bouncer...!

i got one of those baby bouncers that vibrate for my baby shower♥

and it works!

kai wouldn't sleep...so i put him in it and i think he likes it!

daddy looks tired... *yawn*

the wrist rattle i got from sam! it's still too big for his wrist hahaha

the many poopy faces...!

o yea, he's pushing one out!

hahahah!

it's elvis!

mits...!

yea, he moves his hands and fingers all over his face that he's starting to scratch himself all over!

so we got him mits, aka boxing gloves!

they're so big on him...hahaha!

*pow pow!*

those cheeks...!

waaah! look at those poofy cheeks!

hahahaha it's too cute♥

as you can see from the bag under my eyes, i have severe lack of sleep...

i feel like i've been up for days!

naps every 2~3 hours is not easy....

o yea, he was pooping right here!

i caught it on camera...you can hear a huge wet fart!

go kai!

my mom has been a huge help!

she took a week off to help me care for kai...she has magic up her sleeves!

i'll try for hours to get Kai to sleep but my mom can do it in 2 seconds...

she's been cooking us food and help clean the apartment...

i'm so thankful ♥

10.21.2011 Kai is finally here♥

Kai Theodore Showecker is here♥

finally, on 10.21.11 he has arrived!

his original due date was 10.17---but of course he decided to chill in my belly a few days longer.

so i started contractions on Saturday the 15th...mild but annoying enough.

finally after 3 days of having contractions i went to the hospital.

i was "observed" for about 5 hours before i got sent home for "false" labor.

ugh!

well the next day i went back to the hospital and it was the real deal.

my whole plan was to go all natural--no drugs, no pain meds.

i was doing good for about 16 hours. i was dilated 7cm and the pain was just horrid!

it was the worse pain ever...omg. i had to ask for an epidural :(

when i finally got to the point of pushing, i pushed for about 3 hours and he wasn't coming out.

why?? his head was too big to pass through my pelvic bone!

so in the end, i had to get a c-section. i cried because it wasn't my plan... and i was really scared.

it's major surgery...

but James was with me the whole time and he came out at 9:59 am weighing 7lbs 9oz.

21 inches long and screaming like no other!

i stayed in the hospital for another 3 days for recovery...wow, it was so painful.

i'm just now finally starting to feel better. i can walk around more but still can't lift heavy things.

all in all, it was a crazy experience. but the nurses were suuuuper nice and they've been great!

and Kai was all worth it♥♥

it's papa james!

nursing! didnt' think i could but i've started producing milk!

auntie erika♥

here's Kai's first pillow i made for him

*yawn*

he loves to be swaddled! we call him Burrito

and his first car ride home!

Julie's handmade blanket came in handy and he loves it!

insomnia...!

yep..i have insomnia!

it's 3 am and i'm wide awake due to my daytime napping :D

more baby updates!

i went to the doctor today and i'm 1cm dilated! yay!!! this is progress!

the doctor even felt his head inside of me but boy does it hurt when she checks the cervix!

like it really really hurts :(

she's pretty sure i'm going to pass my due date and since i really don't want to get an induction i'm going to try everything i can to naturally induce labor:)

we heard that foot massages can trigger induction...so i'm gonna request a foot rub from jamus!

supposedly walking around helps too...so tomorrow i'm going for a walk. it's a good thing the weather is nice again.

late baby...?!?

so at my last doctor's appointment i was still NOT dilated.

she told me that first babies tend to come late...and boys especially are ALWAYS late!

omg!

come to think of it, connie's baby was late...and so was paul and kimberly's baby!

she's hoping he'll come a week after the EDD, at the latest.

otherwise, i'll have to get induced...and i don't want that :(

oct 17 is the EDD..but if he comes later, he might be a scorpio instead of a libra!

interesting... i'm a scorpio too so it'll be me & baby versus Gemini James!

hee hee!

belly @ 38 weeks...!

"gah! look at mah belly!"

38 weeks!
i'm ready for him to come out....
in fact, i believe i started getting practice contractions this week!
last night in bed, i started feeling extreme tightening and pressure inside...
somewhat painful...not too bad, but i'm pretty sure it's close to what they call a Braxton Hicks.

also, today is October 5th!
a little fun fact:
did you know that October 5th is the most popular birthday?!?
apparently it's the day most babies are born when they were conceived on New Year's!
i didn't know ppl liked to do it on New Year's so much! i would've thought maybe valentine's day.
haha!

my final ultrasound for this guy...@37 weeks!

o boy...he's gonna hate me when he sees this post someday...
here's his peen shot!
yep we're DEFINITELY having a boy♥

AND check this out! it's his face!
it was hard getting a good shot of it but here's what we got!
he's got big cheeks! i wonder if he'll have a full head of hair??

also, his head is way down in my pelvic area and my cervix is now 'soft', meaning it's getting really close to dilating..!
holy cow... he's coming really soon!

belly @ 36 weeks...!

he's big! he's heavy! and if it were up to me he can come out now!!
he's also a lot more active than before--his feet stick out the side of my belly!
i caught a few moments on video camera too.
by Monday, i'll be Full Term--meaning he can come out anytime starting Monday!
if my instincts are right, he's coming out sooner than October 17th...so we'll see!

i have my hospital bag packed up and ready!

also, we went on a hospital tour last week.
the "labor room" is a lot nicer than i thought.
it's not very "hospital" like, which is a good thing!
i get my own personal bathroom, hot-tub, refrigerator, sofa, flat screen tv with cable and dvd player, etc.
i should also start making a "pregnancy mix" on my ipod for soothing.

o boy...i am SO anxious...starting to panic a bit... EEEEE!!!!!

my family registry...!

today we are going to the japanese consulate to establish my OWN family registry ♥

i will be adding James as my husband \(o^_^o)/
and once the baby is born, he will be added too AND will become dual citizen just like mommy!
i'm kind of excited about this!
James even learned to write his full name in japanese, just in case they ask him to sign his name in japanese. ♫

the pack & play is here...!

YAY!

and now our pack & play is here!

erika helped me put it together, then i treated her to some Yummy Pho♥

yes, there's snoopy again !

yeesh! my nook is getting crowded...

we really need to get organized here...!!

stroller GET...!

 

 yay! so our stroller arrived Saturday!

who knew there was assembly required?

i was waaaay too tired and HOT from the heat so i just watched James put it together for me♥

tada~!! 

and once again i used snoopy as our "baby" and i test drove the stroller around the apartment.

i gotta say..it feels weird! the stroller is so huge i can't even see in front of me!

you can't tell from these pictures but the textile is a cute print of forest animals♥

including owls! porcupines and deer. it's pretty cute and i think it works for both genders.

this kind of stroller is called the "travel system"

it comes with an infant car seat/carrier, works as an infant stroller AND you can take that out and use it as a stroller for when they get older! WOW strollers have become so advanced these days...

o, and he gets a canopy top with a sun roof window! how fancy is that?!?

handmade goodies...!

check this out!!

so alon is seriously like the craftiest most creative hands-on person i know!
look what she made for the baby!
it's a diaper changing travel pad AND an adorable stuffed animal♥
YES, all made from sewing!

here's what it looks like opened up!
it's got pockets and omg...i LOVE the print!

and here's the stuffed kitteh who will no doubt get slobbered all over in the future!
thank you alon! these are great!!

also, spring and julie knit/crocheted these blankets as well!
they came out gorgeous!
i can only crochet one pattern... i should learn to do these intricate patterns!

playing with baby clothes...!

i'm always up in the morning WAAAAAY before james.
so i like to mess with him.... like this!
hahahahah!! you can tell he's still sleepy...

"me too me too! take a pic of me!"
hahaha wow..mine came out kinda creepy!