tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34131632878506352202011-12-01T22:17:12.616-08:00Leilanoreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-70563052252095427232007-07-10T22:44:00.000-07:002007-07-10T22:46:20.114-07:00

last night the baby slept for eight hours. in a row. meaning that Gavin and I also slept for as close to eight hours as our work and life schedules would allow.love her.my best friend's mom told me that my best friend was sleeping through the night at four weeks. so here's to hoping that Juniper will have a similarly glorious temperament.

Leilanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-9675760248940933662007-07-06T15:04:00.000-07:002008-12-11T01:33:33.253-08:00

I have completely failed at my goal to post every weekday. I could say that it's just too difficult to type with one hand. but the real truth is that I'm too busy enjoying her to write about her as of yet. so far, I'm just amazed at her. even now, as I'm writing this, I keep sneaking into the next room where she is sleeping to make sure she's still there. as my friend Stacy said, it's

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-3488910945242141762007-06-26T20:38:00.000-07:002008-12-11T01:33:33.696-08:00

I'm going to start writing up Juniper's birth story tomorrow, but here are some photos to tide you over for today. she has been a very sweet baby so far, cuddly and consolable and truly a delight. we'll see what the next few weeks have to offer, however.here is the closest thing to a smile we've gotten so far:Juniper's swaddling blankets (thanks, Jen!) make her look like a little burrito:true

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-3889831927413921872007-06-25T21:39:00.000-07:002008-12-11T01:33:34.722-08:00

sorry the silence has been so deafening. every day I plan to get online; there's so much to share and record. but somehow each day passes in a blur of feeding, napping, and enjoying the strange little creature we've dubbed "Gollum." but I'm determined to catch up, to tell the stories of birth and the past few weeks before they fade into memory. so stay tuned.. I hope to get back to my plan

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-76255401345267812242007-06-07T15:05:00.000-07:002007-06-07T15:07:15.527-07:00

hi all! thank you all so much for your sweet comments, text messages, and phone calls. special thanks to Jen for keeping up with the blog for the last few days and even posting a photo. (no thanks to Gavin for his nice little joke ;).) also, Maudie has posted some additional photos here. our friend Jeff took some as well and I'll chat with him about how to make them visible to you. we are

Leilanoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-53270247154714988032007-06-06T16:13:00.001-07:002008-12-11T01:33:34.926-08:00

Leilanoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-51353936099402480802007-06-06T08:06:00.001-07:002007-06-06T08:06:58.268-07:00

the baby arrived at 1:25am. Mom, daughter, and Gavin are all well and resting.Details to follow in due course.

Leilanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-1137191445475367322007-06-05T18:19:00.001-07:002007-06-05T18:48:38.356-07:00

jen again, writing for leila, as told to me by gavin.now day five!after getting a bit of assisted rest, if not actual sleep, last night in the hospital, leila went home in the morning for a couple of hours before she and gavin returned to the hospital for a previously scheduled non-stress test (a check of heart rate and fluid levels typically performed when babies are past their due date). during

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-1791298983478389202007-06-04T21:32:00.000-07:002007-06-04T21:33:59.008-07:00

click here for nude pictures of jen.

Leilanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-46351996382738762932007-06-04T21:00:00.000-07:002007-06-04T21:13:57.846-07:00

kidz,Gavin posted that last one *as though* Leila was posting (she was blissed out on morphine at the time...way to get her while she's down Gavin). this is Jen posting as leila, with whom i just spoke. she is now at 4cm and she and Gavin had a second deal, that if she doubled down her dilation by 9pm (which she has done (now 4cm!), I am just posting after 9pm) they would ditch Thistle entirely

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-72881958595651621982007-06-04T16:08:00.000-07:002007-06-04T16:17:53.411-07:00

Now 3 centimeters dilated!so things are moving along - finally. got checked out at the hospital prior to being "put to sleep," and lovely nurse Lisa found i was 1 cm dilated. then she checked with a second finger & i popped out to 3! can't tell you how happy that makes us. so the last 24 hours of contractions have been doing their job. even though i'm starting to dilate, still decided to get

Leilanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-2012472433817224322007-06-04T13:56:00.001-07:002007-06-04T13:58:14.007-07:00

hey all, after comparing all of our options, we've decided to head into the hospital for a few hours of artificial sleep. this seemed like a good option in that some 84% of women go into labor within ten hours of going down. also, I haven't slept more than about thirty minutes at a time since Wednesday night, so getting a little rest will no doubt help make labor more successful. we'll let you

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-76339730871173094592007-06-04T10:06:00.000-07:002007-06-04T10:11:33.793-07:00

hey all. fourth night with no sleep :). it's been hard to sit still to type--sorry for the lack of updates. we're discussing our options at this point. hang in there--we hope to have news soon!btw, I guess what we're going through is called "prodromal labor." apparently some--perhaps many?--women don't experience pain during this phase at all (and possibly lots of women just skip it). our

Leilanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-29259802295588407472007-06-03T07:12:00.001-07:002007-06-03T07:36:08.042-07:00

we had a third night of contractions and no extended sleep :). at the peak, contractions were four minutes apart. now they've moved back to about fifteen minutes apart. I think we'll be calling the doula today to possibly come over and help with pain management and see what she can tell about our progression and what to do to get things moving forward. I am getting very tired, which is a bad

Leilanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-85337988690177392912007-06-03T01:01:00.001-07:002007-06-03T01:03:14.585-07:00

contractions have returned to a more frequent rate, between four and ten minutes apart. we're doing fine, feeling pretty normal, but wondering if we're progressing toward something or whether this set of contractions will stall out in a few hours. going to go get in bed now and see whether that works. more when we get up.

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-84762972022596901642007-06-02T10:23:00.000-07:002007-06-02T10:27:29.812-07:00

yay! I lost the cervical plug this morning and then tortured Gavin by showing it to him. if you're not sure what the so-called "bloody show" is, there's more information about it here. it's a symptom that the cervix is dilating, although it doesn't always mean labor (and, as my midwife told me yesterday, the lack of a bloody show doesn't mean you're not in labor).

Leilanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-20770474744111451972007-06-02T09:03:00.001-07:002007-06-02T09:11:15.878-07:00

contractions continued during the night, though neither close together nor in a consistent pattern (fifteen to forty minutes apart as far as I know). I slept in between each one and stayed in bed from about 10 p.m. through 8 a.m. the sleep was great, since I hadn't been able to do much of it in the twenty-four hours before. compared to my other standards for pain (getting tattooed or having my

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-74095074392813453962007-06-01T18:53:00.001-07:002007-06-02T09:11:57.644-07:00

the contractions have gotten a lot more erratic, although they are quite intense. I spoke to the doula, midwife, and acupuncturist, all of who encouraged me to get as much rest as possible. the midwife says it's totally normal for first time moms to go into labor and then stall for a while, even for a few days. so we'll see. for the moment, I'm just going to try to get some sleep tonight and

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-67418922891205483462007-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:002007-06-01T09:17:23.682-07:00

we seem to be stalled. I'm going to try sleeping. we'll keep you posted if anything changes.

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-63366891682042056492007-06-01T04:58:00.000-07:002007-06-01T07:31:43.004-07:00

slept for a couple of hours, waking up once and a while with contractions. they are still happening but seem a bit less intense. now that we're in daytime hours we'll contact the doula and other support people to see what we can do.

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-57408899439112955982007-06-01T03:18:00.000-07:002007-06-01T03:20:15.482-07:00

contractions are about seven minutes apart. they are intense, but when I'm not having them I feel normal (just a bit sleepy). watching a movie now. need to make it a couple more hours before I get Gavin up. talked to Dad, who's pretty sure it really is labor. I'm still not convinced because I feel so normal. can't sleep, though. will keep you posted.

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-78369373474362376932007-06-01T01:28:00.001-07:002007-06-01T01:30:57.876-07:00

hey all, it's hard to tell for sure, but we may have entered early labor. I've been having uncomfortable contractions for a few hours now (since around 10--it's now 1:30 a.m.), and while they aren't regularly spaced, they are close together (five to fifteen minutes apart). so far nothing's felt unbearable and I was even able to doze off between contractions for a while. might be up for the

Leilanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-66774123962869864402007-05-31T20:27:00.000-07:002007-05-31T20:39:30.268-07:00

although I have not yet delivered a baby, I have been making progress on that giant list of THINGS I REALLY NEED AND WANT TO DO. high on the top of that list is writing and sending thank you notes for this past year (mainly for the wedding and the multiple wonderful baby showers our very kind friends and family threw for us). it's amazing and embarrassing that I still haven't gotten those notes

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-23530565084190910762007-05-30T13:23:00.000-07:002007-05-30T13:28:29.678-07:00

hi everyone! thanks for the comments and phone calls. I saw the doctor this morning and she said all is well. she thinks the baby is about eight pounds (but that's a huge guess--the baby could really be any size) and in perfect position for labor. the baby's heart rate sounds strong and they don't anticipate any problems in spite of the fact that we're "overdue." (apparently, having a baby

Leilanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-72274484216106165062007-05-29T19:59:00.000-07:002007-05-30T07:39:16.776-07:00

so sorry for the delayed post today--I haven't had any time to myself up to now. Carter's coughing got way more intense last night and finally I decided to wake him up and give him some cough syrup. that preceded an hour or so of serious nose bleeding. by the time he finally got back to bed, Gavin was already up for work. we decided to let Carter sleep in and then take him to the doctor, so I

Leilanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-80315537443613266922007-05-28T14:43:00.000-07:002007-05-28T14:51:07.224-07:00

hi all. just a quick note to let you know that although contractions and cramping have increased, there's still no baby at this time. I am alternating between extreme shock that there will soon be a baby and disbelief that a baby will ever arrive (we've been waiting for so long that it's just surreal to think that soon--very soon--the waiting will be over). last week when I was washing all the

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-42541291080892393412007-05-25T13:49:00.000-07:002007-05-25T14:07:08.146-07:00

over the last couple of days, we have been washing (in special baby detergent) every piece of clothing or bedding we have purchased or been given for the baby. (I have heard that this is good to do to protect sensitive skin from the chemicals in the fabric.) people, this baby is not yet even born and this project required five loads of laundry. five! looks like we are having the Imelda Marcos

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-84375890725912357232007-05-24T15:05:00.000-07:002007-05-24T15:09:44.616-07:00

I seem to still be muddling my way through this flu and now have pretty much lost my voice. that's divine punishment! still, on the upside, I've gotten a lot of rest and reading done (though I'm having a very difficult time sleeping during the night). one of the novels I've recently completed is Anna Quindlen's One True Thing, a book about a woman in her early 20s who returns home to care for

Leilanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-30936882467854833222007-05-23T16:57:00.000-07:002007-05-23T17:03:27.859-07:00

sorry for the late update--this is the first moment I've had at home all day. I've been feeling quite flu-ish and out of it all day. then my dad told me that if I have the flu, the baby does, too. thanks, dad, that really helps.everything was fine at my prenatal appointment. the baby has moved closer to a central position (more ideal for delivery) and her heart rate sounds good. my blood

Leilanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-90206798476717918782007-05-22T08:47:00.000-07:002007-05-22T08:54:45.770-07:00

just wanted to share a few quick health updates before I go back to bed. I've caught some sort of cold and am sneezing, coughing, and generally feeling woozy. I'd really love to nip this one in the bud before going into labor! luckily, it does not seem to be developing into strep, which I'd initially feared, so I'm sure some rest and lots of liquids will help a lot.this weekend during

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-18384054590690049812007-05-21T08:28:00.000-07:002007-05-21T08:54:29.053-07:00

I never felt much like an American until my first stint of living in London. in a way, I'd always distanced myself from "my country," focusing on all the ways it didn't reflect my politics or values. but after a couple of months overseas, I started to develop a better sense of the cultural differences, both subtle and obvious, between my home and my place of residence. I guess it's not such a

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-51607300934272448892007-05-18T08:22:00.000-07:002008-12-11T01:33:35.263-08:00

yesterday was an awesome day. not only did I have a great swim with no faint feelings, but I also managed to do dishes and laundry and get the house ready for my brother and his girlfriend to stay with us tomorrow night (they're coming to town for Bay to Breakers, which Gavin will be running with them and Carter and I will be watching). this (the cleaning) is a triumph because there are many

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-48305714393886917702007-05-17T10:11:00.000-07:002007-05-18T08:41:59.493-07:00

hey all,sorry for the move, but I've heard from some of you that you'd like to leave comments on these posts. if you decide to leave a comment, click the link at the bottom of the post that says "0 comments" (or "1 comment," or two, or three!). this will pop open a window that allows you to comment in a variety of ways. you will need to complete the "word verification" field to post your

Leilanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-12644851069811712042007-05-17T09:55:00.001-07:002007-05-17T14:21:40.981-07:00

yesterday was a nice, but tiring, day. I had a prenatal visit and also saw my acupuncturist. I even managed to get to prenatal yoga class before my morning was over. in the afternoon I took Carter to therapy and then we went to get him a haircut at this adorable kid's place near the Mission Street Safeway. we waited over an hour but it didn't seem to matter because there were so many cool toys to

Leilanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-56136143338985066472007-05-16T09:54:00.000-07:002007-05-17T09:55:16.664-07:00

almost exactly three years ago, an important trip to Seattle coincided closely with the due date of a friend's son. this friend had invited me to attend her baby's birth, and I truly wanted to, but I knew that birth days are hard to predict. I went to Seattle for the weekend hopeful that I would not miss the big event, and indeed she went into labor as we boarded the plane to come home. I arrived

Leilanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-1824219574848341062007-05-15T09:54:00.000-07:002007-05-17T14:24:57.277-07:00

yesterday was a tough day. we hadn't slept very much the night before, and we'd had a very busy (probably too busy) weekend, and so I spent much of the day yesterday taking a few steps and then stopping to rest or retreating back to bed. later in the afternoon I went to yoga and actually felt a lot better--I think the amount of time in vinyasa class spent with one's head facing the floor really

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-11799138906377920972007-05-14T09:53:00.000-07:002007-05-17T09:54:09.745-07:00

after last week's email and post, a number of you wrote back and said things like this: "i just hope the url is indicative of the final naming choice!" an equal number countered with comments like this: "A big sigh of relief when I read the last line of your blog." and one of you, whom I still haven't forgiven, said this: "you are totally caving on the name."the weekend went fine. I had a bad

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413163287850635220.post-92150140840848017182007-05-11T09:53:00.000-07:002007-05-17T09:53:48.960-07:00

hey all! I'm going to try to use this website over the next couple of weeks to post updates on my overall health, our imminent labor, and hopefully the baby's arrival. I will even try to update the site when we eventually go into labor!I'm trying this out because between sleeping so many hours of the day and being busy with various aspects of prenatal care, acupuncture, and baby preparation (not

Leilanoreply@blogger.com0