Emmett is in the haus!

Well, here we are with the latest update: Baby Burling is in the house! He was born on October 1, at 7:50A. 

We went for a little drug induced labor, just to make sure that Karen's PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) did not get worse. The reason we did this was two fold:'

• Karen's health we wanted to protect

• Emmett (baby at the time) was almost at 36 weeks, plenty for this day and age (37 weeks is considered full term).

Well you've waited long enough. More info further down, but here's a pic of Emmett:

Awww…

We had to spend a little extra time in the hospital since we were given a little scare with a 'dusky' spell. He was kept in ICU for observation for 3 days whilst getting a blood culture. He was fine (we knew it!) 

We got back home on Saturday 10/4, and could not believe we were really parents! Who said we could do this? I can't believe it. We're very happy to have him home. 

Thanks to all the many, many, people for the help you gave to get us home, and who continue to support us. 

This is a wonderfully hard thing to do. Zombie Ben signing out.

PS: Here he is test driving the billie bed:

Birthing & Breastfeeding Class

Ben and I had a full week of baby activities. Last Sunday we went to a breastfeeding class and on Wednesday we took a tour of the hospital. Then this past Saturday we took a birthing class. Let me tell you - it was a whole lot of baby madness happening.

The birthing class was informative but I have to say - the videos were not good. It didn't help that they were filmed in the 80's and all the people had bad hair. In some ways it was good for me to SEE some of this stuff but mostly - I didn't like them. At one point I looked around the room cause I was wondering what other mama's were thinking and they all had the same horrified look on their face. - which made me giggle. And then I got some looks. Bad Karen.

The breastfeeding class was also informative but what I got from it was this. Breastfeeding is best for baby and the process is different for each person. So there really isn't one right way and it just depends on your boob and the baby's mouth.

For the hospital tour, they showed us the labor room and postpartum recovery room. They told us where we could park and we received a 10% coupon to use at the baby store for a nursing bra. The nursing bra's were like $60! That's $30 a boob. Crazy. They didn't look super fancy. I figure I could just go to Target and cut holes in the nipple area and save myself $30.

So after all of this - all I can think of are the words or terms I learned about and wish they did not exist. Just the WORD makes me cringe...

1. Episiotomy
2. Engorgement
3. Leaking (this is never a good word. EVER. Nothing ever is good when it is described as leaking.)
4. Cracked Nipples
5. Tearing
6. Contractions

If you want to know more about these words - you can google them. But I'll warn you, it ain't pretty. Any moms out there have other words they want to share and then never speak of again?

Butt Care 101

Well - Ben and I don't have a name for the baby yet but we definitely have his butt covered. We pretty much have everything needed to make sure his cute little tooshie will remain in tip top shape. I think we can all agree that a baby's butt is one of the cutest things out there.

First - we have the diaper wipe warmer. Not cold wipes for this baby!
Thanks Marion for thinking of baby Burling's tush.

We have some of the best Diaper Rash Ointment out there thanks to Cousin Kris.

And we have the pee-tepee. What is this you wonder?! It's a little teepee to put over Baby Burling's pee pee so he doesn't pee on us while we change his diaper. These things are so fricken cute and I can't wait to use it! Thanks Lisa for thinking of mom and dad!

We also have the ultimate Diaper Genie for those stinky diapers. Thanks Kathy!

Ben and I are still trying to figure out what kind of diaper we will be using. I like the idea of cloth diapers but I don't like the idea of washing them. So a diaper service is an option. The only one that delivers to San Francisco is Tiny Tots. They recommend 80 diapers for the first week. WHAT?!?! EIGHTY diapers. That is fricken crazy. Since it's a diaper service it won't save much money compared to disposable diapers but at least it will help the environment.

The other option is called gdiapers. They are not cloth nor are they disposable. They are flushable! Basically it's a diaper with a pocket where you have the re-fillable pads that you toss in the toilet when the baby is done doing it's stuff. So it's kinda like a maxi-pad but you can flush it.

I'm not sure what we will end up doing. But I know that we still plan to use disposable diapers one of those two options I mentioned. Are there any other options out there?! Like toilet training the baby when he's 3 months old?

Bed Time Ritual

So going to bed now is quite the production. Before I would brush my teeth, scrub my face and that would be it. But now, I must go through a whole ritual before I am ready.

First, I greet my new best friend. The body pillow. I cannot sleep without this.
I also sleep with 3 other pillows which means there isn't much room for Ben.

Second, I rub some belly butter on my tummy. Thanks to my friend Nicole I don't have any stretch marks. Now if only I could rub some on my belly button so it doesn't "pop".
I go through my night time reading.

Then I put on some socks. Now you would think that I put these on my feet.
But I don't.
I didn't know this but Ben has informed me that I am a night time scratcher. I like to scratch in my sleep. I was known to do this before I got pregnant but it has gotten worse since. So Ben came up with this idea to help with the scratching. I sleep with these on my hands. I have to say it has helped a little but usually the socks end up on the ground by morning time.

After Ben tucks me in (cause I can't with socks on my hands) he does some reading on his own.

This is the book he is reading. It puts him right to sleep!

More Things Made From Scratch

So I mentioned in the previous post how my sisters helped me come up with a list of things I still needed for the baby. To be quite honest, a lot of that stuff had to do with my boobs or breastfeeding (but I won't get into that...yet).

One of the things on the list I needed that I didn't have at all were burp cloths. I was told that these are a necessity. Of course, I didn't want normal boring white burp cloths (because everyone knows the best way to show off your sense of style is through burp cloths) so my sister offered to make me some....from scratch.

Dude, all I can say is that my baby will be burping with style. Check them out.
Sorry the picture is blurry - my iphone was freaking out for some reason.

And of course my sister had to knit MORE things for baby.
A hat to match his booties.

These were the booties she made earlier (from the baby shower).

Super cute bunny

And a piggie blanket for swaddling and cuddling.
This thing is HUGE.

So it's official. This baby is one lucky baby to have such a talented auntie who likes to make things. Thanks Sherry! I can't wait for the baby to spit up so I can use one of those burp cloths!

Baby Stuff Overload

So after our lovely shower - I really thought we were all set for the new baby. I mean - check out all the wonderful stuff we were given.




But then my sisters sat me down and wrote out a LIST of things that I still needed to get.

Seriously, I almost had a heart attack. And my sister Sherry kept ADDING to the list as the week went on. She even sent me a "wish list" from Target that you can create for other people. We didn't have a bassinet, playpen or crib yet. Baby has no where to sleep. Waahhhh!

So Ben and I went and looked at some cribs the other weekend. Here are a few we liked. They all basically look alike in my opinion...

The next two are the same: just in different wood stains.

I think we will go with the lighter (birch) crib since our
downstairs room is pretty dark. This is the one we will most likely get.

This is the bedding that I like:
And this is how I feel:

Baby Burling has been Tagged!

Baby has been tagged by the lovely Mrs. Penguin from Weddingbee - but she is no longer a bride but a wife...and you can keep up with Cathy here.

Here are the rules of this tag game:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

Before I begin - I must say that the rules doesn't say what happens if the tagged blogger is still in utero. So I'm just going to wing it here.

Six random facts about baby (or the baby carrier).

1. I like to wake my mommy up around 6:30am every morning by kicking and punching. I like to be her built in alarm. It does not matter if mommy is tired. I am a morning baby and I need my exercise!!

2. My mom had two pet ducks growing up. They were really my aunt Julie's pets but my mom had to help take care of them. Their names were Izod and Lacoste. Very preppy names from the 80's. I can't wait to hear stories about the ducks.

3. My daddy likes to talk to me with a robot voice. He also counts in Chinese to me every night. He can only count up to ten so that is all I will know in Chinese when I am born. He also likes to sing Jingle Bells.

4. My mom had big dreams as an Olympic Diver and aspired to be a Laker Girl. Unfortunately, she never received proper training for any of those activities so she just talks about how she could have been one of those things now. She will now place all of her high hopes on to me.

5. I am currently a size of a honeydew melon. My plan is to work out some more and get some meat on my bones so I don't come out all wrinkly and disheveled. I plan to use some amniotic fluid as hair gel so I come out looking FIERCE.

6. When my mommy was in 6th grade she wore a yellow teddy bear sweat suit every Thursday with her hair in a pony tail. She thought it was cool back then. I hope her taste in clothing has improved since then. If not, I am in trouble.

My Four Tags (cause I don't have six!):

1. My sister Sherry at Knit Happens in the OC.
2. Lisa from BV Weddings
3. Sara from Stinkerpants Designs
4. Nicole at Las Flores de Fairfax