My Hiking Baby

Emma had her first hike today! 

She had no complaints, except maybe being strapped to her sweaty daddy.

She had her first true taste of paradise.

 It doesn't get much better then this!

Lyon Arboretum

Wanting to start out easy for Emma's first big outing, we headed to the Lyon Arboretum in Manoa.

 The day was a little bit cloudy with sprinkles of rain so I didn't feel as bad putting her into the hot Ergo. 

She had a great day. Slept the whole time.

ONE Month Old

This month has been the happiest month of my life...  

(picture courtesy of a friend)

Emma,
I feel like just in this month you have grown so much. You are starting to fit into your newborn clothes finally. You will no longer be the baby just in a diaper even though I can already tell you hate getting dressed. You are really doing well with holding your head up to look around. You are just loving all the walks we go on with Bolo. They put you right to sleep. You also love bath time. Now that you are able to soak in the water I can tell it feels good to you.

Getting Back to Life...kinda

I wanted to head to the beach this weekend for a bbq, but with the clouds and wind we decided that it might not be such a great idea.

 Instead we went for a long walk to check out the view.

After that we grabbed some lunch and popped a squat at a beach and tryed to eat without getting blown away. It was extremely windy which brought out the kite boarders. They always put on a nice show.

Emma is coming up on 1 month old.
I can't believe it!

Enjoying the sunny days.

Sleepy Time

I can already see a few quality's in Emma that reminds me of Mike or myself. 

I have yet to figure out who she takes after with the hands over the head position while she sleeps. 

I'm loving it though!

Baby Talk

I never thought I was actually ever going to be a mom. 

Well, the thought was there and I of course always "said" I wanted kids but I really didn't see it in my future. Its never a good time....nor did I ever want to give up my life to raise a family...in till now!

Emma has changed everything. 

Iv only had one baby (obviously), so I'm comparing her to nothing, but in my mind she has been pretty easy... so far.
 Just a couple of things that we have been struggling with/working on.
 She is not a huge fan of her diaper being changed. I think she is a little uncomfortable laying flat on her back so we try to do this deed as quickly as possible. 

Also, she is great during feeding time. I fed her from a bottle for the first time yesterday and she had no problems at all. As long as she is getting food it doesn't matter what it comes out of. She does tend to spit up quite a bit. The doctor says that baby's that have the hiccups often spit up more then normal....and boy does she get the hiccups! Its been a little frustrating for myself because breastfeeding is still a little uncomfortable (hurts like hell), so when she looses her lunch after the pain I have endured, makes it kinda disappointing...I'm not giving up though!

We don't have a great sleeping routine yet and I'm not really sure how to change that (is it even changeable?). She is definitely a night owl. She wakes up during the night to eat about every 2-3 hours, but when it takes 45min-1hour just to get her back to sleep its been a little tiring.

We have just been hanging at the house for the most part sense she was born.
This weekend is suppose to be beautiful so my plan is to take her to on her first (low key) hike. The Ergo carrier that I have seems a little hot. With the infant insert plus the actual Ergo itself, I'm not sure if that's the best carrier for Hawaii weather.  We wont be staying to long if we are going to have a sweaty baby. I'm looking into other (cooler) fabrics for alternatives but haven't nailed one down yet.

 And because Bolo is still my baby too...

Latley....

My life has been all about baby lately, so I come with a couple more pictures of her. 

But soon, I plan on getting back out into my Hawaiian adventures...carrying an extra two feet.

(A friend came over and took these adorable pictures of lil Emma. Only 4 days old, she still has the pokes from blood drawn on her little heel)

Baby girl had her first beach experience today.
Its kinda of a long walk to get to the beach where we can take Bolo with us too, so I didn't want to wake her by putting her feet in the hot sand and the cold water. We will just save that for another day.

We are still getting Bolo used to being a big brother. Hes doing really well though.
Photoshoot in the future.

In other news...We have been waiting and waiting to hear the future of Mikes career.
This morning we have gotten word.
Mike has been selected for career designation.
With the Marine Corps downsizing its been a little scary not knowing if he would be staying in or not.  
I'm so proud of him.
At least 8 more years.
I cant wait to find out where we will move next!

A couple of First's

First Hand Hold

First Diaper

First Bath

First Car Ride

First Bath at Home

First Walk

First Visitor

I am no pro!

Pintrest makes me believe I can do anything!

And what a lie that is!

I tried to duplicate some of the cute pictures I have recently pinned, but needless to say I will probably be doing a redo soon.

 This was the first day that we had introduced a pacifier... and she just wouldn't go without it,

Before...

 After

I need to learn how to photo shop!

Like I said...I am no pro!

Emma's Birth

I am so in love!

  It all started around 1am Thursday (Feb 27) morning. Yes, that is 10 days before my actual due date so I wasn't really expecting much. Mike had been getting up extra early lately so I didn't want my usual not being able to sleep effect him, so I made my way downstairs to try to get a little more comfortable.
  The day before, I had felt that I was coming down with a little cold so I contributed the aching in my body to be that. Little did I know a few hours later I would be doing some heavy breathing.
  After about 3 hours of tossing and turning on the couch I made my way back upstairs to jump in the shower and try to sooth what now is cramps that just wont go away. I was a little in denial when Mike asked me if this was it.
  I wanted to stay home as long as I could to try to be a little more comfortable when labor started but things changed when I was positive for GBS. We got in the car and headed to the hospital hoping to get there before my water broke.
  They checked me in to monitor if I was actually having contractions and sure enough, this was it. We had to wait around a little in triage while my room was being prepped. About 5 hours after we first walked into the hospital I was finally taken to the room that I was about to birth my daughter in. All I wanted to do was take a bath and I now had the chance.
  I made the decision that it was now time to get the epidural. I tried to hold out as long as I could thinking I could maybe do this the all natural way....but holy cow! I went a little over 7 hours and that was LONG ENOUGH! To all those amazing women out there that have done it without any drugs...you are a beast!
  Feeling so much better after the beautiful needle that was put so lovely into my spine, I wonder why I waited so long.
  Finally around 8:00 pm, my doctor came in to check me and sure enough she said we should start pushing. She also asked that my epidural be turned down so I could feel more of what I was doing.  Umm... not too much please.
  Now with me not eating anything sense dinner the night before and being sick on top of it, I was really really tired. I felt like I pushed and pushed for hours but nothing was happening. She took matters into her own hands and had to use a little vacuum on poor Emma...but there she was...at 9:33pm, we had a daughter.

OK, so can we just talk about this island having NO wall clocks for sale!  I sent Mike out to go search for one and he came back with a digital alarm clock after he said he went to 3 different stores...and the alarm clock was just not cutting it. 

Putting the time will just have to do.

Update

My daughter is a week old today. 

A WEEK OLD!

I cant believe it!

 Emma has been the sweetest thing ever.

I cant believe she is all mine. 

 We have been trying our best to get in the swing of things. Everything just takes a whole lot longer so she forces me to slow down and chill out. Just getting ready to take Bolo for a walk means making sure she has a clean diaper (she hates changing time so she is upset after), fed (which takes approximately 30 min or sometimes longer), putting her in the stroller or Ergo (praying that she is still happy enough to get out of the door), and the we are off. The whole routine takes a good hour just to take a walk. 

On the topic of Bolo, hes adjusting somewhat. He still seems to get upset when she is crying. Him still being unsure makes me not quite trust him yet, so its a work in progress.  He does make it a point to sit with me in the middle of the night when I am feeding her which I love.

 Mike was able to take leave for 10 days and it has been so nice. He has been really helping out and stepping up to be a great daddy. 

 I'm also feeling really good. I cant wait till Emma gets a little bit older so we can get back out in the Hawaiian sun. 

Shaka

I have a ton of updates I need write. Hopefully I can get to them soon before the months start flying by. 

Im a MOM!!!

I have yet to have time to sit down and write out all the details... but she is here!!!!

Emma Michele