayed with him all while trying to feel the joy of what was about to happen.  he's holding my hand while he watches them try to get her out (the partition that's successfully blocking my view was a little short for a 6'5" Samoan). i feel the tugging and pulling.  

i'm trying to stay with it.  

finally, we hear the cry.  she's here.       

recommitted

yes, i'm back. for that one of you that reads about my kids, i'm back.  its been too long since i've shared a funny/loving story about my family but my life has changed dramatically.  a little over 3 months ago, i had a daughter.  but more on that amazing blessing later.  i almost gave up blogging. as much as i love writing, sharing memories and just hearing myself "talk", i just couldn't find the time to sit down and commit.  and i won't even blame it on her because i have so much to share and every new memory that's made, i think about posting it on here.  it's just that i found myself longing for so much "me" time after she got here that i just couldn't sit down and commit.  any time i had a free 20 minutes (usually in 5 minute increments), i wanted to do other things like surf the web, say hey to peeps on facebook, watch my DVRd shows that are always trumped by cartoons OR my all-time favorite nighttime leisure activity...read my fashion magazines in bed with a bowl of ice cream.  so blogging has taken the backseat.  until now.  i am recommitted (thanks in part to a little birdie named autumn who continues to remind me with her blog why i started this in the first place) to posting snippets of my kids (yes, plural) so they, and i, have memories in print. 

okay, i'll admit it...i was wrong...about ALOT of things!  i always say that i was the best parent before i had children.  for someone like myself who is not judgmental or in people's business much, i sure had a lot of silent opinions about people's parenting...or lack of, especially when it came to snotty noses. "they must not be taking care of their kids if their noses are always running", says the mind of a non-parent. 

pause to take foot out of my mouth.

jake has had a runny nose now for 5 months.  yea, there were a few instances where it cleared up but only for a few days and then it was back.  i have done internet searches, doctor visits, experienced-parenting consultations, blog discussions, etc.  you name it and i can't figure out why that cute Marks nose won't clear up.  at one point i thought i figured it out...ALLERGIES!  he's got it coming from both sides of his DNA.  matt and his dad have them.  my dad and brother have them.  allergist appointment made.  skin test scheduled.  results...negative.  no allergies.  pediatrician says "you might just have one of those kids where their nose constantly runs and eventually he'll grow out of it."  carma's a bitch!

bus day with grandma

jake rode the city bus with my mom for the first time.  she loved that he knows and says "bus" and they read the book/song, "the wheels on the bus go round and round" every week.  so what does she do?  decides they're going to ride the bus down del amo to get some ice cream and then turn around and come back.  i have to admit that at first i wished i had thought of it but then again, you have to know my mom.  she was supermom when we were growing up and now she's supergrandma for jake.  she does so many educational and fun things with him and is always two steps ahead, of me, too.  so much of his well-roundedness comes from the time she takes to work with him the two days she has him and i appreciate it so much.  for all of five seconds i feel less than, but then i just thank god that she's still around to help me out as much as she does.  i strive daily to be as good of a mom as she was to jason and i growing up...

waiting at the bus stop

on the bus

the highlight of the trip...Baskin Robbins

animals have to eat, too

as you know by now, jake is OBSESSED with his animal figures.  he takes them everywhere, plays with them all day at home and sleeps with as many we'll let him.  well, now they break bread with him.  yes, that's correct.  they come to the dinner table, find a seat and proceed to eat whatever jake is eating or whatever jake is NOT eating.  this particular night, gorilla was sitting in eating spaghetti.  jake even shared his juice.  ah, the wonders of a two year old's imagination.  gotta love it.

  

jake's big boy room

now that jake is two, it's time for a big boy room.  well, not really, but he's expecting a sister in june and we need to switch their rooms.  so what better time to smooth the transition from only child to limelight sharer and from mommy and daddy's room to his own?  matt is always up for a challenge so he dug right into it.  our agreement compromise was that he had as much as i could let go full control over jake's new room and i had control over her nursery.  one visit to ikea (and a little pintrest browsing on my part) and our visions were in sync.  and just when it came time to decide on what we like versus what we can afford, in steps grandma jeanene who spoils jake beyond belief and buys him something weekly.  let's just say that our complete vision came true because of her.  early birthday present to jake from grandma?  a new room!  here are some pics of the process with final pics to follow when it's all completed.

transforming from guest room to jake's room

daddy's helper. 

 

jake's 2nd birthday continued

i'm a little late blogging about what we did on jake's birthday but life is just so busy right now.  more on that in future blogs. it started out a bit challenging but it turned out to be a wonderful day!  as i've said in previous posts, i am a planner, sometimes to a fault, and i get really excited about upcoming events.  not a problem until there's a glitch.  matt and i both took the day off and the plan was to take him to adventure city (amusement park just for toddlers) and then to farrell's ice cream parlor.  (scoop on farrell's: when i was little my parents took jason and i there for birthdays and i have so many fun memories of that place.  they went out of business and i remember wishing they were still open so i could take jake.  well, a few months ago when i was meeting natalie halfway at a mall in mission viejo for lunch, i saw a sign that said farrell's.  i might have screamed.  long story short, they started opening back up for business in 2009 and there are four in southern california...one in brea, 20 minutes from our house. woohoo!)

so on the morning of his birthday, beaming with excitement for my his day, i find out adventure city is closed.  so what does a overplanning, pregnant mom do?  cry about the "ruined" day...until once again (remember christmas eve?) matt reminded me what the day is about and that i'm about to ruin it.  ok, ok, but don't ever suggest chuck e. cheese as a birthday alternative and not expect me to lose it.  with that said, i pulled it together and we took him to a children's museum (which he loved...and didn't know the difference) and then off to farrell's which was the highlight.  they sang to him.  he had french fries, pizza and a big ice cream sundae.  day saved.  mom has some work to do.

happy birthday jakey!

leftover tears from a very aggressive girl taking a toy from him. let's just say that daddy wasn't happy.  not about the toy being taken but it being a girl that took it and him crying about it...lol

i cut out matt's face in this pic.  he had the "i'm not sure about him playing grocery shopping" look.

now for the finale...FARRELL'S

just like i remember

is it daddy's birthday, too?

worn out after a great day!