Our little girl has arrived!

Amaya Soleil Arceo

Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 9:48 PM

5 lbs. 3 oz.  and 18.5 in.

We have a brand new member of our family! Our daughter arrived Saturday night,and we couldn't be more in love. We named her Amaya Soleil. The first name we got from a baby name book as we were looking for a special "A" name to fit in with our family. We both really liked it, and it was always a top contender among the names we were considering. We though it sounded really sweet and feminine, and once we saw Amaya we knew that was the name we wanted to go with. It is a Japanese name meaning "night rain". Her middle name is one we always had picked out. It's French an means "Sun". She made a pretty quick entrance into the world. On our way to a quarter auction for our daycare lady's son's soccer team, my water broke in the car. So I called Abe's sister, then the doctor, and we headed to Franklin Square instead of the quarter auction. As soon as the water broke, I immediately started ocntracting and when they checked me upon arrival I was 5 cm. Maria picked Alex up from the hospital and entertained him for the next day and half and we couldn;t be more thankful. We KNOW that is not easy! They moved me to a delivery room about 7:30, I got an epidural about 8:30, and around 9:30 felt intense pressure out of nowhere. It was so bad I had to grab the side of the bed, so the nurse rushed out and grabbed the doctor. I remember telling the doctor, "I feel like I am holding her in at this point." So she checked me and said "Yeah, you are." It was pretty painful. She told me to push and with one push Amaya's head and hand came out. She then told me to hold off for a second,and I tried, but Amaya had other plans and the rest of her body slid out without me even pushing! The doctor was shocked and literally caught her before handing her to me. It was crazy! Labor form start to finish was 3 and half hours! I just have super fast labors. I know I am extremely lucky, and have been told that by just about every mother I've ever met! LOL. Alex is adjusting very well so far to hi new sister. He loves to touch her hand and points at her and says" baby" over and over again. Tonight after a little coaxing, he even kissed her, which was so sweet to watch. I am so glad everything is over and done, and so happy to have an early and super tiny, but healthy baby girl.

Amaya right after her birth

Getting checked out by the nurse

Getting weighed in--a petite 5 lbs. 3 oz.

Me holding Amaya

Abe holding Amaya

All dressed up and getting ready to leave the hospital

Arriving home

Filipino pride..lol Guess who staged this one...

Wide awake

Alex's first picture with his sister--Abe has his hands full here! 2 under 2..oh my

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! I can't believe it's come and gone, but Halloween was a blast this year. Alex dressed up as a pumpkin and he was perfect for the role with his chubby cheeks. Sometimes the classic costumes can be the cutest! He thoroughly enjoyed Halloween and trick or treating this year. We went to the Avenue at White Marsh for their afternoon trick or treating and met our nephews and our niece there--Dylan (Bobo fett), Daniel (Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe), Matthew (Duke from G.I. Joe) and Julia (Cinderella). It was insanely busy, so we made our rounds and then headed to Abe's Mom's in Dundalk for dinner and then some evening trick or treating around her neighborhood. I was actually pretty impressed that Alex held his cousin Dylan's hand the whole time, walked the whole way without wanting to be held or anything. He was quite a little trooper,despite the long distance and the off and on rain. We all had a great time.Now we are gearing up for the next big event , which will be the birth of our daughter sometime this month. I can't believe there's only 27 days until my due date! I returned to work today from bed rest, and I am definitely feeling it. So tired and sore, and I just can't wait to meet our daughter and lose some instant weight! Here's to hoping sooner rather than later!

The kids in their costumes--Alex wanted nothing to do with posing for a picture! LOL

Getting ready to leave for trick or treating--had to stop and pick up a pumpkin first

Checking out his bag in the car

My two pumpkins--one out of the belly and one in the belly!

Helping Mommy bake Halloween cupcakes

Wound up from candy and dancing in the kitchen

Taking a much needed bath after trick or treating

Rainy Fall Weather and Freedom!

 

I finally got to leave the house this weekend as my bed rest was reduced to modified since I am now 34 weeks preggers! Yay! It was so nice just to be somewhere other than my couch or my ned, let me tell you. Unfortunately the weather was less than desirable this weekendwith the really chilly rain all weekend, so our annual trip to Weber's Farm in Parkville wasn't as exciting as it could have been. We were able to take Alex to the pumpkin bins and let him pick a pumpkin for himself, which he loved. They all looked like big orange balls to him, so you can imagine his excitement! LOL. As soon as I handed himhis pumkin he grasped it tight and wouldn't let it go. We also were able to pick up some homemade apple cider, cider donuts (which were delicious, and may warrant a return trip!) , fresh apple butter and really good fudge. Trust me, the baby liked the peanut butter fudge, since my pregnant self pretty much finished the whole thing in two days! We also got a chance to see Abe's family and hang out with my nephew, Matthew and niece Julia on Sunday. Unfortunately our other nephew Daniel had the flu, so he had to stay home with his parents and brother. :( We definitelymissed them though! I can't believe how big Matthew and Julia are getting though! Julia is just as tall as Alex, and so talkative and social! Alex is definitely the shyer of the two--perhaps it's a "girl" thing. LOL.We'll find out soon enough. I for sure want this baby to cook to full term, but I am praying after the measures to keep her in longer, she doesn't decide to be stubborn and wait until December or something. I think  I would probably go crazy!

Me and Alex at Weber's

Alex in his favorite PJs. He actually cries when we have to take them off!

Giggling with Oscar. He loves his kitties!

Alex and Daddy getting ready to race their ride-on cars!

Julia in her cute fall jacket and boots!

Alex (19 Months) and Julia (15 Months)

Posing with our pumpkin family!

Mr.Personality

Alex is 19 Months old now, and I can't even describe the amount of growing he has done in the past two months! He has become so much more verbal and even developed more of an "attitude" when he doesn't get his way or when he wants somehting in particular. He is repeating almost anything and everything we say now, and can even say a few simple sentences. The other day, he handed me his stuffed giraffe at bedtime to hold it for him,and he said "There you go." It was the cutest thing ever! He'salso saying short sentences like, "all done" or "all gone", "thank you" and "love you." I would estimate he's probably saying 30-50 words now. Some of the ones he says most often are "choo choo", because he loves his trains, "Ball", "Eat", "Go", "Nuggets", and "Baby." Though, I am sure he has no idea what a baby will really entail when his sister gets here, he does say the word pretty clearly. He also LOVES to sing. He cab mimic almost any tune, and this amazes us! He sings the ABC song, Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald,and Twinkle Twinkle just to name a few. I think his favorite is probably the ABC song, which he kind of half knows the words to as well. It's cool to see him starting to have distinct interests aside from just playing with whatever toys he can find.He defintely gravitates to any kind of sports balls, mathbox cars, or motorized trains that he can find and spends most of his time playing with those things. He'sdefinitely very boyish in his interests! We can't believe how much of a personality he has developed in the past two months! We'll be very interested to see how he reacts when our daughter arrives in the next month or so. Speaking of her, the pregnancy isprogressing well at this point.I am a little stir crazy on bed rest and actuallymiss work, but I know it'sfor the best until she matures enough to be born without complications. It's hard to believe, but she'll probably be here in less than a month.My prediction is the first week of November..we shall see.

Getting a lift from Daddy

Playing outside with his bubbles

Posing with his toys

Alex is already amazingly adept at sports..he can kick a soccer ball all the way up the yard without stopping!

Eating dinner for the first time in his booster--no more high chair!

My HUGE belly at 33 weeks!

Bed Rest...Ugh!

Okay so our little girl is already showing her impatient side! She wants to be born almost two months early! Thursday I had pain all day and wasn't sure what to make of it. I just assumed I was dehydrated and having cramping because of that. Anyway, after school that day, I was starting to get a little worried, because they were feeling a little familiar, like less intense contractions. So, to be safe I called my docotr and she suggested I go over to Franklin Square to be monitored. Her feeling was that it was probably nothing serious, but why take the chance? So I drove myself there and left Abe in charge of picking up Alex and taking care of him because I didn't want to disrupt his schedule. I got there,got all hooked up, and like 5 minutes into the monitoring, the nurse says "Oh we've had a lot of pre-term labor today." I was like "what?? I'm in labor? I'm only 31 weeks!" So they kicked it into high gear at that point and came in with  million exams and hooked me up to an IV for fluids, and gave me a shot of steroids (the most painful freaking shot I have ever had in my life!) to help the baby's lungs mature faster should she be born that night, almost 9 weeks early. I then called Abe, and let him know what was going on and he threw some things together and got Alex down to Maria's so he could come to the hospital. He got there around 9, and they had my conractions slowed a lot. I had gone from having about 3 to 4 every 10 minutes to only having 1 or 2 every ten minutes. By 10,they were significantly better, so they decided to send me home with a prescription for Procardia and orders to return the following evening for a second and final steroid shot. I been taking the Procardia (med to slow or stop contractions) every 6 hours since, and probably will be taking it until I reach somewhere between 34 and 36 weeks. At this point I am only having a contraction here there, like maybe 1 every couple of hours and the doctor says as long as I am having less than 4 per hour, I am in the clear! I am already dilated 1 cm and 80% effaced, but that could also last months, so it's really nothing to worry about unless I start contracting heavily again. So for me, it;s 5 weeks of bed rest, which may be reduced once I hit 35-36 weeks. More than likely once I go back to work and get off the Procardia, the baby will shortly follow, so she may very well be an October baby rather than a November one. I'll be 35 weeks on Oct. 25, and 36 weeks on Nov. 1, so sometime around then I'll probably be able to return to work. Amyway that's the whole story of our crazy end of the week, and our little scare. We're just so glad they were able to stop the labor and give her a better chance of being born on time or close to it. We're excited to meet her, but we don't want to meet her just yet! Below are some pics from the week and from Abe and I's recent Anniversary excursion downtown.

Posing together at the harbor

The manager at Fogo de Chao brought us a free creme brulee in honor of our anniversary--so nice of him!

Alex sharing cereal with Daddy

Aww! Giving his puppy a kiss!

 

10 weeks to go and our 3D Ultrasound

Well, I am officially 30 weeks pregnant and should be meeting our daughter within the next two months sometime.I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by! I think they next two months will drag though, because we are so eager to meet her and see what she looks like, and how much she weighs, and when her birthday is going to be. We've got the name narrowed down to about two or three choices, but we're not telling! We probably won't decide until she gets here anyway. We didn't pick Alex's middle name until we saw him, and then we just knew. This pregnancy hasn't been much different from my first, despite that fact that we are having a different gender this time. I have had more back problems, more heartburn, less nausea,more cravings, and I feel like she is more active than he was. We had a 3D ultrasound done on Saturday at a place called Precious Previews in Bel Air, and it was really cool. We actually are getting a good deal out of the whole thing, because the tech could only get profile shots, so she's having us back free of charge this Saturday. I'll post some of the ones she was able to get though. She was able to tell us that it is for sure a baby girl--no doubt about it. We saw it in 3D! LOL. That gives some relief, so we know everything we've done to prepare for a girl wasn't in vain. She was also able t tell us the baby weighs almost 3 lbs. now, has a lot of hair and is already head down. To see features on the baby;s face was just amazing.We could see her opening and closing her eyes, and moving her tonuge around actually licking the placenta (gross I know, but the tech told us it's really common). I'll post some of the pics she was able to get. I also post some new pics of Alex. He's getting so big, so fast! He's almost 19 mnths old. We had his 18 month photos taken at JCPenny two weeks ago, and he looks like such a big boy in them. He's really into sport like activities now. He loves to throw and kick any ball that is in sight and the boy has a pretty good arm! He also is starting to love matchbox cars! He runs them all over the house and crashes them into each other. It;s to funny. He's talking a lot more, but saving it for us only! LOL. He doesn'treally talk much around others, but he's non-stop at home. He can say "Baby" reallyclearly now and says "choo choo" every time he sees a train. He also repeats pretty much nything we say to him. Tonight whle we were changing him, we said "love you" and he said it right back to us. It was the sweetest thing. He still loves animals too,and we have been thnking about maybe taking him to the zoo soon before the weather turns cold. We'll see. We just know he'll be a great big brother, even if it takes some time for him to adjust to the concept!

This was the closest we got to getting a full shot of her face--I do think she looks like she has Alex's nose here.

One of Alex's 18 Month shots from JCPenny--I think he looks more like Abe here for once! LOL.

Alex in my classroom on back to school night--he found and orange on my shelf and was throwing it around like a ball

Playing around with Daddy

Ready for purple Friday--go Ravens!

Love that smile!

 

Baby Shower Picnic, Back to School, and 18 Month Old Mayhem

I realize it's been a little while since my last post, but things have been crazy with me returning to work two weeks ago, us planning and hosting a baby shower picnic for baby Arceo # 2 and Alex's everyday mayhem. First let me start by saying I've been back to school now for two weeks, and so far  I am liking my new 7th graders. Of course,any teacher will tell you, the first month is what we refer to as the "honeymoon period." Come October, the true colors willcome shining through! Secondly, we held a baby shower/picnic cookout type event to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our 2nd child sometime in November. We had the festivities at Wilson Point Park in Middle River and had a really great time with our friends and family. Wilson Point was a really nice place, with a playground right in front of us, a nice walking track, and it was right on the water with a nice breeze through the pavilion most of the day. That breeze was much needed as it is still very humid in B-more this time of year. The kids ran around and went crazy and we feasted on hot dogs and hamburgers, cooked up by our masters chefs, Abe and Dave, and side dishes brought along by everyoneelse. It was reallyan awesome day,and we got lots ofnew clothes for our baby girl. Alex played straight thru nap time and then took a 3 hour nap when he got home. He was so played out! My Mom was able to drive down and attend,which was great. We took her to Red Lobster for the endless shrimp promotion while she was visiting and she was in heaven, since Red Lobster is her favorite place and the closest one to her is an hour drive. Then on Sunday,we relaxed in the morning, and were visited by My Grandma and Aunt who were in Baltimore anyway.They were returning home from their cruise to the Bahamas, Grand Turks, and Caimon Islands. We were able to show them the new baby'sroom and hav lunch before they headed back West again. Okay and last but not least,and then we can get to the pictures--Alex is 18 months old as of yesterday!!! I can't believe how big he is getting. He's starting to talk some, mostly only around us and Ms. Joanna,his daycare provider. He repeats a lot of words,and loves to sing along to tunes he hears.His favorite right now is the ABC song. He kind of sings Abcd, then kind sings the tune for the rest. He goes for his 18 Month check-up on Thursday and I am anxious to see how much height he has gained.I really feellike he has gotten a lot taller in the last few weeks. Okay,thar's it for now. Enjoy the picture from this week. What I didn;t post here will be in an album on my facebook page, so feel free to check that out as well.

Alex with his big cousin Dylan at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium

Mary with her crazy bee sting wound at the state fair

Natalia sitting in the dirt playing with  a stick--so ladylike!

This was too cute! Alex spent most of the day with his BFF Kara, who held his hand and played with him all day long!

Abe grilling up the burgers

Mary changing Julia and Danielle changing Natalia--pavilion style!

All the kids that attended the shower from left: Daniel, Matthew, Dylan, Alex, Euripides, Kara, Julia and Cory--I think we're missing Antonio and Natalia though.

Me, Abe, and the belly at 28 weeks!

Our baby girl's closet after I hung all of the presents and hand-me-downs from Julia up...oh my!

Alex knocked out after a long day