It's a Boy!!!

James Joseph La Liberte

Monday, November 18, 2013

12:28 pm

7 lb. 11 oz. (3485 grams)

20 in. (51 cm)

We are so in love.

39 weeks

very first "belly shot" @ 5 weeks

38 weeks 4 days

• what a difference 27 weeks makes!

12 weeks 5 days vs. 39 weeks

dedicated papa doing a little nesting himself

freshly sanded and stained rocking chair - she's a beaut!

• 39 weeks pregnant...what?!
• this will probably be our last produce picture, as according to thebump.com, week 40 is a jackfruit...where does one even get a jackfruit?!

now THAT'S a BUMP! 

(p.s. couldn't find a watermelon smaller than this one...I hope our baby isn't quite this big!)

• baby watch continues!
• any guesses on the birthdate? boy/girl? weight? time? ...because I'd sure like to know!  
• I have a pregnant pool party to attend tomorrow, mom's coming on Friday and I'd like to take her to lunch, and Saturday would be good for getting some cushions made for that rocker...so baby, how is Sunday looking for ya?

A Baby Party!

Sa 11.2.13

turkey's done...fully popped! 37 weeks 4 days

• so the expat community here is really pretty great...
• I should give a little background on these two little ladies you see below:

• that's Elena on my right and Carolyn on my left
• funny enough, we all three probably lived in Chicago at the same time at one point without knowing it, and ended up meeting in Buenos Aires...we also all three ran the BA Marathon last year
• I met Elena at a girl's going away party when we first moved here...when I found out she was a runner, I got her info. right away and she so graciously passed along all the links to running groups, races, etc. she also put me in touch with my first private Spanish teacher who I loved and was with for my first year
• I met Carolyn after a yoga friend came back from a class telling me, "There's a new teacher who's from Chicago!  You should meet her!" (you don't know how excited I was) So I went to one of her classes, we met, and just started hanging out more from there...did some marathon training runs together, met Elena for brunch, etc.
• basically, these girls are great, and have been wonderful friends with which to share this expat experience...
• they're the ones who thought to have a baby party for me, they planned everything, and co-hosted...see all that food there?  they prepared IT ALL!  Wow! what a spread...

• I'm still dreaming about those lemon bars and that hummus with homemade challah bread...
• of all the eight guests (one not pictured) five of us are pregnant and one, Dawn on the far left, just had a baby a little over a month ago...

• and look what bundle of a surprise she brought along with her:

• ...little baby Alex!  Let me tell you...having a sweet little baby at a baby shower with a bunch of pregnant ladies is a great idea!
• he peacefully slept most of the time, and was calm and precious when awake...putting all of us soon-to-be-new-mothers a bit more at ease with this journey we're about to embark on
• another surprise guest was Cassandra, a licensed esthetician Canadian expat who just moved to BA
• a pampering baby party...GENIUS idea!
• Cassandra offered the choice of either a manicure, pedicure, or facial to each guest, so in between snacking and chatting, we went one-by-one get our special treatment done...I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed this brilliant idea
• I chose a pedicure, then even got to sneak in a facial at the end (thanks so much Cassandra...it was all nothing short of heavenly!) 
• I wish I had pictures of the set-up because Cass brought the coolest, hottest new colors of nail polish, and she set up a massage bed for facials in Carolyn's bedroom...it was like a portable mini-spa...fabulous!
• here I am with the hostesses, cutting the delicious homemade strawberry cake, made by Carolyn

I felt weird holding the knife...I don't know

• as a gift, the ladies pitched in money for Jake and I to purchase a rocking chair...the last big thing that we really felt we needed/wanted for the baby while here in BA
• check out what we found on Mercado Libre (kinda like Argentina's Ebay):

• Jake's in the process of sanding and staining it as we speak...once we get it all polished up, and maybe add a few cushions for comfort, it'll be perfect for those late night feedings and rockings, don't you think?

• well ladies, this was my favorite way to spend an afternoon: in the company of wonderful friends, delicious food and drinks, luxurious pampering, ans always interesting and fun conversation...
• as I always say, being far away from home, family, and friends is not easy at times, but people and events like this really help us make it through...couldn't have survived here without you
• THANK YOU for making this special time in our lives even more special...it was great celebrating with you!

snapped a picture of the balloons the day after the shower...sadly they had already lost their umph...boy or girl!?!? :)

so then this happened...

F 11.1.13

• I should really know better by now
• rain = excuse to get out of anything...
• ...meeting a friend, English class, opening your indoor organic market...
• ...sadly, the predicted "tormenta" affected my plans for attending (for the first time) the San Telmo Verde Organic Market
• to me, the storm didn't seem too bad, and I really wanted to stock up on produce, meat, eggs, honey, bread, cheese, etc.
• so I hopped on the bus, got a seat right away (because I'm pregnant) and didn't mind (too much) the one hour bus ride because I was sitting and could read my book
• but really, it shouldn't have been an hour bus ride...sometimes things get a little nuts-o in this city when rain's involved
• anyway, got off the bus, walked a couple blocks to Perú 677, only to find this:

will we "nos vemos" el martes 5?!

• NOOOOOO!!!!!!
• boo...by now I REALLY had to use the bathroom (can barely go an hour these days) so I found a café, used their services and had a late morning snack
• then I taxi'd home
• and tried again on Tuesday

Tu 11.5.13

• OPEN!!!

• so happy to finally check you out, San Telmo Verde...now if only you sold meat on Tuesdays, I'd be so happy!

San Telmo Verde

Perú 677

Tuesdays and Fridays 10am-6pm (maybe?)

*check their Facebook page before making the trek down! ;)
(p.s. heading from Parque Las Heras area, the 59 or 10 gets you there in about 30-45 minutes, rather than an hour+ on the 29)

37 weeks - full term!

37 weeks 4 days

Tu 10.29.13

• here we are at 37 weeks pregnant, which some refer to as "full term"
• I haven't given much of an update in terms of "stats" lately, so I thought I'd give a quick round-up of appointments from these weeks
• last week I had my last set of "análisis"/tests done: ya know, blood, urine, toxoplasmosis, HIV, GBS, etc.
• everything looks good except for that darn GBS aka Group B Strep...my OB told me not to worry (haha) and that he'd give me an antibiotic during labor...apparently this thing is pretty common (so if you're a pregnant lady who tested positive as well, send me a note...we can talk)

Th 10.31.13

• HAPPY HALLOWEEN! to all you up north

 look who I got to Skype with!? the runner, business woman, and cowgirl...I mean...that cowgirl!

 (p.s. when did they get so big?!)

• today I had a general check-up with my OB...will have them every Thursday from here on out!
• he did the usual...looked at results of previous tests..no concerns, measured belly, listened to heartbeat, answered my questions and I was outta there

Sa 11.2.13

• today we had most likely our last ecografía (just a normal one this time...no fancy 4-D business)
• the technician told us everything looked good - head is still down, amniotic fluid and placenta look good, heart's tickin' at a good rate, and baby is about 3.1 kilos! that's about 6.8 pounds...we got a big one in there!
• here are some stats for you:

presentación: cefálica
dorso: izquierdo
líquido amniótico: normal

placenta: anterior, no previa   grado: II
latidos cardiacos: positivos
movimientos fetales: presentes
peso estimativo: 3100 gramos +/- 15% (6lb 13oz!)

                

              measurement                             ~ weeks

• diámetro biparietal: 87mm -           35.6 semanas +/- 3-4 semanas
• circunferencia cefálica: 323mm -      37.3 semanas
• circunferencia abdominal: 337mm -  38.1 semanas
• fémur: 72mm -                             37.1 semanas

Tu 11.5.13

• ok, by now we're at 38 weeks...38!!!
• apparently the size of a pumpkin

hard to find traditional orange pumpkins here, so we'll just go with a fun pose...@ 38 weeks 4 days

• a few last thoughts before posting today...
• so this "maternity leave" definitely has not left me without work...between institutes and private classes, along with the ginormous checklist I created for myself, I've kept quite busy
• however, I've made this week my official last week of work (unless I give one extra little class to a student who's trying to cram for an exam...oops) but otherwise, DONE! next week I'll have completely open, then my mom arrives Friday the 15th!  YAHOO!
• I've been having little chats with the baby lately, asking for it to please hang tight until Grandma arrives...let's see if he/she listens
• I do checklists...
• every week I have an ongoing list, and a separate weekend list...brings me back to our wedding, and the humongous list I had for that...it's just how I get things done
• the thing with this list is that I don't have a set date/time deadline like I did for the wedding...so if the baby decides to come before everything's checked...so be it (hard for me to accept sometimes...if I don't do it now, it may not get done!)
• I've been trying to channel my inner-runner in preparation for labor...you know, pump myself up for the pain that I know I'm about to endure...a little toughness training to help me push through...ya know
• I'm really liking me + bump lately...it's just so handy to have the baby in there..I don't mind carrying it around the city...keeps me company...it's a little hands-free buddy (for now) and I'm trying to enjoy that...especially when it's going to be me + baby #1 + bump  someday...now that'll be quite different, right?