first christmas

For sweet Isaac, Christmas came and went. He slept through most of it...the reading of the Christmas story, the opening of gifts, pictures galore. Isaac will have no recolection of that day, but Keith and I will remember it always. Isaac is such a wonderful gift, our most memorable and precious ever.

I always thought that becoming a mother would change me somehow. That I would wake up and feel different...more mature, more capable, more sacrificial, more unconditional, more...just, well...more. However, I feel the same...I'm still me...except now, I'm just filled with MORE LOVE. More love for Keith...more than I ever thought possible. I just look at him I get all melty inside...I'm falling in love all over again. New love for my son Isaac, a love that consumes my heart with every wimper, cry, sigh, look, smirk, and tear. Love for our new family of three and the ties that bind us. We've already been through so much together and it's only been 10 days.



I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Blessings from our family to yours!

labor of love

ISAAC KEITH DESONIER
Born December 18, 2008 - 3:57pm
8 lb. 15 oz....20.5 inches
healthy, beautiful, and amazingly alert



So, I just clipped and filed the finger nails of our 6 day old son. Incredible. But, let me start from the beginning...

December 18, 5:50am...I woke with some interesting pains. I thought I had an upset stomach, so I went to the bathroom. About 5 minutes later...more interesting pains. 5 minuntes later...pains...pains...pains. I nudged Keith and told him I thought I was having contractions. He went from totally groggy to wide-eyed with a watch in his face in a matter of seconds. We timed them for about an hour before calling Doc. Thankfully, we were given the go to meet him at the hospital. I felt every pot-hold, crack, and pebble on the way there. Ouch!!! Once dressed in the fancy gown, Doc checked and I was already 7 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I quickly progressed to 9 cm. They kept asking if I wanted pain meds, but the contractions were coming so quickly, I could barely hold the mental capacity long enough to make a decision...until Doc said, "Well, looks like you are still 9 cm. How 'bout I come back in an hour to check you again." X*&$#*&!!!! That snapped me into quick decision mode and I said, "EPIDURAL!" Thank goodness...because I ended up laboring for about another 3 hours, hanging out at 9 and 10 cm. Also, just my luck, I had a "hot spot" or "window" where the epidural did not take affect. So, in that one zone, I could still feel every contraction. They offered to do another epidural...uh, no thanks. I tolerated.

When it came time to push...Isaac's heart rate would drop significantly each time. That was when Doc told us he thought the umbilical cord must be involved. Not quite what you want to hear at such a time. Doc started explaining that they would have to expidite Isaac's entrance, listing such possible options as "vacuum"..."forceps"..."c-section". What? Keith and I started to pray. Thankfully, it wasn't long after that he was successfully extracted with Mommy's pushes and vacuum assistance. And, might I say, for being a vacuum baby...he is suprisingly cone-head free!! As it turns out, his umbilical cord was about half the length it should've been, so it wasn't long enough to allow him to come all the way out on his own. Poor little lovie. Doc claims to have sprouted a couple extra gray hairs because of the ordeal. No pity from me! My end result was a lot worse than just a few gray hairs.

We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and were able to avoid Connecticut's first "nor-easter snow". It looked beautiful from our window. Because of the storm, we had no visitors and I can actually say that I am extremely grateful(except for the grandparets who had to dig our car out of the snow with a broom because Keith and I had not purchased a snow shovel yet. Dad- we owe you big time for transporting the moms to and from safely!!). I was in no condition. Because Isaac was such a healthy, strapping young man (eh, large!), he left his mark on the way out. Just let me say that I'm still not able to sit, am scared to cough, clear my throat, or sneeze, am in danger of OD-ing on stool softeners, and will probably be doing the post-prego waddle for weeks to come. However, just looking at our precious boy makes anything endurable.

Hey everyone, this is Keith. I wanted to wrtie a bit about being home over these last few days. I read a story that quoted Will Smith on his birthing experience....it was basically how when his wife went into labor it was all he could do to get to the hospital, weeving in and out of traffic, running yellow/red lights, speeding, honking the horn, yelling at the "crazy idiots" out there driving so slow, etc., to coming home with the baby driving 10 mph under the limit, taking wide easy turns, braking 200ft. before the yellow light, and still yelling at those "crazed maniac" drivers out there that drive so fast and wrecklessly. Well, I'll say I can relate, and on top of that, there was snow everywhere! Funny how life changes after a kid.

It was an amazing experience to come home for the first time as a family. For the first night we had Mia (my mom), Grandma, and Grandad (Steph's parents) here. It was nice to have the extra help. It was a decent 1st night, little sleep, but we made it through. I laugh because he's only 6 days old and we've been to the doctor twice.....gotta love new parents. After grandparents left, we were on our own and let me tell ya...everything seemed to go down hill. Mommy and baby Isaac seem to have a knack of being utterly helpless and need of assistance at the same time so daddy gets stuck in the middle with a poop explosion and Steph in pain in the bathroom.....yeah fun for me! Meanwhile, between the feedings, changing, rocking to sleep, caring for my child, and waiting on my wife's every need, I'm trying to keep the house functional. I have an all new appreciation for Michael Keeton's portrayal in Mr. Mom (an oldy, but a goody). I will admit though that when Isaac looks up at me, falls asleep in my arms, or when I watch the way my wife loves him and loves on him....little else matters...

Today is Christmas Eve and we are able to celebrate two very special births...Jesus Christ and Isaac. Thank so much you for your love and prayers. Enjoy the pics.

nada

This is a quicky just to let you know that nothing has happened yet. Baby D is still chillin' inside. No serious moves toward the outside world. Tomorrow morning we have another doctor's appointment at 8:45. I will try to post something after...if I can...to let you know what he says. We are trying to remain calm, patient, and trusting that Baby D will enter this world at the precise time he is supposed to. Thanks for all your love, support, and prayers. HUGS!!!!

Okay...Baby D is still cooking in there. (this is my belly 2 days overdue. have you noticed that the counter has started counting back up? geeze!) I've walked, shopped, eaten Thai, and tonight we are having chili. I'm not sure how much more my stomach can stick out before I'm falling over on my face. Keith and I had a little talk with Cheetoe this morning, trying yet again to convince him that it will be just as warm and cozy out here...not to mention he'll get to look at the beautiful Christmas lights on the tree! No lights in Mommy's tummy. Needless to say, in the meantime, I'm getting lots of loose ends tied up and the Grandmas are helping to boost the American economy.

Oh...by the way...Doc estimates Baby D is about 8.5 pounds. oh my GOSH!!!!! Baby, you must come NOW!!

shop therapy

Well, not much has changed. We headed out this morning with both Grandmas (Keith's mom has been in town since Tuesday, and my Mom arrived yesterday) and my hospital bag just in case we were sent over. No such luck. Doc says all is well, which is definitely good news. They put me on a fetal monitor for about half an hour. Baby's heartbeat is fine. I had one contraction that registered, barely. After seeing the off the charts contractions that print for all the ladies in the hospital that I've interpreted for, I'm very freaked out because, well, let's think of it like this: my contraction looked like an ant hill compared to their Mt. Everest contractions. (oh lawdy!) Doc did an ultrasound to make sure Baby D still has enough fluid, which he does, and also was able to tell us the weight. Any estimations? I'll leave you hangin' for a day on that and tomorrow you can check to see how close you are. We have another appointment scheduled for next Thursday. Let's hope we don't make it!

As a healthy distraction, we all went shopping! Another trip to Babies-R-Us, Barnes & Noble, clothes, Trader Joe's, the Christmas Tree Shop, etc. We were crammed into Keith's truck, bodies and bags, but happy. Agenda for tomorrow...more shopping, maybe a movie, a walk, Thai food and chili.

Thanks for all your encouragement, excitement, and love. Much love from the Fabulous Four here in CT waiting for Baby D's grand entrance.

arms wide open

So...Baby D's official due date came...and went. No baby. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning at 9:15. If I can, I will fill you in. Now that Daddy has finished all his final exams, I think we are ready to get the show on the road.

Baby D - we give you the green light! We are getting so excited to meet you. I know it must be nice and warm in Mommy's tummy, but we assure you it will be just as warm and cozy out here in our arms. We are dying to look into your eyes, to see your 10 fingers and 10 toes, to kiss your tummy, to rock you to sleep, and to tell you we love you more than anything. Mommy and Daddy are waiting...whenever you are ready.

still in the oven

This is just a quick update about our status...the Doctor revealed (or I guess I revealed) on Monday that I am 3 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. I went to work yesterday, but ended up leaving about 2 hours early. I started speaking Spanish to the doctors, English to the patients, and when I could no longer even recall what a doctor said to me in order to interpret, they pulled my plug and sent me home. I was just a bit too uncomfortable to focus on anything else...not to mention practically falling asleep in my chair.

Keith's mom, Dale, arrived safely yesterday. So, I have a companion now while Keith is still lost in his books and notes. As I type, his 8th final exam is starting this very minute. (Go get 'em Baby! Kill it!!!) Dale and I plan on running a few errands today, but nothing too crazy because we want Baby D to stay in there until Daddy finishes his last final tomorrow.

Does anyone notice something little and cute in this picture? Baby D...we are ready (eh hem) and waiting!!!

a chilly break-in

Last night Keith came home and announced that it was snowing outside! SNOW! I stepped out on the porch and witnessed the silent, delicate fall of white. This morning, we awoke to a beautiful blanket that covered everything. As true Southerners, we were ridiculously giddy to go out and relish the moment. So, in our pj's, rubber boots, and coats, we grabbed the camara and slipped out to take some pictures and enjoy the tranquil calm that the snow brought to the morning. It was amazing how each branch, limb, and twig had it's very own quilt cover. After properly preserving our first Connecticut snow with some lovely pics, we were gettting very chilly, so we decided to go in for a nice warm breakfast.



Keith followed me up the stoop to make sure I wouldn't slip. I turnd the knob, and it was locked. Yes, people, LOCKED!!! We looked at each other without words, shock in our eyes, unable to believe the fact that we were truly locked out. Below freezing, in our pj's, no key, no phones, 4 days until our baby's due date...and we were LOCKED OUT! So, what did we do? We laughed. The moment was so unbelievable, that we just laughed. Even if we had thought in advance to give a friend a key (which we will now do this week), we couldn't have called to let them know we needed it. We couldn't have driven there to knock on their door. It wasn't funny, but it was HILARIOUS!

Keith logically checked the back door. Locked. He began to circle checking all the windows and discovered one of our kitchen windows was unlocked. (not good in general...but a God-send this morning!) However, without tools, he could not pry the screen loose. Thankfully, our neighbors were home. We weren't sure they were up, but desperate times call for desperate measures. With heads hung low, in our boots and pj's, we climbed their stoop and knocked on their door. (Let me take a moment describe my attire so you can fully comprehend my humiliation...black and pink rubber boots with hearts, red long johns, my stripped night gown hanging out the bottom of a fleece jacket with a scarf. All very attractive with the pregnant belly!) Lucky for us, they are from Georgia, so at least they understood our giddy glee with the snow. I waited inside while Keith borrowed some tools and went to work. A few minutes later, he was back, having successfully broken in to our house to unlock the door.



My hero.
The End.

In other news...we had our last Hoo-Rah date night on Friday night. It was a lovely evening including a fabulous latin fusion dinner, a stroll through downtown New Haven with hot chocolate in hand, and a visit to the Green to see the recently lit Christmas Tree. We are thinking it will probably be the last time we'll be able to go out without having to find a babysitter or bring Baby D along. Are we prepared for this life change? Is anybody ever? We shall see!!!!



So, hopefully, the next posting will have some fun news. My next appointment with the Doc is tomorrow. We'll see what he has to say. Stay tuned for the updates. We will all meet Baby D before long!!!!

tur-duc-hen

I truly hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. We certainly did. Terrance, Kestlee, Brad, and Jane came over to celebrate with us. Thanks to the generosity of Keith's parents, the main course was a Louisiana tradition called "tur-duc-hen". My first experience with this creation was before Keith and I were married. In fact, it was the very day I met half of Keith's family for the first time in my pajamas...(after he had assured me several times they were not coming over any time soon and that I had plenty of time to get dressed...eh hem, i'm obviously over it.) Anyway, as was explained to me then...TUR-DUC-HEN is a partially de-boned turkey, stuffed with a de-boned duck, stuffed with a de-boned chicken, stuffed intermittently with dressings of your choice. We chose this year a cornbread stuffing and a dirty rice stuffing. All you have to do is pop it in the oven and, voila!...about 5-6 hours later, you have 15 pounds of greatness to eat for weeks to come. So, thanks to the collaboration of all our guests, we had a complete Thankgiving buffet. DELISH!!!!

Keith was the MAN! He handled MR. Tur-duc-hen from start to finish.

No heavy lifting for this Mama. Keith was in charge from start to finish.

The table's ready and waiting to serve it's first Thanksgiving dinner.

Mmmmmmmm! Look at all that goodness! Keith carved his first tur-duc-hen like a pro!

Open mouth, insert TUR-DUC-HEN! We are thankful for our friends!


Okay, I will end with a belly shot at the 2-week mark. This was taken Thanksgiving evening, exactly 2 weeks before Baby D's due date (Dec. 11th). Of course, I will keep you posted, but nothing to report at this point...except the pregnancy waddle has really become quite extreme. I finally told the dispatchers at work not to send me anywhere with an urgent need for an interpreter because people are lapping me in the corridors of the hospital. Oh, and today as I was walking into Stop and Shop to pick up some groceries, the Salvation Army bell ringer actually froze, stopped ringing her bell, and said..."WHOA!". Right. Then, when I popped into a liquor store to pick up some bottles of Guinness (for a yummy bread I make), you wouldn't believe the looks I got. Finally, in the check-out lane, after the checker and the man in front of me had given me that shame on you look several times, I announced it was for a recipe. Geeze people! And for those of you who are interested, this really is a killer bread recipe:

Guinness Bread

1 cup regular oatmeal (not quick), with a little extra for topping
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
12 oz. Guinness beer

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8x8 square pan. Combine first 6 ingredients. Stir in butter, mix well. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Gently stir in Guinness; do NOT beat.

Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle top with extra oats. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees and bake additional 30 minutes. Turn off oven and allow bread to cool another 30 minutes with the door open. Turn out onto a wire rack. Delish with soup or served with butter and honey.

Warm wishes to you and yours!!!

harbingers

Speaking of Mrs. Stapleton (see last entry)...her vocabulary tests were BRUTAL! I didn't mention in the last post, but I think I studied harder for her class than I did for many of my college courses. Anyway, she made us learn, not just the vocab word and definition, but all the roots and origins of each word. Harbinger is for some reason one of those words that I vividly remember committing to memory. Harbinger..."A sign of things to come." Our house is now full of them! And they are all pointing in one direction...BABY!!!

So, the countdown is officially in the "teens". Seems like just yesterday we were in awe that we were below the 100 day mark. This morning I filled our washing machine with my first load of baby clothes, sheets, towels, rags, hats, blankets, etc. It's all so teeny tiny! Just in case Baby D decides to come early, I want him to have clean, fresh linens and clothes waiting. (Mom, you can breath easy now.)

Another "to do" on my list today is to download Christmas music on my Ipod. One of my labor and delivery requests is that there be Carols playing constantly in my room. We have some speakers we can bring up to stick my Ipod in and...voila! Winter Wonderland! I don't care if it's annoying for the nurses and doctors. For those of you that know me, Christmas music makes me SO VERY HAPPY! I'm not sure if it will help, but hey, one has to pull out all stops when approaching possibly the most glorious - painful - experience in their life. (If you do not own this Harry Connick Jr. Christmas album...go buy it NOW! You will thank me later!)

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a great holiday. We have invited some friends over for the traditional spread. YUM!!! Keith has the week off, but will be studying like crazy for finals.

Next posting...a lesson on "turduckin". Stay tuned!

reflection

Mrs. Stapleton was my high school English teacher. I had the privilege of being her student sophomore, junior, and senior years. She was a brilliant woman, so well-versed and well-traveled. She brought the world to her classroom through literature, plays, poetry, and personal experiences shared openly and graciously. Her legacy will be with me forever. A prime example...

As my senses explore the Fall season and I witness for the first time the true stages of Autumn, I cannot help but recall one of my favorite poems that Mrs. Stapleton selected for us to analyze. The poet, E.E. Cummings, is a master at using form to create deeper meaning in his poetry...if you are clever enough to figure it out. The following poem, so short and concise, actually carries profound meaning thanks to its simplicity and form. Take a look:



l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness

--e.e.cummings

I saw one lonely leaf on a tree limb the other day. One leaf, abandoned by all others. This poem came to mind. If you read everything between the parenthesis, you read "a leaf falls." The rest spells "loneliness." The form is genious because it gives you a sense of falling, motion, and finality. He even uses lots of l's and f's to lengthen the poem, making it longer...all leading downward.

Mrs. Stapleton taught us to read it as "a leaf falls...loneliness." However, after I saw that poor leaf, all alone on the branch, I considered for the first time ever that the poem could read, "loneliness...a leaf falls." Abandoned by all others, why would that leaf want to hang on...alone? At least once a leaf falls, it is again amongst other leaves, so no longer alone. The loneliness seems to come more from being left behind, thus the reason for the fall. Maybe Cummings wanted the parenthesis to be an afterthought...or maybe he put it in parenthesis so it would stand out. I don't know. I don't think it matters.


I'm just so glad I'm not alone in this world. I'm so glad I do not have to suffer the fate of that poor little leaf in the poem. Aren't you?

little cabin in the woods

This weekend, Keith and I wanted to stroll and enjoy a Fall morning together before Winter comes to replace these beautiful colors with frigid temps, twiggy trees, and blankets of snow. We only have weekend mornings for this now, since the recent time change makes it completely dark outside by 4:45 pm. (i'm not okay with this!) We discovered a gorgeous area about a mile south of our house. I've driven past a zillion times and had no idea it was so scenic. I couldn't help but sing and hum the "little cabin" song as we meandered. It was just too appropriote. (I apologize now if it gets stuck in your head.)



Our secondary goal was to take more pictures of this growing belly I'm now starting to wish I could take off every night, hang up for a while so I can sleep comfortably, and then put back on come morning. (no offence Baby D!) Luckily, other than the occasional jogger and dog, there were no on-lookers around, making snapping these pics in public slightly less awkward. With a little more than 4 weeks to go, we wanted to document Baby D's belly existence while we could, before things get too hectic and the opportunity passes us by.



Don't be gettin' all excited. "D" stands for "DeSonier"...not his name. We are still not revealing the name until he is born.


Keith couldn't stand it. He wasn't going to let me leave the park until I climbed up into this chair for a picture. I couldn't stop laughing. We'll have to return to this hilariously large chair for another pic with Mommy and Baby together.

"...little man by the window stood."

tricked and treated

About a month ago, our supervisor, Lynn, sent out an email announcing our department Halloween Party. Lunch would be provided, and that's all I needed to know! I decided to make some yummy halloween treats to take for dessert. All the other interpreters talked about dressing up. I didn't really have a good costume, so I decided to be festive by wearing a lovely (eh hem) assemble of black, green, and orange.

Every week each interpreter is assigned a half day shift to stay in the office strickly to help with phone interpretations. Yesterday morning was my shift (see foto insert...for some reason, it didn't seem wierd that Marina was randomly snapping pics). Around 12:30, I finished my last call and the dispatchers and I made our way to the conference room where the party had already started. We walked in to discover no Halloween decorations, but all baby boy stuff. Huh? I then noticed the cake on table that said Congratulations Stephanie and the row of "pregnant" interpreters waiting to great me. My chin dropped, no words, then tears...I was so surprised. I can't believe how blessed I am to have a job I love, where I work alongside truly wonderful, caring people. So, we enjoyed yummy catered food, cake, my "halloween" treats (ha!)...and presents! They put together 2 wonderful baskets with lots of those little necessities like bottles, first-aid, washcloths, burp cloths, teethers, pacifiers, etc. We needed it all! Thank you INTERPRETERS!!!



Now...on an actual Halloween note...I thought I'd post some lovely costume pics. Keith and I celebrated last week with the 1st and 2nd year grad students of the P.A. school. They rented out a bar with all you can eat and drink for one cover charge. Once we were finally able to convince the door guy that I was pregnant, for real, and that it was not part of my costume, he didn't charge me because I wouldn't be drinking any alcohol (I guess he forgot about the "all you can eat" part!). I wanted to finagle a discount for Keith since he had to drive his pregnant wife home, and therefore, would not be consuming much at all. Yeah, that didn't happen. So here's our costume...


While my dad was in town, I took advantage of his artistic skills. He painted my shirt and I worked on Keith's apron. We actually won second place for "best couple" costume. We weren't there to receive the award because, well, this Mama was pooped! Hey, I made it until midnight! Some of the students really went all out. Overall, it was a great time for Keith to spend laughing and interacting with everyone in a completely non-school/stress environment.

And...allow me to end once again with my adorable niece and nephew. Grant turned 4 on October 25th. His party has become an annual costume tradition for so many kiddos. Grant is a huge fan of The Cat in the Hat. Last year, he was dressed as The Cat. This year, he and Amelia went as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Aren't they hilarious!!! They are almost as edible as the delicious cake my sister made. (I told you she was a pro!)



Hope you had fun on Halloween. We miss you!