What a Difference a Year Makes

August 4, 2009

August 4, 2010

What a year it has been. From the worry and anticipation, to the pain of labor, to the
undying love we feel for our sweet boy. Our lives will never be the same and that is okay with me!

rockin' and ROLLIN'

Seth has been working on it for a few days now, and has finally had success! He rolled from his belly to his back for the first time. He was so proud of himself! He is growing up sooooo fast.

Sea World

For our 5th Wedding Anniversary we decided to go to Sea World. Sea World holds a special place in my heart because that is where we got engaged. We were super excited to take Seth with us to celebrate such a special day! We got up in the morning and breakfast then let Seth take a nap before we headed out.

Once we got there, we bought our passes and headed in. We saw the dolphins (my favorite) and then got our seats for the Shamu show. The show was packed and Seth did okay. He is not a fan of clapping so he got scared a few times, but other than that he did fine.

I really wanted to see the new Dolphin show, but it was filled up 45 minutes before each show. I guess I will have to wait until next time. Instead, we just walked around and enjoyed all of the exhibits. We saw the Arctic exhibit, the sharks, and we got to see them feeding the penguins.

We bought season passes so we are hoping to go after the summer when it is less crowded!

San Diego Zoo

Last week we took Seth on his first trip to the Zoo. I was a little nervous because we had never been away from home that long and I didn't know how he would react. I was worried he wouldn't eat or nap, but I was wrong. Everything was fine and we all had a great time! The worst part of the trip was the car ride. Seth hates the carseat, so we made a pit stop at In N Out to rest and eat.

Once we got to the zoo, finding parking was a pain so Stephen dropped us off at the entrance and met us inside once he got us a spot. Once everyone was inside, we met up with my parents and took the bus tour. It was nice to see most of the zoo on the tour.


After the bus tour we walked around and saw so many great animals. Seth took a nap in the Moby and woke up just in time to see the Pandas. He really enjoyed riding in his stroller all day.




We stayed until about 6:30. We headed to our hotel where Seth ate and knocked out for the evening. Stephen and I ordered room service and turned in for the night. Next stop: Sea World!

July 4th

Our 4th of July was pretty uneventful. We spent most of the day at home relaxing. We watched some TV, and just relaxed as a family. In the afternoon we headed to my parents. My dad BBQ'd some delicious tri-tip and chicken. We packed our swim suits, but didn't ever make into the pool.We wanted to watch Zach light off fireworks, so everyone headed over to Stephen's parents house. It was fun to watch Zach's firework extravaganza, complete with sparkler races and strobe light dancing.

Seth was a champ, I put him in the Moby and he slept through the whole thing.

Father's Day

This year, was Stephen's first chance to celebrate Father's day for himself. We had a great day! Seth and I got up early, headed to the grocery store and bought lots of goodies. We came home and made Stephen fresh coffee and banana pancakes. While he enjoyed his breakfast and the newspaper, I made spicy cilantro salad dressing (like from El Torito) and a pasta salad for our afternoon BBQ.

In the afternoon we headed over to my Mom and Dad's for a BBQ and swimming. The pool was heated so even Seth, was able to enjoy the pool. Stephen's parents were able to come too, so it was a great day spent with the whole family.

2 months old

Where has the time gone? We are currently in a waiting period with our insurance, so his 2 month appointment isn't until July 7th. I will have to post then with his measurements!

Tummy Time

Seth is not the biggest fan of tummy time, but we make him spend time on his tummy every day. It seems to be paying off because his neck is getting so strong. We try to do tummy time for at least 10 minutes at a time and at least 5 times a day. After that, he just gets mad and cries, so there is no point. Here are a few pictures of my strong boy!

Balloon and Wine Festival

The first weekend in June was the Annual Balloon and Wine Festival in Tememcula. We have been going for years, and this year was no different. It was Seth's first camping trip and he did great! We camped at Pechanga with the rest of the family and didn't make it into the festival this year, but we still had a great time chatting with family and sampling wine in camp.

It was pretty warm, so Seth spent a lot of time in the trailer with the AC on. He loved all the attention he got from Grandma and everyone else. We already booked our spot for next year. Can't wait!

Sunday=Funday

Last week, Grandma and Grandpa Lopera were in town so my mom and dad had a BBQ and pool party at their house. The weather was beautiful and dad heated the pool so everyone could swim and enjoy the day. Even Seth wanted to get in on the fun. We also enjoyed some Sprinkles cupcakes to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Our First Mother's Day

What a wonderful day it was! Every year for Mother's Day, all of the women in my family go to Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa and spend the day sunning and being pampered. I was so excited to go this year and celebrate being a mother. Unfortunately that didn't work out, but I still had a great day!
Stephen got with Seth in the morning and gave him a bottle so I could sleep a little longer. Then he made me yummy french toast with fresh bread from Panera. Seth (and Stephen) surprised me with a beautiful bracelet from Tiffany's. What a special gift that I can wear every day and celebrate the love I have for my son.
Since I couldn't make it to the spa for a day of pampering, Stephen, Seth, and I went out to the spa anyways to share a picnic lunch with our moms and the other ladies in my family. Everyone enjoyed seing Seth and we had some really tasty food. After lunch, we stopped at the mall so I could do some shopping at Nordstrom. We also had a Cinnabon (the only way I can get Stephen to shop is to promise him food!)
We spent the afternoon at home relaxing and then had dinner at Stacey and Luke's house. It was so strange to me this year. Mother's Day has never been about me. This we tried to make sure we honored our moms, but it was so nice of Stephen to make me feel appreciated and loved.

A Week of Firsts

Last week was quite a busy week in our house. It is so amazing how quickly Seth is changing. Every day is something new and amazing. I can not even put into words how much we love him.

Seth's stump finally fell off this week so he was able to start tummy time. We try to spend at least an hour per day doing tummy time. He is holding his head up pretty well, but slams it down suddenly, so we have to watch him carefully. He is also pushing well with his feet. We have lots of bright colored toys that he likes to focus on too.

Seth also had his first bottle this week. Stephen gave it to him and he did great! He is now taking one bottle a day. I think Stephen really likes spending time with Seth and bonding with him.

Seth also took his first real bath which went surprisingly well. He absolutely hated sponge baths, so we were nervous for bath time. He loves his bath now! He will just sit there happy as a clam. His favorite part is having his hair washed. He could still do without the lotion massage after, but a big improvement from before.

I am looking forward to my first Mother's Day this Sunday!

Breastfeeding Woes

I knew that breastfeeding was going to hard, and I knew it was going to take some getting used to, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for what a battle this was going to be.

Let me start by saying that I have never once wanted to give up. It is hard and I have cried about it and lost sleep over it, but I really want this to work, so I am trying my hardest to stay dedicated and committed to making it work.

Seth had some latching problems in the beginning which caused some cracks and bleeding. I have seen the LC a couple of times and things seemed to work perfectly when we were there with her. Seth would be calm and relaxed and latch perfectly. As soon as we would get home, he would be thrashing around, pulling away, and would suck so hard, tears would come to my eyes.

We have finally worked out our latching problems. I have been trying to wake him and feed him more often. He seems less hungry and less eager to attack me like a baracuda. Now that we have all of those problems worked out, I am pretty sure I have thrush.

Seth and I have appointments scheduled tomorrow and Thursday to make sure and get the proper treatment.

In the mean time, I am going to have to trust everyone that this is going to get easier, and just keep pushing through.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

The first 2 weeks

Seth was born two weeks ago and I am happy to say that we are all still alive! It has definitely been a big adjustment, but we are loving every moment of parenthood.

The first couple of days while we were still in the hospital were rough. We had way too many visitors in the hospital, which was quite stressful. Everyone wanted to come and see our perfect little baby, we completely understand that, but Seth was already having difficulty eating, and this only made it harder. When we have our next baby, we are seriously considering asking everyone to wait until we get home to come and visit.

We found out that Seth and I have two different blood types which meant he was more prone to developing jaundice. The doctors at the hospital decided to be proactive and start Seth on phototherapy the day after he was born. After a day of visitors, we had to put our baby in a little tanning bed all night. This made him miserable. He couldn’t be wrapped up, or snuggled, and he had to wear these little blinders over his eyes. The phototherapy and jaundice made him very sleepy. So sleepy that he refused to eat. He wouldn’t breastfeed and he refused a bottle.

So many visitors

Poor Seth under his phototherapy lights

Saturday was the day I was going to be discharged and we hoped Seth would be too. We took advantage of the phototherapy and kept Seth under the phototherapy lights all day. They were concerned about Seth’s weight loss, but they still let him come home with us. We had multiple doctor visits his first week to check on his Jaundice and weight, but everything is looking good now.

Stephen went back to work and Seth and I are doing well at home. I haven’t been brave enough to take him out much, but I am getting there. He is eating much better and we are trying to keep our visitors to a minimum; just a couple people each day. We are all much happier that way.
It is amazing to me how much he has changed already. I really do miss being pregnant, but I wouldn’t trade my sweet little guy for anything in the world. We are so deeply in love with him, he just melts our hearts.

He's Here!!!

I guess it all started early Tuesday morning. I started seeing (and feeling) some signs that Seth would be coming soon. I had a Doctor’s appointment that afternoon and I was dilated to 2.5cm. I continued having contractions all day Wednesday, but nothing that was consistent or timeable. We watched a movie on Wednesday (actually, Stephen watched it and I slept through most of it.)
I woke about around 1:30AM from my contractions. I stayed awake for several hours and timed them. I was starting to get excited that they were happening regularly and getting more and more intense. The contractions were lasting about 90 seconds and were happening every 10-11 minutes. I tried to sleep as much as possible, but that was not easy task. I think I got a total of 2 hours sleep that night.
When I woke up on Thursday morning, we both kind of knew that we were going to have a baby. I got up and took a shower and did my hair, while Stephen mowed the lawn and did a few last minute things around the house. Around 9:30AM my contractions picked up. They were now coming every 5-7 minutes and were lasting about a minute. I called Labor and Delivery while Stephen took a shower and they recommended that I come in. Once Stephen was ready, we had to stop by the post office to mail our taxes, got Stephen some lunch and headed to the hospital.
We got to Labor and Delivery at 11:30AM. We were taken to triage, where I was hooked up to the monitors and checked. I was dilated to 4.5cm so they were going to admit me. We had to hang out in triage for awhile while they prepared my room for me. At 1:30PM I was moved to my room. They started my IV and got me re-hooked up to all of the monitors. After about an hour the Doctor came in and said everything was looking good. My contractions were starting to come quicker and last longer.
I was checked again at 4:30PM and much to my disappointment I was only dilated to 5cm. After 4 hours (15 if you count when they started) of strong, painful contractions, I had only progressed half a centimeter. At this point the doctor was concerned that I was not moving fast enough. He wanted to start me on pitocin and break my water to help things along. It was at that point that I decided to get my epidural. The epidural was not as bad as I thought it would be, but it was hard to breathe through the contractions without moving.
Once I had my epidural (around 5PM), my Doctor broke my water and they started the pitocin. The epidural was wonderful; I think it really helped me to relax. An hour and a half later (6:35PM) the nurse came in to check me and I was dilated to 7 and almost completely effaced. What a relief we felt, knowing that I was finally making the progress I needed to. My contractions were coming pretty fast and furious by this point; luckily I couldn’t feel a thing! They decided to check me again at 7PM and I was dilated to 9cm. Seth was still pretty high, so we had a little bit of waiting to do.
At 8:25PM they said we had about 10 minutes left before we had to start pushing. It was at this point that all of our visitors left. It was really important to Stephen and I that we shared this special moment with only each other. At 8:40PM I started pushing. I pushed three times with each contraction. At 9:00 the nurse asked me stop and ran to get the doctor. I guess the doctor was in the middle of delivering another baby so I had to lay there for about 10 minutes and wait. The doctor arrived and I only had to push twice.
Seth Allen Moore was born on Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 9:17PM. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces and is 22 inches long. He is absolutely perfect in every way. I cannot wait to see how wonderful life is going to be with him in it.

My last belly picture on our way to the hospital. 39 weeks 6 days

So tired of having my picture taken.
The cutest little man EVER! Daddy getting to hold Seth for the first time.
Our first family photo.

38 weeks

* How far along?: 38 weeks 2 days (Happy Easter!!).
* Total weight gain: +28
* How big is baby?: Probably close to 7 pounds.
* Maternity clothes?: My belly is starting to stick out so far that some of my maternity shirts are too short and some of my pants are digging into my belly. If I don't leave the house, I stick to jammies ;)
* Stretch marks?: Yes. They have been under my belly button since 30 weeks and they are starting to circle around my belly button now.
* Sleep?: I am not sleeping so great anymore. I still get a good amount of sleep, but I seem to wake up from 4-6 every morning then go back to sleep. Weird.
* Best moment this week?:Spending time with my family for Easter. I also finished my last load of baby laundry. The room is ready, we just need a baby to put in it!
* Movement?: Less and less. His movements are slow rolls now, not so many kicks and punches.
* Food cravings?: Nothing lately, but I still eat a lot of cereal.
* Labor signs?: Just braxton hicks. About 4 an hour.
* Belly button in or out?: I don't think it is going to pop out, but it is more shallow than it used to be..
*Sex? It's a Boy!!! ***Seth Allen***
* What I miss: Sleep and wearing high heels.
* What I'm looking forward to: Meeting my sweet baby boy.
* Milestone: I am now "full term" so I am just patiently waiting for Seth to arrive.