Happy 1 Month Old - Baby Micah!

I wanted to add a blog before the night is over because Micah turned a month old today. Wow it seemed like it went by so fast and yet some days seemed like it took forever. There are so many things I want to say so that I can look back on what I have gone through during the first month. Let's just say that it was the hardest thing I've ever faced in my life (even harder
than when my dad died) and yet so rewarding as well.

I would just like to dedicate this day and write a love letter to my beautiful son.

To my spirited son, I love you! You are such a sweetheart! You have taught me so much about being a mom already. Some nights are just so hard right now but once in a while you let me sleep 4 hours straight (well, that was just once this month :) oh well, it was such a treat. You are a lot of work but so worth it! Your gassy smiles just makes me forget all about the sleepless nights and emotional times I've had lately. Some days I'm good but some days I'm such a wreck (ask your Dad -- he will tell you). I can only imagine what he thinks of me some days. I'm just glad that he is so understanding and patient and loving. We are so lucky my young warrior...we live in a great country and have so many family and friends that love us. Soon you will meet them all. I look forward to many more birthdays. Happy 1 month Birthday my son!

Love always,
Mom

Week 3 - Update with Baby Micah

Well today is Micah's 3-week birthday. You can tell I'm such a new mom coz I'm totally so excited that it's already been 3 weeks! He now weighs 9.4 lbs and is growing like a weed.

I cannot beleive how fast they grow. He is more beautiful everyday....ok, handsome everyday :) I have been having some bad nights and one good night last night. It seems to me that burping is my nemesis right now. Is there a secret to burping that I don't know about? I have been up all night for the past couple of days because Micah has been so gassy and therefore he would fuss through the night. Last night we decided to give him 100 ml of breast milk that was pumped and lo and behold I was able to get 3 hours of sleep straight and then 2 hours added this morning. It is amazing how clear my head feels with a total of 5 hours of sleep. Anyway, I guess it will get better as they get older. Thank you all for your support, e-mails and comments and the many wonderful gifts that we have already received. We truly appreciate it.

Here is a picture of our little one with his Karate outfit that Grandma got him from the Philippines. He just melts my heart :)

Take care everyone!

Ciao for now,
K

Happy Mother's Day

I would like to dedicate this blog space to all the Mom's in the world. As a new mom, I am now able to understand and appreciate what it truly means to be a mother. It is a hard shoe to fill but so rewarding! I thank God everyday for my little bundle. He is truly amazing! Micah will almost be 3 weeks old this Wednesday and it seems like the first 3 weeks have been a blur already. Ok, let me correct that, a tough blur.

Anyway, all I want for mother's day is some sleep, a massage and peppermint hot chocolate....and last but not least to spend it with my family :)

To all the mums out there, Happy Mother's Day!

P.S.
Coming soon!
Check out Mark's blog for more pictures of our little Prince.

Week 2 - Happy 2 Weeks Old Baby Micah!

I cannot beleive 2 weeks have gone by already! All I can say is that it's been a tough week. There's so much to learn!

8 hours of sleep seems so far from reality right now. All I want is sleep. One 8 hour sleep and I'll be good. It seems like nothing feels right when you are averaging about 4 hours of sleep. Notice how I mention the word 'sleep' bizillion times. Anyways, enough of my complaining. I apologize for spelling or grammar mistakes...we'll just have to use sleep deprivation as my excuse.

Anyhoo, Prince Micah is doing well. Growing like a weed. I love him soooo much. My friend Jenn is so right...there is nothing like the kind of love that you feel for your baby. It is untouchable! I feel so blessed to be with him every single day. Mark and I are just soaking everything in because these moments are so precious and they do grow so fast. His cheeks are already filling out. He is already so strong and yes, definitely a little fighter and yet so sweet at the same time. Please check out the latest pic on Mark's blog: http://www.theesh.blogspot.com

Anyway, I'm tired. Hopefully I will be more positive next week.

Take care everyone!
K

Week 1 - Baby Update

Well.....If we can survive the first week I guess we can survive anything! It felt like Mark and I were in a daze...from sleep deprivation to breast feeding and to healing it seemed like the first week was soooo tough! I can only imagine what other Mom's go through that give birth to twins or get a c-section or get an epesiotomy. I am already having a hard time coping just with my minor tears.

Anyway, my Mom is hear to help us out and we are so releived! When she arrived it seemed like a tornado had just hit the house. From dishes being piled on the sink to clothes on the floor and just chaos everywhere, she came and cleaned like no body's business. She even washed our walls! I couldn't beleive it! We are so thankful to have good family support.

Yesterday was our very first walk with Micah to the park. My Mom was pushing the stroller and I was with Sammy and Cassy. We didn't go very far but it felt good to get out of the house and get some air and sun. It also felt weird walking around the same path that I used to walk when I was still pregnant. I just felt like everyone was staring at us because they finally see that I now have a baby. Also, a couple of my co-workers (Karen and Shelley) were driving by and saw us as we were on our way back home. Karen almost caused an accident pulling a U-turn because she wanted to take a peek at baby Micah. It was great to see them. I am looking forward to showing off Prince Micah to all of my co-workers and friends soon!

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. Talk to you in week 2. Hopefully week 2 will be better for us.

Ciao for now,
K

Update (Labour, Delivery and Baby)

Where do I begin? It feels like I just came from a different planet. I haven't been out of the house since last Wednesday (and that was stepping out of the hospital into the parking lot and driving 5 minutes to home). What an amazing experience we've had recently though. On Wednesday, April 26th at 1:01 p.m. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! His name is Micah James Ricardo Eshpeter. (The only reason I am able to blog now is that baby is happily sleeping and I should be sleeping too but I know so many people want to know what's up)

Well, it all started Tuesday night watching the Flames Game during the second period. Mark was warning me that I should take it easy with screaming and getting excited as it might put me into labour but I didn't listen. By 9 p.m. I went and peed and had what they call "bloody show" and so Mark and I checked out our Birth Class notes and it was under 'Start of Labour'. We couldn't beleive that we had started labour already... by 11 p.m. I started to feel contractions and they were 5 minutes apart and about 45 to 60 seconds long. We tried to stay home as long as I could possibly stand the pain -- by 2 a.m. we finally decided to go to the hospital. Once in the hospital they checked me and I was only 3 cm dilated (what a disappointment!) I was definitely trying to stay positive and to hold off on taking any drugs for as long as I could.. I managed to wait until 6:30 in the morning and I was about 6 cm dilated by then. Every time a contraction would come all I could think of was drugs to turn the pain off...so I asked for the laughing gas but that didn't do any good. By 7 a.m. I was totally in deep pain and so I asked for Morphin and Gravol. I kept on asking the nurse when does it kick in because I was still able to feel so much pain....Well, since that didn't dent my pain they finally asked if I wanted an epidural and I willingly agreed. They moved us to the birthing room by 7:30, gave me the epidural 10 minutes later and voila! what a change! It was like night and day! I couldn't feel the contractions anymore. You can actually see a smile on my face and I was finally able to talk to people. Earlier, I couldn't even talk to anyone every time a contraction would come. I couldn't even stand Mark touching me at all! I just kept focused on my breathing and kept on thinking about clouds, ice cream, and anything to keep my mind off the pain. Anyway, long story longer, with the epidural it gave me a chance to take a nap and I even called my family before I started pushing. By 12:30 I was fully dilated and ready to push. I was in hard labour for less than a half hour! When I finally felt baby come out, I just broke into tears...I looked over at Mark and he was doing the same thing...we were so happy to finally meet our son! Wow! that was just the beginning!

I was pretty impressed with the nurses at Rocky View. They were so good to us! We couldn't have done it without their support and encouragement.

Anyway, Micah is now 5 days old and Mark and I are just sooo in love with him. Day 1 at home was good but the rest of the days were no sleep, me in pain and very emotional. We had a few of our families visit us on Saturday and that was great! My sister was here right away on Thursday and she was so much help. I totally appreciate everything she's done for us during her 4 day stay. She was showing Mark and I how to burp baby, what to do with this and that and everything else that involved taking care of Micah. Then my parents came and helped out this weekend as well. We totally appreciate all the help and the prayers from everyone when they found out I was in labour. Thank you to my co-workers as well with their baby shower gifts as we already started using most of the things that they gave us.

Anyway, I should probably go and have a nap right away coz I know I'm going to need it. Last but not least, I want to thank Mark for being such an awesome Dad! He was with me all the way and didn't want to miss a thing! I am definitely blessed with two beautiful man in my life who I am most in love with!

Take care everyone and any advice on taking care of baby to make life easier is definitely welcome :)

Here are some pics of our beautiful son!