Lessons from A Newbie

Happy Due Date to me! I cannot believe that I could have still been pregnant till now. I also cannot believe I have a two month old baby. It still weirds me out referring to Riya as my daughter. Look at her trying to hold her bottle already! She's growing so fast...

So far I learned quite a bit, and I'd thought I'd share, so here goes:

1. Sleep trumphs all. Yes, even showering.  

2. Rush Hour. I always feel like I'm rushing through everything now. This is especially true when it comes to eating or running an errand. Since I have to keep Riya on her schedule, I find myself devouring my meals in less than 10 minutes or rushing through the grocery store to make it back in time for her next feeding (and forgetting items along the way). Feels like I'm always racing against the clock.  

3. Watch out. It doesn't matter how fast you change her diaper, she will still manage to pee on you. I thought this was an issue for boys only…

4. Talk is cheap. I suck at baby talk y'all. My mom puts me to shame. For some reason, it just doesn't come naturally to me. So instead, I give Riya real talk. Like how she needs to meet Prince George and make him fall in love with her. You know, the important stuff. 

5. Milking it. I faced some horrid feeding challenges half way through but now those dark days are behind me (I hope). It's oddly exciting seeing how I have the ability to supply food for my baby. And in case you're wondering, no I have not tried my milk…

6. One step forward and two steps back. It's hard to get excited when she sleeps an extra hour at night or stays awake after every feed one day because by the next day we're back to square one. And I hear that for pre-term babies the milestones don't begin until after their real due date. God help me. 

7. Swaddling sucks. But it's the lesser of two evils. I rather her fight the swaddle for the first half hour than have her wake herself up from her hand hitting her face halfway through her sleep cycle.

8. Eight is not enough. Unless you plan on doing laundry every day (which it still feels like I do), eight of everything (blankets, burp cloths, bottles, etc) is not enough. 12-15 is more like it.

9. Let it out! Burping requires both skill and patience. After 6 weeks, I finally acquired both. I feel like an expert now, thanks to Riya.

10.  I have 5 visible gray hairs. Enough said. 

Tomorrow's my mom's final day with us. One month flew by! It's going to be an adjustment not having her here, but my in-laws will be coming in on the 18th, so can't wait for them to meet their granddaughter!

Flash Friday

Happy Friday everyone! We decided to take advantage of the cool morning air and take some outdoor pictures of baby girl. I created a website for Riya that you can log into and view anytime you want. The site info is :

https://riyaaiyer.shutterfly.com

Password: september12 (if you are a shutterfly member, you can use your your shutterfly password instead)

I hope to be able to update the site several times a week. The entire shoot from today is on there, but in the meantime here are some of my faves:

Happy Halloween!

Hope everybody had a fun Halloween! I'm sure the partying will continue for everyone this weekend. This is the first year I don't have a costume or anything planned. So it begins...

Last year for Halloween we were lucky enough to spend it in Scotland, where this fun holiday originated. We partied and boozed it up with our wonderful friends from the 'Deen. Oh, the memories...

This year, I bought candy for the trick or treaters, but we didn't get any (probably because we were at an event) :/  We took Riya to the Golf Club to attend the Halloween event they hosted for children. Baby girl slept through pretty much the whole thing (lol) but it was nice to get out and socialize for a little bit. Here are a few of my faves from the event. I'm working on a share site where I will post videos and pics for family and friends to view whenever they want. Will share the link once it's ready :)

Motherhood

Hello blogosphere! I feel like it's been ages since my last blog, but it was only 2 weeks ago...these days I don't even know what day of the week it is or the date. The weather outside is finally starting to cool down, which means high 80's instead of 104, yet I'm stuck indoors. I'm hope soon I will be confident enough to take Riya out for a stroll on my own to get some fresh air. Right now leaving the house is a two person job...

It's been a month since Riya has been home and today she's 6 weeks old. Surprisingly, motherhood has been quite challenging for me. Something I didn't expect. Everyone used to always tell me I was a natural and I think that got to my head a little. Well, let me just say this, it doesn't matter how much practice I've had with other babies or how much research I've done, motherhood is KICKING MY ASS.

I'm so thankful that I have an extremely patient and understanding husband who has been the brunt of many hormonal driven tantrums and breakdowns by yours truly. Not to mention my selfless mom who has been picking up the slack for me and making sure I rest as much as possible. No one ever tells you how hard it is once you are home with the baby and the challenges you face will feeding her and working in some sort of sleep routine.  Every mother I know conveniently glossed over the challenges they faced in those first few months (thanks a lot ladies) and made it look so easy. Turns out this is the hard part. "Hard" doesn't even begin to describe my plight at the moment.

Anyway, if it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. I'm just being honest about my experience. I feel like I could write a book. You know, talk about the stuff that no one ever tells you. But then maybe people wouldn't procreate....

So Halloween is upon us. One of my favorite holidays.  It will be interesting to see how this city celebrates Halloween. I have yet to come up (and attempt to get away to buy) a costume for Riya. Any suggestions? What are you dressing up as and doing for Halloween? 

Zero to Thirty

I'm going to try to be one of those moms that doesn't talk about her baby non-stop. But so far, I'm failing. I. AM. OBSESSED. Right now my world revolves around our princess, every 3 hours to be exact, so I really don't have anything else to talk about. Sorry folks!

I cannot believe that Riya is one month old today. It's amazing how time is managed as a mother vs a non-mother. Now-a-days, watching an hour long episode of a TV show seems like a huge waste of my time. I rather be sleeping or (gasp) folding her laundry. And it's also amazing how much I can accomplish in ten minutes!

Anyway, enough about my revelations for now. More on that later. Here's a snapshot of the best month of our lives:  http://youtu.be/qmHYEUTGawc

Grandma comes in town today and we cannot wait!

Welcome, Baby Riya

By now you know that Riya was born on September 12, 2013. She was born at the gestational age of 32 weeks, which is pre-term, but not a preemie. What's the difference? Preemies are born prior to 27 weeks and would need a lot more help breathing, eating, and basic functionality versus a pre-term baby. (Babies are considered full term at 37 weeks).  What a whirlwind the past 2 weeks have been! Here is my attempt at a recap.

Two weeks ago I went in to see the doctor for numbness and swelling. I knew they were symptoms of pregnancy but I wasn't sure if my level of numbness and swelling was normal. I was ready to just sit back and wait until my 34 week appointment with the doctor but Ram insisted that I just go in to make sure everything is alright. As we waited, we made a mental note to do another hospital tour that Friday. (We did one back in June but neither of us remembered anything).

So we met with the doctor and immediately she showed concern. I was shocked. She started saying my blood pressure was high, there was protein in my urine, blah blah blah, we are going to admit you to the hospital for observation for 24 hours. Wait....WHAT?!?! Both Ram and I were stunned.  Just 2 weeks ago my doctor told me I had a low risk pregnancy, aside from gestational diabetes. Now, all of a sudden the doctor was saying things like I will try to buy you days (not weeks) before we have to deliver baby girl.

Ram saved both mine and Riya's life that day.

My health was more at risk than the baby's and the only cure was to take the placenta out.  A million thoughts began running through my mind. I started going through my "To Do List" which was grossly incomplete and I began to panic. The baby clothes needed to be washed, my hospital bag was only half packed, the car seat needed to be installed, we needed to buy diapers & wipes, and Luca. What are we going to do with Luca?!

Two very long days passed and we were discharged with high hopes that we had at least 2 more weeks, until baby was 34 weeks old, before we considered delivery again. The minute we came home, I gave Luca a big hug and immediately started working on that "To Do List." Sadly, late that night I was re-admitted to the hospital. The following morning the doctor said it was time. There was no way we could wait another day without damaging my kidney and liver. I had 10 minutes to process the information. Those were the fastest 10 minutes I've ever experienced in my life. That was the first (and last) time I cried.

I would never know what it was like to go into labor. I would never feel the excitement that my water broke. I would never experience a contraction. Some people say I'm blessed that I didn't go experience those things. But I can't help but feel cheated. Don't get me wrong, the thought of labor scared the crap out of me, but it was still something I wanted to experience. I never imagined this was how my pregnancy would end. And I never expected to go home without my baby.

At the end of the day, I can't say that I'm sad Riya graced us with her beautiful presence. From day 1 she was a fighter and was breathing on her own. By day 10 she was maintaining her own body temperature and out of the incubator. The only concern was her weight. Baby girl is tiny.

Today would have been my 34th week of pregnancy. I didn't get a chance to do my bump shot, but this is much better:)

Yep, Riya came home today!!!! We are so proud of her and I finally feel like we can do this parenthood thing for real. I cannot tell you how obsessed with her I already am. She has truly changed our lives forever (and Luca's).

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...

A few weeks ago I began to panic. When I looked at the calendar and realized I only had 10 weeks (or less) before the arrival of baby girl, I felt wholly unprepared. I know first time moms will never be fully prepared to experience a newborn, but I still had 2 books on my ipad that I hadn't looked at. I kept telling myself, I have time to read those. Well folks, let's just say I feel like I'm cramming for a final exam.

At the very least I want to arm myself with information so that my "instincts" can kick in at the right moment. But another thought has been gnawing at me. These next 8 weeks will be the last time that it will be just Ram and I. (Luca doesn't ask for much, so he doesn't count in that department.) I feel like there are things we should be doing in these last few months to soak up some "us" time. Yet, night after night we find ourselves glued to the couch catching up on TV shows. Don't get me wrong, I know doing something mindless like watching TV will be something I miss in the near future, (and let's be honest, these days I can't really function after 9:30pm). But there is still a nagging "must do" list running through my head.

What to do in a city where it punishes you for being outdoors and offers nothing but eating, drinking & shopping? Now that the nesting phase is over, I need a new project. The expat activity groups don't start up again for another few weeks, so I'm starting to get really restless. (Why does school start so late here?!) I thing a Mahjong fix is in order...

One thing's for sure, I really miss traveling. I got so used to the jet setting lifestyle that I feel like I have an addiction- every few months I'm dying to explore something new. Of course we are already thinking about our first trip with baby in tow.  Should it be somewhere beachy and chill like the Maldives? Or should we just go for some adventure in Australia/New Zealand while the baby can't walk and talk? Decisions, decisions.