Hospital visits!

Grandma is such the expert at feeding.

Grandpa loves is new grandson.

Kylie had fun visiting Liam!

Thanks everyone who came to visit Cesar and I in the hospital. We can tell that Liam is well loved already!

Liam Kai is here!

Ok so after a month of not blogging for like forever...yes I know its been like a month...but our beloved baby boy is finally here!! Cesar and I couldn't be more excited to have this brand new creation of God into our lives. It's funny becasue Cesar and I have now experienced more than ever God's plans and provisions for our lives and now our family's life. See now that is even weird to say that we are officially a family..but its true we are a family and God has totally provided for us...all the way from blessing us with such a good and healthy baby...to all the way of allowing us to stay and recover in one of the rare private rooms in the hospital.

So I bet everyone wants to know how it all went down. Ok so here is our story of labor and delivery:

Cesar and I were home on Saturday and I was feeling some contractions..nothing too intense..but definitely noticeable. Then at around 7pm at night I had noticed that my contractions were getting a little bit closer together and lasting about a minute long. So Cesar and I decided to make the journey to the hospital. We went in and they had checked me out and told me that I was about 2cm dialated. At that point I had the decision of either going home to ride out the contractions comfortably until they got more intense, or I can be admitted to the hospital and get some medication in me to kick start the contractions. Now of course i wanted to go home becasue I didn't want any drugs to start my labor...I wanted to Liam to come out totally naturally and on his own time. So we went home and I endured some of my contractions through out the night, although, they were a little bit too much to endure. So at 1:30 AM, and after Cesar getting only a couple of hours of sleep, we decided to go to the hospital again.

Now of course we were thinking that I probably dialated to about 4cm but they checked me again and i was still just 2 cm. So the doctor told me that the hospital could admit me and I could just endure my contractions here without getting the medication. So we said ok and got admitted at 2am and started to begin the process of hard labor. After checking me for the third time and telling me that I was still 2cm after about 3 hours the doctor decided to put me on some medication to intensify and speed up the contractions. This of course scared me cuz I wasn't sure if I wanted to rush the baby out of me...but something told me that this baby was going to come wither that day or the next...so I agreed and left it up to God to take care of everything with this labor. So I was on the mediation through out the rest of the night....Cesar was fast asleep, which was fine becasue I had the most wonderful nurse with me ...and went through a bunch of contractions.

It was about 10 am on Father's Day, Cesar totally sleepy but still coaching me along, half asleep mind you, and I am still in labor. The doc came to check me and noticed that I dialated to 3.5 cm...OMG! I couldn't believe how slow this labor was progressing. So the doc told me that he was going to break my bag of water so that the baby could make his way more down. After he did that though...all I have to say is WOW! The contractions came longer and stronger. I was literally squeezing Cesar's hand with all my strength to make them stop. Soon enough they were way to strong and I needed some drugs!!! So I gave in to the EPIDURAL!

Cesar had to walk out of the room for them to give it to me and I had to stay completely straight for them to give me the shot in my spine. To be honest, it really didn't hurt. All I felt was just a little pop in my spine and that's it. It worked super fast! It numbed me right away and I literally slept through the rest of my contractions! Cesar was so relieved that I had the epidural. I don't think he was able to see me withstand so much pain.

So I slept for a while and when I woke up which was about 8pm, they checked me again and I was told that I was 8cm! Yeah! At that point I was thinking only 2cm to go and then Liam will be here. So after another 2 hours the nurse told me that I reached 10cm and that I was ready to push. Finally we had reached the finish line. The nurse then went to go get a second opinon before she was to call the doctor to come deliver me, so one of the head nurses came in and checked me and had said no that I wasn't 10cm that I was still at 4cm! I looked at Cesar and our faces totally dropped. We couldn't believe it, and I was already in labor for a good 18 hours. At that point I knew what had to be done...they had to do a C-section on me, which of course was not my birth plan and not what I wanted. I started crying becasue I just knew that I had to face the music and get the C-section done to keep Liam from having any complications and any infections.

I got prepped which happened in like a matter of minutes and left to the operating table. My emotions were off the charts...I was nervous, excited, scared, anxious...I was all over the place. I remember just laying there on the table and shaking so much and telling Cesar to tell me everything is going to be ok. He was such a good coach in the operating room..he really stepped up to the plate to be brave for the both of us. I am really lucky to have a husband like Cesar..he knows how to take care of me. Fifteen minutes passed by and then Liam was out! Cesar and I started to cry when we heard his first cry! What an amazing thing to hear...it is something that I am never going to forget. But of course I was all drugged up and Cesar had gone up to take some pictures of Liam....and I remember I kept on saying "where's my baby" because I desperately wanted to see him. Finally Cesar brought him over and we had our first family time. Liam was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I couldn't believe he was inside me and that Cesar and I created something so beautiful. It was definitely a miraculous moment.

The next step for me was recovery and boy was it rough! I couldn't stop shaking and my tummy was just in pain. But I slept through most of the pain and when I woke up all I remember is being in a nice private and quiet room with Cesar and my son. And that was it! Now Liam is finally here and Cesar and I can enjoy life with our son. What an experience!

Cesar is finally Photogenic!! hahaha

Hey guys! Last week Cesar and I took our maternity photos with a great photographer!!! Her name is April Smith and she is a wonderful person to shoot photos with. Anyways here's a couple to enjoy..i don't know what do you guys think??? I'll tell you what though Cesar is very happy that he is finally photogenic and is actually happy with the way he came out in the photos...me...hmmm...I don't know its a little bit of getting used to...its hard to see myself 25lbs overweight..hahahaha! Well here is April's site if you want to check out some more photos of us...www.aprilsmithphotography.com/blog

Having fun at a Baby Basics Class!

Cesar and I attended a baby care class on Monday to get us a little more prepared for Liam's arrival...and we actually learned a lot of stuff that we never knew. Like for instance we learned how to take Liam a bath the first few weeks he's home, how to take care of his umbilical cord before it falls off, and also..our favorite, learned how to swaddle the baby! It was fun...Cesar and I had a good time...and to be honest I think we were the only ones laughing and really making the most out of that 3 hour class!!

Yet another Vanguard Graduation!

Dez awaiting her name being called

Silly Justin!

There's Noah!

Once again I attended another Vanguard Graduation! But it was all good...not that long or boring! I went to go celebrate my friend Dez's accomplishment in getting her Master's degree in Pyshcology. I am very proud of her and knowing that she went to Vanguard to get it makes me even more thrilled. Also Christy, my best friend, her brother Noah was graduating as well...so luckily I got to enjoy the graduation in the company of her and her husband Justin. I always have a great time with them!

Cinco de Patty

That's Mark Ballas from DWTS!

Considering that I'm pregnant and all I couldn't really celebrate my 25th birthday in grand style. However, Cesar made it very special...he took me to The Grove in LA where we had dinner and my favorite cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! After that we walked around...ended up buying a onesie for Liam....and got see the Ballas Hough band perform! For those of you that do not know who they are..they are some of the pro dancers from Dancing with the Stars...and now they have a band. We also got to see some other celebs over there...which I do have to say I don't think Cesar knows how to compose himself when he is surrounded by different celebrities..aww what a rookie..but he did get Shawn Johnson to take a pic with me! Thanks babe for a great birthday! - p

Showering Liam!

Saturday, I attended a wonderful shower for who else..me! Yup, Meygan Christy and Rachel hosted a shower for Liam. It was so much fun to see all my good girlfriends, eat great food and play lots of games. The funnest part....of course opening presents and seeing all the cute clothes and baby items that I will need for Liam. So a big shout out to everyone that showered me with lots of goodies for the baby...Cesar and I are very thankful! Here are a couple of pics..I'll post more once Meygan (the photographer for the afternoon) gives me the CD of 80 pics taken...if anyone wants to hire a great friend to photgraph your pics...gotta call Meygan..she snaps tons of photos and they come out great!