Happy Birthday Juniper Marie Linkh!!

After 32 hours of labor..a cervix that wouldn't budge..a failed epidural..and a c-section..

We welcome you to the world.. Happy Birthday little Juniper marie.

Born November 18th 2010. 8lbs 6oz

21.5'' long.

We love you beyond words...and thank you for choosing us for your family.

xoxoxo Mommy & Daddy

 

39 weeks ...the waiting game ..

I'm officially tired of being pregnant ;)..I'm as big as a house ..can't walk..cant sit for long..and my feet are so swollen they don't even look human anymore. I guess this is the price of bringing a beautiful little baby into the world. Last visit to the midwife my blood pressure was high so they are a bit concerned. Looks like if Junie doesn't come on her own by next tues. It was suggested that we induce labor to get her out.

I wasn't too thrilled about that ..but I guess as long as she comes out ok and in good health thats all that should matter.  I developed a crazy rash on my belly which the midwife said is normal..It's called PUPPP and should go away as soon as I deliver but it itches like crazy and it's driving me insane. Also developed group B strep (yay)..another totally common thing apparently, I was told it's a bacteria that can live in your intestines harmless for me but can be really dangerous for the baby ..so when I go into labor I will have to be put on antibiotics (more yays) . This pregnancy thing is so nerve racking, but I suppose I can't complain too much, over all it was a really easy pregnancy. I hope labor isn't too painful. I've been having a lot of anxiety about it. I know Jim will be there to help and i'm super confident in the hospital and staff that work at Winthrop..but it's still scary.

Ultrasound today to make sure Juniper can fit through my Va-Jay Jay

So today I have another ultrasound to make certain that Juniper won't come out the size of Gary Coleman. At 31 weeks they estimated she already weighed 4 pounds! That would make her around 8.5 pounds at birth, finding this bit of information out scared the crap out of me and made me cry like a weenie in the parking lot , the images of her coming out and shredding my vagina were all I could think about.
Fingers crossed she is under 8 pounds at birth. Either way..as long as she is healthy.. that's what really counts.
*********UPDATE*************
So it looks like Juniper is about 5 1/2 pounds right now..at 35 weeks. Which is completely normal! Yay!! The midwife pushed the due date back to the original date of Nov. 19th..sighss. I'm starting to think this is not an exact science. 5 more weeks to go!!

Infant care class..

So we went to an Infant care class today..you know it's one of those classes that are supposed to ensure that you don't kill your child accidently or raise them to be feral children.

 Overall it was pretty informative..we were instructed to bring a baby doll for practice. Jim said our doll looked like an old man, she kinda did. I think she looked more like Uncle Fester from the Addams Family. Anyway..the class was well prepared and entertaining ..although it did leave me feeling like I really had no idea what I was doing. There were so many things I was totally clueless about.
 For example, Don't use wipes on infants under 5 months because it dries out their skin.
 Don't use lotion because you want babies to learn to regulate their own production of oil.
Don't put a hat on a baby indoors.. because again you want them to learn how to regulate their own temps.
Leave their arms out when swadling to avoid a possible suffocation.
Only use pacifiers that are one whole piece.
Who knew?

Baby Shower!!

What a blast! We had a great time today..it was so nice to see all of my friends in one place. Mom had rented a tent for the occasion and it was held in her backyard. The decorations were gorgeous and the food was amazing , we had it catered by this place in Brooklyn. The cake came out sooo cute thankfully michelle took a pic before dropping the cake in her car ..So instead of it reading" Welcome to the world Juniper "it looked more like "Welcome to the wor*&#$$!!%" haha.

Jim's family was there and a lot of my moms friends and Jim's buddies and of course my friends.

Jim's dad Ed , George (jims friend) and Jim

Jim's parents , Grandma Ann and Grandpa Ed

Frank and Alice

 I was so happy that we managed to avoid playing any stupid baby shower games :) Over all it was super laid back and beautiful. The weather was amazing, kinda cloudy and nice and cool. The only piece missing was the Estrada's but I know they were there in spirit. The cupcakes my friend christine made were soooo cute and looked perfect on the table next to the cupcake favors.

 Considering baby showers are typically an all chick thing Jim had a lot of fun. I'm glad we went ahead with a co-ed shower.
I could not believe the amount of presents Juniper received. She has enough clothes for the first year of her life! We got some pretty cool things.
While opening the presents got Jim to wear a silly ribbon hat..hehe..he was such a good sport.

                                           Me and Jim opening presents :)

I feel really blessed to have such great family and friends. I want to thank everyone for such a lovely day! Thank you for celebrating with us!!