Our baby girl has arrived! I am pleased to introduce to you...Cecilia Jane Menor! She was born on June 29th, 2011 at 11:05 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 22 inches long, and she is just perfect!
Let me start by explaining how Cecilia made her entrance into this world. I had a scheduled doctor's appointment that Wednesday morning. At that point I was two days past my due date. I woke up that morning feeling fine, but quickly started feeling a little bit "funny". Todd came with me to my appointment and my doctor said I was about 3 cm. dilated. She had a pretty good feeling that the baby would be coming fairly soon, but scheduled me to come back on Friday if she had not arrived by that time. As I left that appointment I had a strong feeling I would be coming back to the hospital later that day. I wasn't sure if I was in labor, but I knew I felt differently. By 1pm that afternoon I decided it would be a good idea to head back to the hospital. Since Todd went back to work I had my Mom take me. By the time Todd made it I was having some pretty intense contractions and they were only getting worse. Luckily I was able to get my epidural fairly quickly, which made things much more bearable. Things progressed pretty fast at first. My Mom picked Olivia up from school and brought her up to the hospital to see us. We figured that the baby would be here within hours. Seems Cecilia had a different plan. My labor slowed down around 7cm and she became quite stubborn. Olivia had enough time to make it to soccer class and come back.
By then the nurses and doctors were a bit concerned with her heart rate and the fact that I was not dilating further. Luckily after a few changes of position we were able to get her to make a move. They were stilled concerned with her heart rate and had a feeling there was a cord wrapped around something. The doctor said it was time to get that baby out...pronto! After 5 pushes and a little help from a vacuum she made her grand entrance!
She was perfect! There was no cord wrapped around her neck...she was just taking her sweet time. Aside from a bump on her head from the vacuum she perfect in every way! While I was busy pushing out a baby Olivia was asleep on the couch next to me. In a room filled with nurses, a doctor, my Mom, Todd and I she slept through her sister's debut. She was in such a deep sleep that we had trouble waking her up to meet her sister. It was a long day for Olivia too!
The first thing we noticed when looking at our new baby girl was how much she looked like Olivia at birth. See for yourself...Here is a photo of Olivia as a newborn...
...and here is Cecilia...
I think they look a great deal alike! Cece is starting to develop her own look now, but many people still think she looks an awful lot like her big sister.
When it was all said and done and our little bundle had safely arrived we were too exhausted to decide on a name. It wasn't until the next morning that Todd and I officially settled on Cecilia Jane. We were also considering Hannah, but looking at her now I cannot see her as anything other than Cecilia.
We had a wonderful stay at the hospital. My nurses were amazing and very helpful. The food was equally as amazing, believe it or not. If I had not felt like I had been hit by a truck I would have thought I was at a 5 star hotel. We had a bunch of visitors come to meet Cecilia for the first time, including family members and close friends.
Cece's biggest fan so far, hands down...is her big sister! She has been bursting with love for her sister from the first time she held her. She showers her with hugs and kisses each day and tells me each day how much she loves her. My heart just melts!
After a delightful stay at the hospital it was time to head home and introduce Cece to her new digs. I was a little nervous about leaving the security of the hospital and starting life with two kids, but I knew the best I could do is take things one step at a time.
Cece is now just over two weeks old. We are slowly settling into a routine. So far she has been a model baby. She is eating like a champ and sleeping very well too. Call me crazy but she seems not to have her days and nights confused like babies typically do at first. I am getting up with her a few times each night, but she is giving me good 3-4 hours stretches of sleep at a time and I cannot ask for much more than that at this point.
Juggling the responsibility of two kids is definitely a challenge, but I am trying to adjust the best as I can. I have found that getting to bed at an early hour helps to make me a better Mom. I have to remind myself to be a little more understanding of Olivia and her behavior lately. This has been a major life change for her and although she is handling it like a champ she does have her moments when she wishes I was more available to her than I can be right now. Aside from having some trouble going to sleep at night she has handled everything very well and I am very proud of her. One thing is for sure...she sure loves her little sister!
For now I am going to enjoy my maternity leave. This is the last time I will be doing all of these "baby things" and I want to enjoy every second of it. I must admit...I am going to miss being pregnant and going through all of the "firsts" with a new baby, but I know in my heart that two kids is enough for me! The one thing I have noticed this time around is that I am much more relaxed. I am more confident in what I am doing and I think the baby responds to that. Maybe I am just lucky and she is just a REALLY good baby, but I think the fact that I have done this before makes a difference.
Lady Cecilia had her first doctor's visit this week and I am pleased to report that she has already gained one pound. She is now around 8 lbs. 10 oz. She is at the top of the charts in height and weight and the doctor said she is perfectly healthy. I could not be happier! I love my new family of four and I am so grateful to be blessed with such health and happiness! I am sure there will be bumps in the road, but for now I am loving every second of being a new mom once again!
Well I got my wish...I made it through Olivia's dance recital! It was well worth the wait. Our girl did amazing! It was a busy couple of days between my classes that were performing and getting Olivia ready for her performances, but I managed to get through it.
She breezed through rehearsal, so all that was left was for me not to go into labor before the big recital that night. Not only was I hoping to see Olivia's performances, but some of my kids had numbers that night as well and I really wanted to be there for them. We headed right home after rehearsal so I could take it easy before heading back to the school that night. Once I realized that I was in the clear and would make it through the night, or at least the next couple of hours, I breathed a sigh of relief. We arrived early that night so I could start to get Olivia ready. I wanted to make sure I had time to take a ton of pictures before the recital started. Her first performance that night was her tap routine. I could not get over how sweet she looked in her costume.
Since I am a teacher at Northeast School of Dance I typically stay backstage during the recital, but I managed to sneak out into the audience so I could catch her first dance. I snagged front row seats for my Mom and Todd so I had a great view of my sweetie. She performed her tap routine like a pro. I was very impressed with how well she remembered her dance.
I snuck out into the audience once again, as there was no way I was going to miss her first ballet performance. They danced to a Hawaiian version of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". I know I am doing a ton of bragging in this post, but I can't help myself. She just shined on that stage and I was so very proud of her.
Olivia's 3rd dance recital was a huge success and most importantly she had a great time. After coming on stage with all of the other dancers for the finale she was surprised with a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her Daddy, who was also beaming with pride.
I love the fact that my Olivia has developed a love for dance, just like her Mommy. I hope she holds onto to that, but if she loses interest I will be ok with that too. For now I am going to enjoy every second of watching her perform on that big stage in her cute little costumes. For months I worried whether or not I would be able to watch her perform, or if I would miss out because I would be stuck in a hospital bed. Well I made it and I am glad that I did. Now I am ready to have this baby!
