Three weeks old and our first family trip

Some quality time with Dad

In the swing

More quality time with Dad after a nice long dinner! Gluttonous!

Dress up time!

More dress up - see, she likes it!

In Flagstaff

On the hike

I can't believe three weeks have gone by so quickly. I am beginning to understand all the other parents now when they tell me, "they grow fast!" We had a great two week check up with the Dr. - Quinn had gained nearly a pound on her birth weight and grew an inch! She was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 and 1/2 inches. I am sure she has even grown since then - notice the double chin. Quinn is a really good eater! She seriously loves to eat pretty much all day long! She is a really good sleeper at night though. The Dr. first told me that she can't go more than three hours without eating, even if that means waking her up at night. So, I would wake her up every three hours for a little while every night. But at the two week check up, Quinn had gained so much weight, the Dr. said to let her sleep through the night if that's what she wants to do. That was a big relief for us!

We went on our first family trip this week - an overnight in Flagstaff! We were getting a little cabin fever being couped up in the house with the Phoenix heat. The trip was great and Quinn was such a good traveler. We went for a walk downtown and ate at an outside cafe. We also went on a mini hike on a trail and got great use out of the stroller. I think we might have to do it again this summer to get out of this heat. Quinn really seamed to like being outside.

Some pictures from this past week include some quality time with dad, the hike in Flagstaff, and playing dress up. Quinn wanted to - I swear ;)

Our first week and a half

We have been so busy, it has been hard to keep up with the blog. Finally, here are some pictures of Quinn from the past week and a half. She has been such a good baby, sleeping at night and having playful alert times during the day. However, we are still a bit sleep deprived because of the nighttime feedings - but that goes without saying, I'm sure :) We pretty much revolve around Quinn's schedule for right now. Tony and I are so lucky that we get to both have so much time off with Quinn - I can't imagine Tony going back to work right now. School doesn't start until the end of July, so we have quite a bit more family time together and I won't have to go back to work until the end of October. We are having a great time and we couldn't be happier! I was having a hard time uploading this many pictures - so they are a little out of order and one even ended up upside down... not sure how that happened... but here they are nonetheless.

Baby Quinn is here!

Quinn Gloria Alcala was born at 1:05 am on Friday, June 6th, 2008 and weighed 7lbs. 3oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. We are so thrilled to be parents and so in love with our new baby girl!

So, the last post was actually the day I went into labor. I guess I wrote too soon... It was about noon that I started feeling contractions, but they were so far apart that I didn't think it was real. By about 6:30 pm they were 3 minutes apart and we quickly decided to go to the hospital. When we arrived, of course the nurses were on a shift change, so I had to wait in triage for two hours. Finally, we got to the labor and delivery room and it was a much more comfortable place to be, considering I was in labor. It went just the way we wanted it to and we are so fortunate there were no complications. She finally made her debut at 1:05 am on June 6th.

We came home on Saturday, June 7th and we have been doing really well. Quinn is such a good baby, but she does have her days and nights mixed up a bit. She likes to sleep during the day and be awake at night. She is so alert and looks around all the time when she's awake, and sleeps so peacefully when she's asleep. We'll keep updating as much as possible with pictures.

No baby yet...

Two days past the due date and we are still waiting patiently for this baby to arrive. Sorry for the boring update. I guess she just needs a little more time. We will definitely let everyone know when she finally makes her debut!

Today is June 3rd!

So, today is the due date, and like I've said - I am sooooo ready! Tony and I are seriously all set here, just waiting patiently... bags are packed, the car seat's in, the diapers are out and ready to go, and all of the outfits are clean and folded... You can come out and play now, little June baby.

Some promising news from the Dr. visit yesterday - I am dilated at three, so there is progress. I am just hoping that she will come sooner than later. At this point, even though I know it has to be just around the corner, I feel like I will never not be pregnant!

Any day now...

So, we are patiently waiting for this little June baby to arrive. I have been really ready for about a week now. We have been keeping busy this past week by swimming, shopping, going out to lunch and dinner - all of the things that we won't get to do for a little while after the baby arrives. I have a doctor appointment today, so we'll see if I am dilated more than last week, or effaced any more. Everyone has been asking me if I have had any contractions for the past month, and I have always said that I couldn't tell - I wasn't sure. Well, this past week I sure have been having some braxton hicks! I get Tony nervous every time I tell him that I am having one. He's fine though. We are both really prepared and ready! My mom is flying in tomorrow, so it will be great that she will be able to be with us through all of it.

Here are a couple of pictures of the nursery - we are still looking for a few finishing touches for the walls, but all in all it is really ready to go!

Update

I was going to post some pictures this weekend of the nursery, but we left the camera at school on Friday and we can't pick it up until Tuesday. So, we'll have to wait on those. That's ok though, since we have a few finishing touches to do anyway this weekend. We will be sure to post the pictures as soon as we get our camera back. I also have another doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so I can give another update then.

This has been a very busy week for us with finishing up our last week of school and getting all set for the summer. Sigh, we're done! I have been a little more tired than usual, but I think that comes with all the running around this past week. I did wear my "special suit" to the water park with the kids last Friday. We had a great time. The best part for me was the lazy river because I was able to lie with my tummy inside of the inner tube. I never thought that would be a big deal, but it's been such a long time! I can't believe I'm not going back to work until late October. I feel really lucky to have that much time off. I also feel super lucky that Tony will be able to be here through the summer with the baby and me. We'll really get some great family bonding time in :)

As for baby progress... I haven't dropped yet, I have dilated to a one, and I'm effaced about 50%. I don't think I've had any braxton hicks - maybe some smaller ones, but I'll know when labor begins, I'm sure! Only a week and a half until the due date! Although I feel I could possibly go at any time - or I could be late. Who knows!

Remember this shirt?

I just put on this shirt today, thinking that somehow it would fit... silly me... I'm nine months pregnant! We thought it would be funny to look at the six month photo from way back in January compared to a nine month photo in the same shirt. If you scroll all the way down, you'll see that original picture. Compare and laugh :)

All is well - No news right now. We're in the home stretch!

Alcala Wedding

Baby Shower

Spa Birthday Weekend

Roosevelt Lake Trip

April Wrap Up

April has come... and is going fast! What a busy month for us. We know the blog has been quite boring for about a month now since there haven't been any new posts. We're back on track now - thanks for being patient :)

April has been a great month, kicking off with our Roosevelt Lake trip. The weekend was so fun, and even the drive there was so pretty through the mountains with all the spring wild flowers in bloom. We had a very relaxing weekend on the lake with friends hanging out, hiking, grilling, boating and wake boarding (well, I didn't wake board). I was a little nervous of the bumpy boat ride and wasn't sure that Little June Baby was in love with the bumps either, but I asked my doctor, and he said that it was probably soothing to her and put her to sleep.

The next weekend came quickly and what a great surprise I had! My Mom and my Aunt Bridget surprised me for the baby shower that my sisters-in-law so graciously had for me. It actually could have been more of a surprise, but Bridget wanted to warn me before she came out, so I got a phone call that week from her about the surprise - I think she was worried about giving me premature contractions or something. The brunch shower was so fun and lovely with beautiful flower arrangements, yummy food, and a gorgeous pastry basket, not to mention the wonderful friends and family who were there. Everyone was so generous and thoughtful - Little June Baby is already so spoiled!

Following that was my spa birthday weekend. It was so wonderful! Tony was such a great husband and arranged a wonderful day at the Royal Palms Resort and Spa (even though the Suns were playing in their first playoff game). I had a great spa day and we got to hang out at the pool in our private cabana all day while waiting for our next spa treatment. I think the baby really loved the relaxing and serene day too with all the rushing around we have been doing lately.

This is the last weekend in April - I can't even believe it! We went to Tony's cousin, Abby's, wedding yesterday in historic Heritage Square. It was great to see so many family members and catch up with everyone. We didn't make it a super late night or anything - a little more mellow than we're used to being at weddings.

Throughout all of these fun weekends, we have been going to doctor appointments, Bradley classes, and we even took a breastfeeding class. I am now on the once a week appointment schedule with the doc. and our last Bradley class is this Tuesday. The doctor said that the baby's head is down - which is exactly what we want at this point and I am not dilated - which is also good for now. We want little June baby to stay in there for a little while longer. But, we can't believe it is only five more weeks until the due date!

We have posted the pictures from our fun April weekends. As you can see, my tummy is getting bigger every day!

Spring is here

We've added a weekly countdown to the blog. Now you can see how the baby is growing and developing each week. We can't believe we are already in the single digit countdown - nine more weeks to go. We had a great doctor's appointment this past week, this time he said I was the perfect size again (I think the nurse practitioner doesn't know what she's talking about), and that every thing looks like it's going smoothly. Another week and a half until the next one...

Look for more photos during April. We have a really busy month ahead of us, with a trip to Lake Roosevelt with friends next weekend, Maria's baby shower for me, then my spa birthday weekend, and Abby's wedding at the end of the month. I am sure May will go by super quickly too, since it's the last month of school, I'll finally be finished with my master's classes, and then little June baby will be here before we know it!

Hiking on Squaw Peak

Our spring break is coming to an end, but it was a great two week break. The weather has been awesome, we had some visitors, and we got to do some more 'nesting' for the baby. We went for a hike before my mom and Peter took off for snowy Chicago, yesterday. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day and the spring flowers are already in full bloom. I'm coming up on 30 weeks, and no news about the glucose screening test - so it looks like I'm in the clear. My next appointment is on Tuesday and I'll let you know how things are going.

Officially in the third trimester!

I am now officially past 28 weeks and in my third trimester. So begins the two week Dr. appointment schedule! We have been having a busy week starting our Bradley Method classes, 28 week check up and glucose screening, and of course more preparation for the little June baby's nursery, which is coming together little by little, but looking so cute and pink. The Bradley method is helping us to prepare for a natural childbirth, and they really stress the husband as a coach concept. Tony is filling that role quite well, and I know he will be an awesome coach when it comes time to deliver. The exercises the method encourages are helping me to strengthen my core muscles to have a healthy labor and delivery. They feel great to do and Tony and I enjoy having that time together as he helps me with some of them as well as the relaxation techniques. The one thing about the Bradley method that I think is a little obsessive is that they encourage eating 80 grams of protein a day. My aversion to meet is still around, so getting 80 grams of protein is a little difficult for me, and I would imagine that it would be even if I did eat meet right now. We are however excited to learn more through the classes over the next couple months. The check up this week went really well, I haven't gotten the glucose results back yet, but I'll be sure to update as soon as I hear. When I was measured this time, the Dr. said that I was in the 30th percentile for belly size, which is on the small end of average. Not to worry, the baby is growing at a normal rate, but may be on the small side. She's probably about two pounds right now (so tiny), but I don't know if they can really tell - way too many people have told me that their Doctors have said that they were going to have a really big baby or small baby and then they come out totally opposite. I asked if we could tell how the baby was positioned, because I was feeling some major kicks in some pretty uncomfortable areas, so we went into the ultrasound room to check. I was a little disappointed with the quality of the picture, because the first time we went to get our ultrasound we got to see the 3D version and even when it wasn't in 3D mode, the picture was so clear. On this older model, we could see that the baby's head is down and feet are up. This is a great sign, but there is still room for the baby to move around - so we'll see. And by the way, we found out that the kicks were actually head butts ;) The movements are becoming more and more defined every day. Tony was actually able to feel a knee or foot poking out a little, and when he pushed, little June baby pushed right back! I'm still feeling really good and healthy, however sleeping is becoming more of a pain - it's just not so easy to get very comfortable with only a couple of sleeping position options.

Six and a half months - and growing!

We are obviously not the best at keeping the blog updated and we apologize for slacking a bit. We will be sure to continue adding pictures and posting updates so you can see the growth that has taken place - and continues to happen. We love reading the comments by everyone and even the emails we've gotten. It makes us feel like we are more in touch with everyone.

My students are funny, they notice every few days that I am growing, especially when we are in line to go somewhere, and their usual comment to me is, "Dang Mrs. Alcala, you're getting bigger!" Just today, one of my 8th graders brought up the end of the year outing to Sun Splash, the water park, and said, "You're going to be huge! You'll need a special suit!" We all laughed about that a little bit and I realized that I will be huge and I will need a special suit, since our end of the year trip to Sun Splash will be when I am about nine and a half months pregnant!

At our most recent check up last week, the Dr. said my tummy was the perfect size for how far along I am. There wasn't much else to talk about at this last appointment, but we were happy to hear that everything is going well and to hear positive news. I will be taking the glucose screening test on my next visit - 28 weeks. I got the little orange bottle at my last visit so I can drink it before my next visit. I heard it's really gross, so I'm not looking so forward to that part. It does look pretty small though, so hopefully it will go by quickly. In case you were curious about this little orange bottle, we have taken the liberty of posting a picture of it here - oh, and a picture of me too, so you can see the growth from the last time :)

A beautiful Sunday afternoon

It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon in sunny Phoenix! We thought it would be a great day to barbeque and relax in the backyard. As you can see, Meow-Meow is definitely doing just that, Tony is working hard - the master griller, and I'm sipping on my favorite cocktail - cranberry, oj, and sparkling water. I haven't felt healtheir than I do now, so taking walks and yoga have become a great part of my routine. It makes me feel so good that I can do these things now when not that long ago I wasn't sure I'd ever feel good again. The further along we go on this journey to having a child, the more I am amazed at what the human body is capable of. Although I am still not so keen on eating meat, my aversions to food are pretty much gone, which is excellent news (the toast diet was getting old). Everyone asks me if I am having any cravings, but to be perfectly honest, I really don't. I guess the closest thing to a 'craving' for me would be that I do love to eat grapefruit more than I ever did, and orange juice has become quite a staple in my diet. I also really enjoy tofu now, which is good, since I am not liking meat so much. It is funny being pregnant and noticing the little changes my body is making with how I feel about food, how my skin, hair, and nails look, and not to mention the wardrobe options! However I've got to say, the weekly shopping trips are kind of fun ;) Speaking of the changes, in the last month, I have been able to feel the little June baby move all the time! Tony was finally able to feel her move just the other week. It was really exciting, especially because it's the first real experience, besides the ultrasound, that he has been able to feel that direct connection with her. Just today, we both saw my stomach jump several times as she was doing some sort of acrobatics in there.

So, since our last post, the nursery has begun to come together quite nicely. It's been so fun to put together. Tony has set up the crib, the baby's bedding has arrived, and so has the nursery glider. It is looking very pretty and girly, but we still have a ways to go before it will be finished. That's ok, because I still have a ways to go until June anyway. I'm at the six month mark, over half way there, and we're doing great!