Welcome, Marcus John!

Marcus John was born at 1:33 pm. He weighed 7 lbs., 15 oz. and measured 19.5 inches. By comparison, CJ was born 6 lbs., 8 oz. and measured 19 inches. So Marcus started out life as a much bigger baby. Of course, CJ was born two weeks early, while Marco went full-term.

I can't remember what it was, but Marco's apgar score was evidently good, he didn't need any formula to get his blood sugar up (like CJ did) and he didn't need any lights. He also cried right after being born, which is always a good sign. I nursed Marco right in the delivery room and he did pretty well.

It felt so great to hold Marco, to finally meet him and give him a great, big hug!

This is Marcus John with mommy. His eyes and face
are all shiny because they put drops in his eyes.

This is Marcus John with his dad.

This is Marcus John with Theresa, the nurse who delivered him.
Theresa was awesome. She knew I wanted to deliver naturally,
she gave me courage when mine was flagging, and she kept
reminding me to breathe.

 This is Liz, the midwife who delivered MJ

Labor and Delivery

Maki and I got to the hospital around 8:00am; my wonderful mom got CJ up and ready for school. We didn't see the OB and midwife around 9:30am because of paperwork, getting dressed, waiting for a delivery room and waiting around.

The OB wanted to put me on pitocin right away, but pitocin scares the life out of me. Pitocin causes very strong, continuous contractions and women on pitocin are more likely to have a c-section. I always maintained that it didn't matter how the baby was delivered, but if I could have a natural delivery, I knew I was going to be happier and it would be better for the baby.

Thanks to Dr. Sears' The Birth Book, I knew that I had to be an active participant in this delivery, so after some discussion, the midwife and I convinced the doctor to start me off with some prostaglandin gel. The gel is put on the cervix and get things going. The midwife suspected that the gel was all I needed to kickstart the labor. Most importantly, with the gel, I could walk around and not have to be attached to an IV.

So in went the gel and Maki and I started walking around the maternity ward. The gel definitely got me going. I was at 6 centimeters a couple of hours later when the midwife broke my water around 11:30am.

That's when active labor really started. Maki and I kept walking around, but I had to stop every minute or so to catch my breath because the pain was getting stronger.

Around 1:00pm, the doctor checked me again and I was dilated to 8 centimeters. The pain was getting stronger, but still bearable. Between walking around, I was listening to my iPod and Maki and I watched "Up in the Air" with George Clooney. Good movie, definitely got my mind off the labor for a few minutes at a time.

Close to 1:30pm, the midwife came to see how I was doing. By this time, I was in a lot of pain and starting to doubt my resolve to delivery the baby without any drugs. The nurse, Theresa, was wonderful. She reminded me to breathe, breathe, breathe. At one point, when the contractions were growing more intense, I asked for some Tylenol to take the edge off the pain. Theresa, the nurse, looked at me like I was nuts. She said, "Tylenol is not going to do anything." Maki said, "just humor her, give her some Tylenol." So I got 2 Tylenols and they probably didn't do anything, but in my mind, they did and that kept me going.

I had to pee, so I asked if I could get up. Theresa asked me to wait a few minutes so she could finish up some prep and then it all started to happen really fast. Theresa later said she was glad I didn't make it to the bathroom because she would have had to deliver a baby on the bathroom floor. Ew.

I felt a great deal of pressure, the pain was unbearable, I was sweating, I was hot and I had to push NOW. I was gripping Maki's hand like there was no tomorrow and telling him I couldn't do it. Maki said, "oh, the baby must be coming, this happened last time."

The midwife heard me screaming from down the hall. She came running in and said, "why didn't you call me?" I said, "I did. I was screaming for you."

The nurse and midwife were scrambling to get everything ready, I pushed a few times, the pain was crazy and unbearable and then the baby came. And then I delivered the placenta and it was all over. Great relief and a baby crying.

I definitely had more of my wits about me than I did when CJ was delivered because I asked for Marcus John to be given to me and wouldn't let them whisk him away so fast for weighing, measuring and checking. I felt a great rush of emotion when they put MJ in my arms because we had tried so long to have another baby, I had so many miscarriages, and now he was here, and he was healthy and crying.

Ladies, if you can bear the pain, I am convinced that delivering a baby without drugs is worth it. You are able to push harder because you can feel the baby. Plus, the pain is so ridiculously unbearable that you want to push and get it over with. And immediately after the baby is born, there is very little pain and you're not groggy from the meds. Don't get me wrong. I don't begrudge anyone pain management. Friends tell me I have a superhuman pain threshold and perhaps they're right. At the end of the day, what matters is that mom and baby are fine.

Thank Goodness for Friends and Family

Marcus John was born on September 10 and we could not have managed the logistics without family and friends.

My mom flew into town on September 9 so she could be here for the delivery and the baby's first few weeks. If the baby came before September 10, three amazing friends (Jonathan, Tree, Eileen) volunteered to come at the drop of a hat and stay with CJ. We are very, very lucky to have such great friends. In fact, they came a couple of evenings but I was in false labor, no cigar, no baby.

On September 10, my mom got CJ ready for school and neighbors drove him to school. That afternoon, Maki's parents picked him up and brought him home.

On Saturday (while Maki, the baby and I were still in the hospital), Maki's parents took CJ to his swimming class and took him to lunch. In the afternoon, Maki's parents, my mom and CJ visited us in the hospital.

I don't even know what we would have done without our family and friends. I guess that's why they say it takes a village to raise a family!

Countdown to Delivery

I'm so ridiculously behind with my personal blog, but better late than never. I have a few, rare, quiet moments this morning, so I'm going to go back in time and blog about Marcus John's final days in my tummy and his birth.

The final month of my pregnancy was harder than I remember it being with CJ. But then again, CJ was two weeks early and I didn't have to contend with 100+ degree heat for most of the summer. Seriously, the heat took everything out of me. I missed so many summer activities this summer because of the heat. We didn't go to any county fairs, we didn't go any trips, and we missed many BBQ events because I just couldn't deal with the heat.

I spent the last four weeks mostly working from home because I wanted to stay in comfy, cool clothes and I had sooooo much to do at work before going out on leave. Leave! Ha! CEOs don't really get to go on leave, but I am obviously not working full-time. I held meetings at a local coffee shop, stayed on IM, and worked like heck on documentation and training for my staff.

I had massive amounts of heartburn. I had bottles of TUMS everywhere: in my car, in my office, at home -- and I was popping them like mad. The OB said it was okay to take something stronger but the TUMS worked well, they worked quickly, and I just didn't like the idea of taking a lot of meds, esp. prescription meds, while pregnant.

I didn't gain a lot of weight with this pregnancy, but then again, I started out much heavier than when I first became pregnant with CJ. Interestingly enough, I weighed the same at the end of both pregnancies, so I guess my body just knew where it needed to be. No, I'm not divulging any numbers.

We went to Boston four weeks before my due date. I got invited to speak at a conference and I couldn't say no. The sponsoring organization was in an important industry to the company and they were generous with the travel budget, so I got to bring Maki and CJ. Because I was so close to my due date, I did NOT want to travel without Maki and CJ. My OB said it was okay because my pregnancy had gone so well, I had my medical records with me, and Boston has so many great hospitals. The conference was great, we got to see good friends we hadn't seen in a while, and it felt great to leave DC, even for a few days.

My official due date was September 12, but my OB said they were not going to let me go one day past my due date because of my Advanced Maternal Age (AMA, sounds awful, doesn't it?) and my history of miscarriage. So the doctor scheduled me for an induction on September 10.

I didn't think I was going to make it to September 10 because two weeks before, I was already dilated to 4 centimeters. But I stayed at 4 for weeks, with no pain. Guess I should have been doing my yoga stretches and squatting. Oh well.

More Funny CJ Sayings

I am so behind on blogging, but here are the most recent CJ sayings:

CJ: Mom, can I have a wallet for my birthday?
Me: Your birthday just passed. You can have one next year.
CJ: And mom, when I'm 7, can I have a credit card to put in my wallet?
Me: CJ, 7-year old do not carry credit cards.
CJ: Well, I can't get a driver's license until I'm 16, right?
Me: Yes, this is true. But I can still get you a wallet next year.
CJ: Okay.

CJ came home from school singing this song today; hilarious.
Happy birthday to me.
I'm 103.
I'm still in preschool.
And I want my mommy.
My mommy's at work.
She fired a jerk.
She hired a monkey.
To do my homework.

While in the bath:
CJ: Mom, do you want to see something stupendously funny?
CJ then shows me something funny in the tub, laughing so hard.

CJ: Daddy, what does WTF mean?
Maki: What the Francis.
CJ: (reading the text on a YouTube video) What the Francis! Another crash!
Me: ROTFL

While at dinner at a Japanese restaurant:
CJ: (after eating a ton of sushi) Mom, I think I'm a little full.
Me: There's one piece of salmon sushi left and two pieces of mackerel. Maybe I'll have the salmon.
CJ: Well, I thought pregnant ladies weren't supposed to have sushi.
Me: You're right, Maki you have the salmon sushi. (sigh)

After an amazing birthday weekend that included a sushi dinner on the day of his birthday and swimming lessons and a Mad Science party the next day.
Me: Did you have a good birthday?
CJ: It was the best birthday ever! Every birthday is better! I bet next year's birthday will be even better!

Me: Guess what, CJ? Grandma and Grandpa are moving to Virginia!
CJ: Seriously?
"Seriously" is his favorite expression right now.

Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz

On Tuesday, March 23, we woke up to a beautiful day in San Francisco. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and temperatures were in the high 60s. A perfect San Francisco day.

We had breakfast at Sears Fine Foods, which is apparently a favorite of my Uncle Louie whenever he and his wife visit San Francisco. It's an old-style SF restaurant with the tall ceilings, low lighting and great food. CJ had eggs, sausage, hash browns and toast; this kid can really put away the food when he's hungry and motivated.

After breakfast, we set off for Fisherman's Wharf on the cable car. At the ticket booth on Market and Powell, we got tourist weeklong passes, which we didn't end up using fully, but it sure was convenient not to have to hunt around for change and get individual tickets for the bus or underground. CJ loved the cable car! But then again, this is a kid who loves trains!

We got off at the end of the line, walked around, checked out a few shops, and had lunch at the Crab Station, which was recommended on Yelp. I really, really wanted clam chowder in a bread bowl and got my wish. There wasn't any place to sit, so we sat outside. CJ enjoyed his fried calamari and fed the pigeons breads until we saw the gigantic "Do not feed the birds" sign close to the food stations. Oops!

I had never been to Alcatraz. Imagine that! The ferry ride was wonderful. CJ and I love boats so he and I ran around the ferry, catching the sights. He also loved the pretzel that he had on board.

Turns out you need some stamina to visit Alcatraz. You walk, walk, walk, mostly uphill. Whitel there, a couple of us watched the film (recommended, btw), and we visited the gardens, the prison, the morgue, the guard tower.

The Park rangers love to tell the stories of the hardened criminals who spent time at Alcatraz and wonder aloud if any of the few who escaped actually managed to survive.

After Alcatraz, we took the electric trolley to the Ferry Building, which is now this fancy marketplace for gourmet and organic food, coffee, sweets. This a total must-see because the shops are so incredible and the views of the Bay and the Bay Bridge are amazing!

We had dinner at Slanted Door, a fancy Vietnamese restaurant with incredible food. There were 16 of us, including family and friends! I recommend the papaya salad, the spare ribs, cellophane noodles with dungeness crab, the asparagus, the tiger prawns, and the whole fish (if they have it on the menu). Yum! What a great day for the start of our SF vacation!

CJ enjoyed the walk to Pier 39.

CJ in front the prison steps at Alcatraz. He loved all the climbing; takes after his dad!

CJ in front of the gardens at Alcatraz. Volunteers maintain the gardens, which were apparently
lovingly tended by the families of the guards when Alcatraz was used as a prison.

San Francisco, Here We Come! I love Virgin America!

Okay, I'm way behind on updating my blog. So this will be the start of a delayed narrative about our trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago for CJ's Spring Break.

We toyed with the idea of going to Mexico or Japan, but decided to stay in the country and go to San Francisco to visit family and play tourist in SF, something CJ had never done.

We got a great deal on the airfare from Virgin America. Under $1,200 for the three of us! Woo hoo!

Virgin turned out to be amazing and has made flying fun again. Check-in wasn't crowded, the staff were helpful, we got to check CJ's car seat for free, it's still $20 per bag if you're checking bags but the first bag can be up to 70 lb., and we got to board early because we had CJ. So far, so good.

The real magic on Virgin flights is the food and entertainment. Every seat has its own TV screen. You can order food and drink on the TV, even free things like water and soda. You touch water on the screen and the flight attendant comes by within a few minutes with your water. If you want something that's not free, you just swipe your credit card and your cookie, sandwich, chips or whatever arrive within a few minutes. Very nice.

We LOVED the in flight entertainment. CJ enjoyed the games and the kids' music; he was singing Schoolhouse Rock songs nearly the entire flight. I loved the free DISH network and watch an NCIS marathon on USA Network. Maki loved the music selection and the ability to create your own playlist! Talk about customized entertainment! The TV shows, movies and music made the 5+ hour flight zip by.

Our flight was uneventful, we arrived in SF on time, got picked up by my nephew Rusty, and checked in to our hotel by 8pm. My in-laws had already arrived, so we said hello, had a snack, and then crashed since it was past midnight East Coast time by the time we finally turned off the lights. So far, a great start to our vacation.