Introducing Little Miss Adilynn

Guilt has most definitely crept in as a whole 2 years has gone by since my last post. I'd like to justify it and say I moved like 20 times and had another baby but really I guess it just came down to distractions and shaming. I'll have to post a whole other post on shaming though.
Anyways I had another sweet little girl. She's so precious and almost always has a smile on her face.

Adilynn Precy Cadavieco came exactly on her due date November 13, 2015 at 1:53pm. She weighed 7 lbs. & 12 oz. And was 19 in. long.

I truly had a great labor! I prayed and prayed that I would have an easier labor and my prayers were answered. I woke up at 6am with mild but consistent contractions. I just sat in bed and relaxed for a few hours as I watched youtube videos lol. Ithe was until about 8:30-9am that I finally told my husband I think she's coming today. Of course, after a week of on and off labor...he kind of told me okay you hang in there I need to go to work but I'm not getting my hopes up for today. He went to work for only an hour and a half before my S-i-Law called him to come home. At this point I noticed I had a couple leaked but wasn't sure of it was a water because it wa I was getting all our stuff together and put a show on for Avi (my 2 year old at the time) it was Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood the episode where his new baby sister comes home, it was so appropriate and got me so excited to meet my sweetheart. Once my husband got home that was when I started to feel them a lot stronger but still able to laugh smile and have a conversation through the contractions. I remember I was talking to my mom on the phone and she kept telling me to go to the hospital  but I told her how I didn't want to go too early. For one, I always wanted my baby at home so I wanted to at least labor there for as long as possible at least. I guess I too had a fear of arriving there and only being like 5 centimeters dilated, and then having to labor there and have my progress slow down. So my husband made me a glass of raspberry leaf tea (I was drinking it for a week straight) and my other S-I-Law arrived (they were both my doula...we all together got trained to be doula and this was like a group project haha) once she arrived I started to feel my contraction very very low...pretty much in my bottom area. So we headed out and it was about a 25 minute drive and luckily I only had 3 contractions during the transport. When I got there I had to do paperwork and it was papework for in case I was released. The ladies almost seamed like they wereven expecting me to go home because I looked like a wasn't in pain. At this point I truly had to breathe through the contractions but I'm very quiet about it. So finally, they transferred me to the delivery room. Once I went to the restroom the checked my dilation...to mine and everyone's surprise, I was FULLY dilated! It was kind of comical. My midwife sped her way to the hospital which is normally a 30 minute drive but she took only 20 minutes to get their. Once she got there I had a tremendous amount of help from my doulas. But most of all I had amazing help from my husband he just knew the right things to say and he was right there hand in hand the whole time. There is actually a time that I had his arm and hand in my mouth. He got so scared when I was about to push because he thought that I was about to bite his arm really hard. Fortunately, he still has his arm LOL. Since I was fully dilated I started pushing and it was after about 20 minutes of pushing that I finally realized my body wasn't telling me to push I was just pushing because they told me to. So I so I waited and I kind of pretended to push LOL. Finally after to real pushes she came out. Then an amazing amount of Love filled every part of me. I'm so grateful for how fast and slightly easy my delivery was. I am also so grateful that I had such a great support system. But most of all I am so grateful that Heavenly Father answers prayers.

Daddys first time holding you.

Mommy of Five Weeks

                So, I've been a mother for 5 weeks now.

Where do I start? One thing I have learned is that motherhood doesn't come with instructions no matter all the books, articles, magazines, and advice from other mothers you get. In fact, although the advice may help…it just caused me to run up a wall. This first month was wonderful! But I do want to point out a few things and mention what I would want different for my next pregnancies to look back at…and for my hubby to keep in mind as well. As you read this you may think ‘I already knew that’ but to see it all written down helped me to be more aware of it.

-You’re going to feel yucky after birth. Your skin is flabby, you don’t fit into your jeans right away, you don’t have time to curl your hair and put makeup on, and your leaking onto your extremely ginormous pad. Daddy, please tell your wife how beautiful she is. Look at her taking care of your child and admire her. You guys have created life together! Smile at her when you see her nursing. When your baby cries and the only one that can make it all better is the comfort of mommy and especially her yummy milk…that’s a beautiful thing always remind of that.  A new mother needs to be reminded how beautiful she is because of the amazing journey she just went through.

-Remember your body just pushed out a child and is still working on getting back to normal. (Especially if you haf a cesarean, your body is in shock) So be aware your hormones are very unbalanced. You were just blessed with a beautiful baby. Daddy this is when you come in. Take your days off!!! Let mommy get as much rest as possible, go on walks if she’s capable, remind her of all your blessings, cuddle with her, clean the house, cook for her, and take care of baby as much as you can. Everything will be okay. Strive to be close with Heavenly Father, feel that love and warmth! He can make everything better.

-Mommy is so obsessed with her newborn. She wants to take pictures of the baby every second and in every outfit. Every store she goes to she wants to look at all the baby stuff even if she won’t buy anything. Just let her do it. Don’t complain. Be excited about it too or just act like it. Sorry, we just can’t help it. Don’t take away that excitement she has.

-Take the help! If people come over and ask if you need help be honest and tell them what you need. If they offer a meal TAKE IT. You’ll see what a huge help it is once you got it.

-A new member of the family just arrived and mommy loves seeing her family grow! Most of all, she loves seeing daddy cuddle, kiss, and being so gentle with baby. Even if she doesn't show it…every gentle hug or kiss you give baby just melts her heart. Bonding with baby makes her love you more so in a sense it’s like your bonding with baby AND mommy.

-Mommy is overwhelmed. After reading all the books, magazines, and the constant advice from other mommies; she feels like her baby shouldn't ever cry but then others say you need to let the baby cry it out so on. Reassure her that everything will be okay. Tell her to go with her gut feelings on how to raise your baby.

-You read about all this bonding with your baby when you breastfeed and then you start to see your baby sucking its fingers or pulling on your shirt looking for the goods and you start to panic because you know the baby is hungry and you are sore and chapped like CRAZY. Your uterus is also painfully contracting whenever you nurse. But keep in mind the first couple weeks is the hardest. Once you get passed it breastfeeding is a beautiful thing. Nursing in the shower or bath helped with pain and makes the bonding experience greater. Nursing will start to be a stress reliever. Watch your baby nurse especially if their awake and alert…make eye contact.

-Give yourself a break when it comes to your energy levels. Don’t be so hard on yourself. It will come back! Get rest and don’t be ashamed of it. And daddies, don’t complain if there is no dinner or if your laundry isn’t done. She used to cook and clean but now there are more priorities to be done. The last thing you want to do is make her feel guilty of her tiredness. Help her relax even more by forcing her to sleep, setting up a bath for her, or giving her a massage.

-Remember to always show daddy love too! Daddy’s can get a little jealous sometimes especially in the first 6 weeks…if you catch my drift. A happy marriage means a happy life.

     With that being said, I just want to reassure that this isn't how our first month of parenting went. I am BY FAR perfect. But now I hope it just gets better from here now that we've survived the first month we can look back and learn. Also, we have been using Harvey Karp’s method called, The Five S’s; and it has helped EXTREMELY with her. So glad we got the DVD I would suggest looking it up it’s called, “The Happiest Baby on the Block”.

    Oh yeah, my longtime friend Katrina is moving in with us tomorrow!!! I’m so excited to have her here I know that this change will bring them such great blessings! They already found a place to rent and her husband signed the lease. So I’m sure she will be mentioned in my blogs a few times. We will both be wondering around Idaho with our car seats and strollers looking for some fun (:

     

    Well, I guess it ends here because Aviana is crying for her nursing time.

1 + 1 = 3

She's here!!!!!

That's right I gave birth to a very healthy baby girl. She is now twelve days old, I've finally had time to get on here and write about the exciting news (:

So here's the story. Just a warning it may be a bit detailed, especially if you are not used to birthing talk. At around 2 am on the 8th of September I started to get contractions and so I jumped in the bath tub turned on the hot water and stayed in there for about 45 minutes until my husband joined in. He was massaging me and I was breathing through each 'wave' (a more positive word I chose for my contractions). After I got out my husband checked my cervix...I know that sounds weird but hey it’s really not that hard and I'd rather do it at home rather than driving to the hospital to find out. So sure enough I was almost 4 cm dilated. So they usually keep you in the hospital when you’re at 4 cm and having contractions 3 minutes apart, but I didn't want to go to the hospital until I knew for sure I was in labor. My contractions were about 2-5 minutes apart. I didn't have major pain so I lay on the couch and fell asleep for a little bit. My husband woke me up about an hour and a half later and we left to go meet my mom, youngest sister, and grandma at the hotel they were staying at to eat breakfast (they came down for the birth). Once I got out of the house my contractions disappeared. I think it might have been the comfort of being home was so relaxing that I was able to progress better rather than being out and about. So that day I bought some herbal Raspberry Leaf tea from our local Health Foods store, it’s been said that it helps women to go into labor quicker and to ease the pain. At around 9 pm I drank about 6 tea bags haha. I started to get contractions again but they were not painful at all but I knew I was having contractions…this time I didn't keep track of how far apart they were because I was tired of counting contractions lol. Anyways we checked my cervix and stripped my membranes more. Stripping your membranes is a natural way of inducing labor it releases a hormone called prostaglandin which can ripen your cervix. The only reason why we were really trying to naturally induce labor was because my family was only going to be there that weekend and they really wanted to meet the baby before they go home. Also my husband had called off work because the night before he was up with me all night and they gave him a couple days off in case the baby came.
     That night I started to bleeding bright red that was pretty heavy so we decided to head to the hospital in case anything happened. We get there and I’m 4 cm dilated and 90% effaced with waves that were 2 minutes apart. They were not painful at all, I just knew I would get contractions well because of that annoying monitor that keeps track of your contractions and also because my belly would turn into a rock. I then asked my nurse when would be a good time to call my mom, I didn't want her to come too early I just wanted to experience it with my husband for a while. She said once you can’t smile anymore then that would be a great time. In my head I was like…Well that’s something to look forward to -_- So they kept me there and I walked around the hospital once with my husband and they gave me an exercise ball to sit on. Then they monitored me and I fell asleep after since I didn't sleep much the night before.
     Once I woke up they noticed my contractions were really close together. They checked me again and I was at 6cm dilated and 100% effaced. Surprisingly my water still wasn't broken. The doctor came in, unfortunately it was whichever doc is on call will deliver your baby, which I really was not a fan of considering we had a birth plan set up that was really important to us which needed to be discussed beforehand; so the doctor came in wanting to break my water not asking me if it was okay. I wanted to wait until I was at 7 cm at least which is when you hit transition. I didn't want to do it too early since it can make labor more painful, and since I was already at 6 cm I figured it would break on its own soon I just had to go on a walk rather than sleeping. As I begin explaining I wanted to wait he starts putting the instrument to break my water in me and says well you’re about to break anyways it will help you…and then there it goes water just starts soaking my bed. My words were kind of taken from me but oh well, I couldn't do anything at that point and didn't want to become negative. But anyways, he said I was doing great and he said I have a great tolerance to pain and that usually at this point is the strong hard labor. I started to get nervous because that made it real, I began to think oh wow this baby is coming any moment now. I then got into the shower and washed myself and tried to relax as much as possible. The waves were stronger and a minute apart and they weren't painful I was able to easily breathe and work through them. Once I got back into bed the nurse asked me what my pain was from a 1-10 my answer was “umm…a 2?” lol. She was like wow you are doing great. She had a student with her helping her and it was going to be her first time witnessing a birth. Usually I get a little aggravated when they would bring in students during my appointments but this time she seemed really sweet and humble and considerate so I didn't mind her being there to help me. She was also excited to witness an all-natural birth. She was amazed at how hard my stomach would get when I would get a contraction.
     Around 8 am we dimmed the lights and my husband was massaging me to get my mind off the waves. This was the point where I started to feel the pain. My husband was so wonderful and helpful during my labor I was so grateful. But of course I would let myself get irritable at times and would tell him stuff like ‘Please while I’m having a contraction just be quiet’ I know that doesn't sound bad considering most women curse up a storm during labor, but for me and my hubby it was considered my rude side haha. Whenever I would let myself get irritable the pain felt worse. So I would quickly calm down and take very deep breaths. Each wave that came I would go to a different place in my mind I would imagine me and Sam with our baby on Christmas, holding her, loving her, going places, and just laying around at home. It was wonderful, many times I would find myself so deep in thought I would forget I was in labor until the waves would go away. And I would say to myself…”oh yeah, I’m about to give birth haha”. It is so amazing what your mind can do. Another thing I would do is…I would constantly be praying and thanking my Heavenly Father for this opportunity and for everything that was happening to me. I felt a great love for my husband at that time and it was so easing and relaxing to have him there.
     So I started to feel a lot of pressure so the nurse checked me again to see the progress in my dilation. It was so painful to lay down flat on my back…I felt like I could control my waves more if I was sitting up right. I finally gave in and laid down. I was 7 and a half cm dilated. When she said that, I was mortified. I was in transition state for over two hours already and only progressed 1 ½ cm!!! I felt like I was going to go through it forever haha. I had to really focus at that point because I was starting to loose myself so I started praying and I was begging for my Father in Heaven to be with me and help me.
    The doctor came in again, and he was concerned that my water broke already and I was progressing so quick before and now it was at a still point. “This isn't right at this point she should already be fully dilated!” I was so scared by the way they walked in and what he was saying. I got so sad, in my head I started to think “Crap! They better not do an emergency c-section!!!” The doctor then said, “Okay, I’m going to try something…do me a favor. When I say push, you push.” I don’t know what he did but he examined me. I pushed. “Alright! You’re fully dilated!” he then tells the nurse to let him know when I start crowning. Man, was I relieved. I was also nervous, we were just minutes from seeing our daughter.
     So the second part of labor began. I started to feel crazy pressure and I told my husband “Is it too late to ask for that epidural?” I laughed after. Which brought me to the thought about what my first nurse said about me not being about to smile anymore. I’m glad I was able to still have a positive attitude and laugh with my husband. So I started to push. One thing I regret is not giving in…I kind of wanted to suck her back into me instead of letting her come out. But there was no turning back. This was the part of labor I did not like the most. Initially I wanted to breathe through these waves of pushing her out rather than the whole nurses counting and yelling PUSH PUSH PUSH! Okay now RELAX RELAX! There is no way I can relax through that. The contractions push out your baby no matter what you do you can’t stop it. I was pushing and clenching my jaw which will cause you to tear your perineum. But they kept forcing me to push, I know no one can force you to push but when you have like four nurses and a doctor in the room yelling push it’s so hard not to and even harder to relax through it. It was the only time through my whole labor I wasn't able to relax through. My husband was telling me just breathe through them and relax through the contractions, but the nurses said “No she needs to push!” He saw the look in my eyes and how sad and tired I was from the pushing he knew it wasn't going the way we wanted.
     Then, to make things more interesting…the doctor asks me (in the middle of me pushing)
“And let me ask you, why don’t you want an episiotomy?”
 I then screamed, “WHY SHOULD I?” haha.
 “You’re going to tear no matter what. You’re already tearing. If I cut you now you’ll have your baby now. If I don’t you’re going to be pushing for a while.” He said.
     At this point I do not have enough energy to explain to him how I even talked to a doctor a week before about my birth plan and she even suggested I don’t get an episiotomy. She admitted the only reason they do them is for the convenience of the doctor…they don’t have to sew up a crooked line just a straight cut. Also, a natural tear heals quicker and better. Episiotomies also can cause the mother to tear that same cut on the next birth. So I just ignore him and my husband says NO to the episiotomy, but of course he ignores him and keeps asking.Yes I tore, but it was before she even came out I think it was from the straining, but it’s a very small tear. The next push after he tells me I’ll be pushing for a while…My healthy baby girl comes out screaming (:

All worth it! Every single second of my pregnancy, labor, and delivery! The feeling knowing you did it naturally feels so wonderful, like you can take on the world now.

Right away she came and laid on my chest (the same way she is now). Love at first sight. My husband and I looked at each other and I just fell in love with him even more. We didn't say anything but I felt his powerful love. She laid on my chest for about an hour before I finally gave her to the nurse to get weighed. We refuse the Vitamin K shot and the newborn screening. Vitamin K is for clotting blood since the baby is unable to clot their blood right after birth, I would have gotten it if I gave birth to a boy and he was getting circumcised right away which I wouldn't do either. It has also been linked with newborns and cancer. Other than that there is no reason for a baby to be bleeding heavily right after birth anyways. They receive all their Vitamin K around 8 days old. And for the newborn screening it is to check their blood and it can also see if your baby has  but my baby girl is barely getting used to so many sensations like gravity, loud noise, breathing, crying, seeing, and so on; the last thing I want is for her to feel a needle poke her heel. You can also do the screening on your pediatrician appointment, rather than doing it right away.

     So we named her Aviana Olea Cadavieco born on September 10^th, 2013 weighing at 7 lbs and 1 oz and 19 inches long. 

 My mom and husband

Finally...

I have been wanting to start my blog for a very long time now, over a year. I've finally taken on the responsibility.

     When I was younger, I did so much...I really became good at photography and now I wish I had never stopped. I was into graphic design and whipped up quite a few websites, was great with Photoshop. Now it sounds like I'm bragging so I'll stop at that, but the point I'm trying to get across is how back then I was so creative with my time and would teach myself so much. So I'm hoping this blog would give me the push and excuse to be more creative with my time. Not only that but so many memories have flashed by in my life that has been unrecorded and just lingering in my head as it slowly looses it's detail. 

     So as I'm here alone waiting for my husband to get home (he works nights from 7pm-7am plus an hour commute, I've sort of caught on to his schedule myself) I wanted to give a little recap on my last year and a half or so.

    To start off, I am a Latter-Day Saint. Was shocking news for a few friends at first because of my past...but yes I am a Mormon. I was baptized on February 5, 2012. I am sure a blog will be posted soon on how I found the true gospel. On March 24th of the same year, my brother was getting baptized and a family in my ward came to see. I was pretty close with the mother and the daughter that is only 6 months younger then me. After the baptism the father of the family (the second counselor of the bishopric) asked me to give a talk on Easter Sunday haha. Yes, me, a convert of a month and a half, on EASTER SUNDAY. After that the mother of the family invited me over to their home for their sons coming-home party. He was a long-haul truck driver for a while and was finally coming home. So later that day I went over with my family, and yes you guessed it, I met my future husband that night! It was pretty interesting because he had long hair and a beard that was about 2-2 1/2 inches long. He also hardly ate on the truck so he looked really skinny. But nonetheless I didn't care at all about his appearance all I wanted to do was get to know him. So we began talking that night and usually I am a very shy person but with him I just kept asking questions haha. I tell him now that I must of been annoying by all the things I asked but he said he didn't mind. We talked about his experience on the truck, being alone, unable to go to church, things he saw...We also talked about me and how I found the gospel and so on. 

    Eventually we started dating, and became 'Boyfriend and Girlfriend' haha. A couple days after, we had our first kiss under the stars. It took us less then two months and we got ENGAGED! That's just us mormons haha. Not for one second did I doubt that this is what I wanted to do. When you find your eternal companion there is no fighting it. We were engaged for ONE WHOLE MONTH lol. Let me tell you though, that month seamed like FOREVER. 

     So we got married in August and in the end of December we moved to Twin Falls, Idaho. What a changed, especially from a girl that has lived in California, Vegas, and New York haha. We are still here and I LOVE IT. Anyways, two days before my birthday January 19th; I realized...I think I've missed my menstrual for two months already. Me and my husband thought okay maybe its time I take a pregnancy test ahaha. I couldn't believe it at first so I had to go buy more tests,sure enough I was definitely pregnant. we were really happy and excited..little scared but still grateful. So yes, after about three months of marriage, I got pregnant with our first child <3. 

     I am full-term now, meaning our baby girl can arrive any given moment. She is now done developing inside me, so we are now playing the waiting game. Her name is Aviana Olea Cadavieco and we can't wait to meet you princess! I have loved being pregnant, there is definitely it's ups and downs. By the way other women talk about their previous pregnancies makes me think I've had it easy haha. There was this point where the very end of my spine began to twist and I could not walk but a couple visits with the chiropractor has made it possible to where I can run if I wanted. Speaking of running, the other day me and my husband raced from the car into Wal-mart and people were looking at me like I'm crazy...which I'm not surprised.

     With the baby coming we had to get a bigger home. For one, I am ecstatic about not living in an apartment anymore! We should be moving in our place in a few days. We'll see if she wants to come out when things are all ready in her room or if she wants to come and help us unpack. 

So with me and my husband just celebrating our very first anniversary, Aviana coming soon, and a new start in a new home; I figured I will finally start my blog.

I'm sure I lost you a little along the way or bored you with my detail in things but hey it's been held in for a while ahaha.  -Here is a little timeline.

After my baptism

My brothers baptism

When we just started dating

Engagement photos

Our Wedding Day

In Twin Falls

8 Weeks Pregnant

20 Weeks Pregnant

32 Weeks Pregnant

33 Weeks Pregnant