Adeline's First Rattle!

Super smiley adorable Adeline likes gifts, apparently!

What if the Wheels on the Bus DON'T Go?

As a Type A Mama, I'm of course still swimming in books on how to raise a little one. Not that I'm convinced they're helping or anything, but because I can't help myself. My current obsession? Play time.

Exhibit A

Putting down a baby to sleep? Check. How to change a diaper? Easy breezy. Feeding? Done and done (well, almost ... in my defense, I'll quote my friend Jamey, "Breastfeeding is rocket science.") But play time? It's kind of freaking me out. Not only does it NOT come naturally to me, but brain development is on the line. No pressure.

About every three hours, having just been changed and fed, Adeline makes eye contact with me with a look that says, "Whatcha got, lady?" It's "alert time" ... 10-20 minutes of brain stimulating hang out time. (They really should download you on this stuff before they let you leave the hospital). Which is where, Exhibit A comes in. Intermixed with endless mind-numbing research on the proper wiring of a child's brain, are practical play time tips like: Position a mirror in front of your baby during tummy time; talk in "Parentese" - very slow, deliberate and encouraging; shake a rattle in front of their face and see if they can "track it" as you move from left to right; stick your tongue out and see if they can mirror you; and so on and so forth.

But if only it were that easy! The more you know, the more you know how much you don't know. Which is why we're attending a class next month at "all the rage" The Pump Station in Santa Monica -- "Developmental Play: 0 to 6 Months." (And clearly I'm not the only parent obsessing about this topic because last month's class was sold out ... duh - of course I already tried to get her in ... what kind of Mom do you think I am!? It's for ZERO month olds ... which means we're already 2 months behind!)

Parenting perfection, right? I'm reading the right books, attending the right classes ... our baby is clearly on the genius track. But here's the glitch in this otherwise perfect scenario. And I quote the book: "Red flag: if it takes longer to fight through traffic jams to get to the fun baby yoga together-time class than the class itself lasts, it's probably not a wise choice. Instead, use the time you'd have spent driving to and from class and in the class to do something relaxing, freeing, and fun with your child at home."

Errrrrrrckkk!!! (That was my attempt at the sound of grinding breaks). This EXACTLY describes EVERY time you leave the house in L.A. This city has notoriously bad traffic and I'm living proof. A trip to the pediatrician takes three hours ... leaving 45 minutes to go four miles, another half hour to park (and walk from said parking spot), sit and wait for your appointment, endure appointment, and retrace your steps back to your car a mile away, and bumper to bumper it all the way home. It's exhausting. Not only that - but it's downright expensive, depressing and even dangerous. According to USNews.com:

• In major U.S. cities, the length of the combined morning-evening rush hour has doubled, from under three hours in 1982 to almost six hours today.
• The average driver now spends the equivalent of nearly a full workweek each year stuck in traffic.
• Studies repeatedly show that people making long commutes are at a higher risk for a host of maladies. High blood pressure, sleep deprivation, and depression top the list.
• On a typical day, the average married mother with school-age children spends 66 minutes driving, taking more than five trips and covering 29 miles.
• According to the most recent federal data, the amount of time mothers spend behind the wheel increased by 11 percent just between 1990 and 1995, and there's every indication that the trend is continuing.
• Moms spend more time driving than they spend dressing, bathing, and feeding a child.
• Some 42,000 people are killed in auto crashes each year, and 3 million are injured.

How's that for perspective. I'm trying to be a good Mom, and ensure her brain is wiring properly, but if you thought I was afraid of play time, I'm now terrified of my car. Which begs the question ... WHAT ARE WE DOING IN LOS ANGELES?????????????!

Exhibit B

That being said ... I'm TELLING you -- I may have to just pretend I don't know any of this. We've been cooped up at home for two months, and frankly, we're driving each other a little nuts. (I mean, I'm a good Mom and all, and I'm pretty sure she digs me, but observe Exhibit B ... clearly, she could use a little break ... and maybe some fresh air).

So now we've come full circle. I'm still a mess when it comes to play time as I try to figure out what "something relaxing, freeing, and fun with your child at home" is, but I'm also committed to NOT raising her from the back seat of my car, as she faces AWAY from me in her car seat. I understand kids need breaks, but surely, that's not an optimal brain wiring activity. I suppose this is just the beginning of "trying to find balance" - a seemingly impossible task as I see it now, just starting out at this parenting thing. But ... ready or not ... buckle up ... and wish us luck!

Adeline Month by Month - 1 Month!

Here's our little 1-month-old cutie pie!

Yes, this is my good side.

Hello, to my many fans!

Sigh. The things I do for these people.

All this posing is exhausting.

Seriously people, another picture?

Man, are grown-ups obsessed with my feet, or what?!

Adeline's First (of Many) Photo Shoots!

We had so much fun working with photographer Kym Vitar on Adeline's newborn pictures. Daddy loves to take pictures too, but we wanted him in a few of the shots, so we sprung for a professional and we're so glad we did! Little 10-day-old Adeline was such a champ (save for the first 30 minutes, where she peed all over the chair and fussed until she was fed again, poor thing!).

Here are a few of our favorites!

You Know You're a New Mom When ... Top 20 Signs

1. Your fall fashion mantra is "slippers are the new shoes."
2. You "go shopping" in your own closet, having not seen your non-maternity clothes in 6+ months (like new!)
3. You get a little baby poo on your pants and you don't change.
4. You catch yourself thinking, "did I shower today?" ... which begs the question, "when did I last shower?"
5. The definition of a nice long shower now simply means you got to wash everything (but not including your hair ... which is now reserved for special occasions).
6. When that special day does come, blow drying your hair has been re-categorized from "getting ready" to "working out."
7. You set your alarm for 3:30 a.m. and you don't have a flight to catch.
8. You've agreed to go dairy free - a SERIOUSLY inhumane request (I mean, COME ON! Goat cheese, brie and fully-loaded lattes were JUST put back on the OK list. Save for the livelihood of a helpless infant, there's truly nothing else that could have swayed me.)
9. You realize you have not one iota of modesty left, after breastfeeding at the park, La Leche support group, friend's house (at least she had a baby, too) and on Skype (perhaps not my finest moment.)
10. You diligently feed little one the recommended 8 to 12 times a day (OK, 8 - who am I kidding) and in so doing, feed yourself, maybe twice.
11. And when you do eat, you do so as if you're trying to win a contest ('cuz who knows when you'll get another chance).
12. You find yourself BEGGING for a red light so you can reach back and put your baby's paci back in.
13. You find yourself manipulating the clutch and gas at red lights to try to rock the baby back to sleep.
14. You finally "get" drive-thrus, and curse anything and everything that can't be delivered.
15. You feel a special connection with all the germaphobes out there ("Don't touch my baby!!!")
16. You can't stop talking like Mickey Mouse, which will make conference calls really awkward if this doesn't knock off before I go back to work.
17. You can successfully say things like "rectal thermometer," "breast," "pee" and "poo" without breaking into hives or uncontrollable giggles (OK, maybe not "poo.")
18. You find yourself desperate to give pregnant women advice, not knowing what else to do with all that now useless knowledge (and JUST when you'd gotten over all that useless wedding planning 411).
19. You're incapable of calling people by their first names. Everyone has a nickname now, including but not limited to: Sugar, Punkin (spelling intended), Sweetie Pie and Lovey.
20. You swore you'd never be referred to as "So and So's Mom" and then go out and buy Mommy "Play Date" business cards that say just that (Did I just admit that? I did, didn't I. Well they were free, besides shipping, so there.)

Girl's Gone Child

Exhibit A :-)

Welp, I'm a mom. How do I know? For starters, I am staring at an adorable little munchkin as I type (see Exhibit A), that somewhat closely resembles Jared and I, and secondly - the HECK that is labor is SEARED into my memory. FOREVER.

On Aug 27 at 10:52 pm, I indeed endured part one of "baby boot camp" (which I suspect never really ends) and limped through this mysterious rite of passage ... and surprisingly - no, shockingly - lived to talk about (honestly, wasn't sure there for a second!)

The reason it's at the forefront of my mind? I made SURE to make many a mental note, lest I fall into the easy breezy sing songy "it was hard but worth it" camp. Can't count the number of times I heard this from well meaning moms and can I just say? Did. Not. Do. Labor. Justice! And I'm kinda pissed about it. :-)

OK, OK, so I exaggerate for effect, but for reals - I'm super glad it's over, and seriously considering adoption next time (which is just a good idea anyway, don't you think?) I was at one of the best hospitals with one of the best doctors and even then, stuff goes down! A few details for those that want the nitty gritty:

Induced at midnight with Pitocin and a foley balloon (and anyone knows me knows how much I hate balloons!). The balloon had to be put in twice (not fun) ... only to have to be put in a third time 6 hours later when the nurses realized it wasn't in right. Anyone who has had a baby will agree that 6 EXTRA hours of labor is super not cool. OK, so now we're at about 7:30 AM at this point. We wait wait wait, and wait some more - and finally, yay - I'm at 4 cm. - a vast improvement over zero! And then we wait wait wait and wait some more ... and I finally get to 6 cm. I figure that's as good a time as any to get an epidural, so I do. Then we get to play the fun game of, get "sunny side up" baby girl to turn over, so I lay on alternating sides for what seems like forever. Fast forward a couple hours (yes, more waiting) and wouldn't you know, the darned epidural STOPS working. During TRANSITION (or in other words, when you really need it). So for about an hour, I experienced true labor in what can best be described as mind-blowing, back labor pain. My hat goes off to anyone who didn't have an epidural cuz that $%&* is CRAZY. Anesthesiology to the rescue .... and I've got a NEW epidural. There, that's better. (Seriously though, who gets TWO epidurals?) But a good working epidural can't do anything about the fact I'm stuck at about 8 cm. with no light at the end of the tunnel. After hours and hours and hours, I had small, far apart contractions, and no sign of progress. Since nearly 24 hours had gone by, it wasn't looking good and the doc started throwing around the C word. Now we're all about what's best for the baby, but what's more frustrating than going through all of that, only to have a C-section? At about 8:15 PM, the doctor said she'd wait one more hour just to see if there was any more progress, but if not, it's off to the OR. The hubby immediately solicited the prayers of friends and family, and miraculously, I was 9.5 cm. when she came back to check. Without hesitation, my doctor recommended we get to pushing (you can do that when you're not exactly a 10?)! About an hour and a half later, we met our darling baby girl!

Three weeks later, the craziness of labor hasn't waned from my memory BUT my love for my daughter is vast and endless and overflowing and I find myself slipping dangerously into saying things like ... "it was hard, but worth it." Ultimately, that's precisely how I feel. But if a preggers friend comes to me looking for some encouragement and advice going into the big event, I'm not likely going to serve up the truth on a silver platter! (She'll thank me later, right? Maybe ignorance isn't bliss?)

P.S. In closing, why do our sweet little tikes get birthday presents when, in all seriousness, mama really should be celebrated too, right? It's like, "Yay --- your mom pushed you out for like 24 hours! Here's some cake and balloon animals!" (And sorry Adeline - thanks to mama's phobia, there will be no balloons. Like, never. But we'll make up for it with lots of cupcakes and ice cream or whatever else your heart desires!)

Introducing Miss Adeline Louise Wright

Little Miss Wright finally made her debut exactly one week late (thanks to a little trick called induction) on August 27, 2011 at 10:52 PM (yes, that would make it a nearly 24-hour labor, thank you very much.)

She was 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and 19 1/4 inches long (not 20 1/2 inches as previously reported, unless she'd shrunk by the time she saw her pediatrician at 4 days old).

We are SO in love with this little beauty! She's alert, healthy, and for the most part, a VERY happy baby! She has me convinced that 2 week olds can smile because just as she's drifting off to sleep, she's all smiles. It's heart melting. Back to the alert part .. you should see her watch her swing's mobile. Imagine that you've just seen the most mind-blowing fascinating thing in your LIFE! That's how she stares at the mobile. And can you blame her? Orange/yellow camel, green alligator, black and white zebra and a purple rhino? I mean, come on! Seriously cool stuff.

We love watching her wake-up, as she's perfected a 10-15 minute fit of stretching. She LOVES having her head rubbed and when she's inconsolably fussing, walking around with her outside does the trick. I hold her right at my tummy and the bouncing is just like when she was in the womb. Must be comforting because it works like a charm. She LOVES to sleep, just like mama! Takes forever to wake her up when it's time to eat. She's gaining weight at record speeds, which is a good thing at 2 weeks old (at what point do you go from "ohhhhh so chubby ... so cute!!!" to "egats! childhood obesity?!" Fine line, I would think?)

Here are a few pictures taken at the hospital during her first few minutes of life!

Proud parents, totally awestruck.

Dr. Walden - best doctor ever (who spent more than 12 hours at the hospital with us, waiting for her arrival).

In Cedars Sinai signature cap and wrap (while contemplating world peace).

 Baby's First Head Shot!

God willing that she continues napping reasonably, there will be many more pictures and blog posts to come!

Push Present

How are husbands supposed to get the memo about "Push Presents" unless their detail-oriented, diligent, and "so on top of things" wives tell them? They're not! Which is why I thoughtfully took it upon myself to give him the 411.

So ... come again? Push Present? Though pretty self-explanatory, I'll explain. Us crafty women turned labor into yet another way to eek out a fabulous gift out of our adoring men. The idea is that we're birthing THEIR baby, and thus, are deserving of a little trinket of sorts. Totally reasonable right? I initially brought it up in jest, but soon had myself absolutely convinced that I too was deserving of some little token, despite Jared's protests that OUR CHILD is gift enough. Blah, blah, blah - an amazing cherished miracle - yes, I KNOW - but mama likes her some presents too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So without further ado ... here's my (well, OUR ... I am planning on breastfeeding after all) Push Present (cuz after all, I plan on making my birth partner WORK IT too) ...

Forget jewelry (I'd just loose it or break it), forget a nice handbag (I've got a spiffy new diaper bag, after all), what I cannot wait to do is celebrate our amazing, precious daughter with a toast, featuring a nice glass of Santa Barbara Syrah! I worked in the wine biz for a few years in Santa Barbara after college and remember Qupe being incredible, and Syrah is one of Santa Barbara's pride and joys. Plus, we got an aerator for Christmas and I can't wait to use it on a nice big red! And yes - I already got a box of Milkscreen for post-wine fun. Not to worry.

Thank you hubby for being a sweetheart and helping me celebrate my wine fast with a really special bottle!

Baby Lounge

We've been working on the baby's room ... err baby lounge as we're calling it (as it's a combo baby room and office) pretty much off and on since we heard the good news. Only today - a day past her due date - are we ready to say it's 100 % complete!

The theme is architecture/city skylines, building (get it?) off of Jared's previously existing office theme. 

Here are a few pics! (P.S. - No need for a "spoiler alert" -- there were a couple monogrammed details that we took down for the photo shoot). :-)

Stage Fright

Our little one missed her Aug. 20th due date yesterday - very characteristic of Mama (who was 2 weeks late) and not so much Dada (who arrived promptly on his due date). So, looks like we've got a little Mommy's girl on the way! :-)

Biding our time at Thai food last night (the spicier the better - hey, it can't hurt!) I received the following fortune in my cookie. So THAT'S why she hasn't arrived yet! Too cute.

Baby Bump - 40 Weeks

On 'Lil Bebe's Due Date!

Los Angeles Baby Shower Highlights

I was blown away by the outpouring of love at my LA baby shower! My mom, sis and niece came from Turlock, and mother-in-law and sister-in-law flew all the way from Texas. Held at a cute little garden patio at a favorite quaint market, I was surrounded by amazing friends and family and definitely "showered" with love and gifts for lil bebe! Thanks to my sis for helping plan everything, and to Karen - best mother-in-law ever, for hosting!

Here are some highlights! (We learned from the last shower and took more photos this time!)