3 weeks and Growing!

Today is Gemma's 3rd week of life! In honor of her birthday the folks at Bungie decided to commemorate the day and release the long-awaited Halo3. Scott and the rest of the world are having fun playing it as I write - Yahoo! :)

As Gemma's gift to us, last night she slept for 4 hours at night - from 12:30 am until 4:30am. I was in shock since we've been trying to get her night/day switched and it has been exhausting at night. So her sleeping that much at night was like a magical gift. And then after I nursed her she went back to sleep for another 3.5 hours! Wow. I felt like a beginner golfer who after being so frustrated about her swing finally got that wonderful effortless swing and lovely hollow 'hit' sound. Or a newbie basketball player who just hit her first 3-pointer and hit 'nothing but the bottom of the net'. Aaaah :)The only disadvantage to this event was that I did wake up feeling like someone had replaced my breasts with hard large cantaloupes - ugh - I was engorged! It was amazing how un-Pamela Anderson I felt with huge boobs at that moment. Even after a good feeding, I still had plenty of milk on one side and it was super uncomfortable and painful to the touch. So there I was @ 5:30am trying to read my breast pump manual and get my head around that whole thing . Why didn't I do that sooner?!? I eventually gave up and opted for sleep only to wake up even more engorged and REALLY needing, requiring, Gemma to feed. Luckily she cooperated wonderfully. What relief! :)

Today I went to the 'Latch Clinic' again at Washington's Education Center. I have to say that those folks, Karen Smith (right) and Suzie Lindley (left), are so wonderful and helpful. The 2 times I've been there they've made me feel confident, supported, educated and even made me and the other women laugh and laugh heartily. It feels so good. Plus, again, I can't believe the clinic is FREE. For anyone in the area, please go check it out at 2299 Mowry, Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 - 12pm. You will not regret it.

At my visit to the clinic today, I found that Gemma gained 1lb this week!She now weighs 8lbs 11oz!!!! I could tell she was growing and gaining weight but I didn't realize it was that much. I was hoping she had reached the 8lb mark today so I was happily surprised to find she had well surpassed it.This week has been all about the liquids...
For a few days, Gemma had stopped pooping as much. At first we were concerned but our doctor assured us that at this point babies pooping frequency goes down. She's been peeping a lot and growing so we shouldn't be concerned.

So Scott was changing her last week and as he was holding up her legs and announcing to me that she had only urinated, a major enormous projectile poop came flying at poor Scotty and covered his hands, arms and shirt (not to mention the changing table and carpet behind Scott). He yelped so loudly that the sound-activated toy we had across the room started up. I, of course, couldn't stop laughing. I know it was bad. And as he stood there in shock and not moving, she launched another projectile at him - it was just too hilarious! He laughed too - he's such a good sport. At this point Scott was truly inaugurated into fatherhood. hahahaha! :)

This week I also found out that I am a leaker. I was in the middle of nursing Gemma when she suddenly unlatched and I proceeded to squirt milk at her! I was in shock and laughing as I was trying to reach for a cloth with which to clean her (and myself) up. My poor baby got it good! This week I also soaked my first breast pad and leaked through several shirts. Yes, this all coming from the woman who thought she wasn't going to be able to produce milk. Ha!

Oh, and this week we also ventured into giving Gemma a bath - just me and Scotty - unsupervised! :) We all did ok!Lots of love, light and sleep to you all!
~Scott, Rosi, Gemma and Blitz



Ps. My first attempt at uploading a little video of Gemma:

2 weeks today!

Today our baby Gemma is 2 weeks old and thriving. :)

Breastfeeding has finally become much easier for me - it doesn't hurt anymore. Yahoo!!!! Plus Gemma makes these great "I'm satisfied" sounds afterwards that are just too precious and just melt my heart. Here's a great inspirational picture that is displayed at my favorite lactation consultant's office, Gail Fiock @ PAMF Fremont:So news - Gemma's umbilical cord stump finally came off! She still has a little bit of a scab so we are holding off on a full-fledged bath. But we did manage, with the incredible help of Rocio, to give her a sponge bath this weekend. Scott was a super star - he's the one who did all the bathing while I nervously watched and stayed close to him. Gemma did pretty well - she protested some but wasn't outraged, ya know? Also, she seemed to really like getting that big head of hair washed. hahahaha She relaxed once Scott washed her hair, just like when the nurses washed it while in the hospital. Sorry no pictures - I intended to take some but then was soooo distracted and nervous that I forgot. Once we do the official official bath, I'll hope to remember to take some photos. :)
Today was also her 2-week wellness checkup with our pediatrician. It was a great reassurance that Gemma is growing steadily:
* weight = 7lbs 11 oz (her birth weight was 7lbs 3oz) - 25 percentile
* height = 20.75" (her birth height was 18") - 75 percentile
* head circumference = 13.58" - 50 percentile
* temp = 99.1 degrees f (anything below 100 is normal)

All-in-all, we've been doing well. I really appreciate Scott working part-time. It is a wonderful relief to have him come home and give me a break every afternoon. I take my shower, nap, read and/or just get a break. He's soooo awesome with Gemma - he's such a caring and gentle daddy. :)

Plus he's been just amazing about cooking dinner every night. He signed us for for this food service, called Super Suppers, where they prepare the dinner and you cook it. Not only is it yummy, nutritional and gives us a variety of food, it is also much more economical for us! We highly recommend it!

Here we are taking turns being exhausted... um, I mean, taking care of Gemma. :)

Football Season!

The Chicago Bears won this weekend, almost certainly because of their newest little cheerleader helping them out:



Although during the actual game she didn't seem very interested, but I'm sure she was dreaming about Bear touchdowns.


She does have a special message just for the Packers, though:

Gemma - 1 week old

Today Gemma is officially 1 week old. :)

She's a really tranquil and sweet baby (so far). :) She makes funny noises and makes us laugh every day. Sometimes I can't believe she's ours!!!!

We know these first 2 weeks she's going to sleep a lot and we are enjoying our newborn honeymoon.

Scott went back to work today for 1/2 of the day. Our plan is that he'd return to work half time for the next 6 weeks instead of doing full time with me for 3. We read in 'The Happiest Baby on the Block' about how newborn fussiness increases starting at 2 weeks and peaks at 6 weeks. So I really wanted the support to be spread out. Day 1 was ok. :)

Today I also ventured out for the first time alone. I was nervous. I drove soooo slowly. It was funny to me that I didn't care if I annoyed other drivers - I wanted to drive as safely as possible. And I chose a very short drive.

Just around the corner from us is Washington Hospital's Childbirth & Family Services center where they have moms' groups, classes and clinics. Today I went there to their free 'Latch Clinic'. It was great to be with other woman nursing and asking questions of the lactation consultants and each other. I met some really nice women and learned more about breastfeeding! What was really super cool was that gave us access to their very sensitive baby scale and we were able to see how much the baby drank. I felt relieved to know that our Gemma is a good eater and that she's getting enough to eat. In the one session there she ate 2.5 oz.

She's gained her original birth weight back now. :)

That's about all the news I have for now. Hope all is well with everyone.

Gemma has arrived!

Gemma Maria Krotz is here! A little early, in several different ways!
She was born 12 days early and so quickly the nurses delivered her
instead of the doctor (he arrived about two minutes too late :)

Born 3:40 pm September 4th, 2007. 7lbs 3 oz, 18 inches long.

Baby, Mother, and Father are doing fine.

Love,
Scott, Rosi, & Gemma (and Blitz).

Birthday - 2 hours old:

6 days later...

38 Weeks - Pool Party

It's been HOT!!!!! Vic was generous enough to let us beat-the-heat at his place with an impromptu little gathering. Rocio and her family and Jeanna (my doula) and her family joined me at Vic's to spend the day relaxing and playing in the pool. Scott stayed home playing video games - it might be one his last times to do this for a while. :)

Ahhhh, it was a wonderful and refreshing day - I'll let the pictures do the talking:Rocio, Moises & Silvia - this little baby is sooo happy in the water!
Jeanna being goofy:
Jeanna and 6-year old daughter , Jeannessa:Andres & Jeannessa making friends:A proud giant pregnant woman! :)Saying our 'good byes'.
Jeanna with husband Kevin and daughter Jeannessa:Me and Vic! Muaaah! :)Vic with his son, Kip:It was just the perfect way to celebrate reaching my 38th week. Thank you Vic for all your wonderful company and hospitality. :) We love you!

Moms Week

This past week was my first week away from work. :) To help with the transition, I made 'mom' dates with as many of my local moms/moms-to-be to help me through not thinking about CrystalD. And it worked! The week went by soooo incredibly fast and I had to 'deal' with work only once. :)

It was great to spend some quality 1-on-1 time with each of the women. I learned more about them and about being a mom. It was a great week, here's a summary:

Monday: Rocio and Silvia came by the condo with lunch. Yummy! We celebrated my first day of not being at work. She showed me how she sets up Siliva's play space and how she's incorporated a simple light-weight scarf as a toy that the baby just loves. It was also fun to learn about Silivia's eating habits too. It felt good to relax at home! :) Oh gosh, and thanks so much for another batch of hand-me-downs - you are so awesome!Tuesday: Susanne and I (she's pregnant too with the EXACT same due date as me!) had an absolutely wonderful pampering day up in the city at my new favorite spa - SENSPA. :) We had facials and massages with a nice break in between to savor the environment and eat their yummy treats. We definitely took our time and laughed a lot and shared all sorts of thoughts and ideas of becoming a mom and going through labor.And then after our blissful time at the spa, we walked across the street to Lucas Arts and enjoyed their wonderful public park and had a picnic. Oh, and the weather was just perfect for the city - not too hot and hot too cold. :) Afterwards we headed to FLAX (Magda told me about this store and that I had to check it out) and shopped for decorating ideas for our baby girls. YES, we are both having girls too. Sus's baby will be named Miriam ('Mir' for short) Folmann.

Wednesday: I meet with Jen F. post lunch to check out Savers in Redwood City and purchase some labor clothes. She helped me figure out what might work out better and Amelia, her daughter, had fun playing with all the toys! Afterwards she took me to experience Gymboree - wow, that was cool. :) They have a wonderful set-up for play time and tons of age specific mom/baby classes. I especially like the idea of the music classes for me and Gemma. :)Thursday: This was a triple-header day (and it just so happens I forgot to take any pictures). For lunch I met with Jen G at Stacks. We spoke about all sorts of things including going back to work eventually. Having just had our doctor's appointment where I was told I lost weight, I really devoured my food. And if you know Stacks, they give you quite a bit of yummy food and I finished it ALL - a first for me. :) Afterwards, we explored Planet Kids together - I didn't know that place even existed. :)

Later that day I met with Nerissa who let me borrow her glider chair and other helpful baby clothes and things. She's been another friend who has been incredibly generous with lending me all sorts of hand-me-downs...Thank you so much! That day Ner showed me what positions worked best for her for breastfeeding and gave me lots of ideas. :)

I finished off the night having dinner at University Cafe with Scott and Jason & Rena who are expecting twins in January. Their working names are Luke and Leia! hahahaha. It was fun for sure - but by this time I was super tired - so tired I felt drunk. It was funny. We had a lovely dinner and Scotty drove me home. Ahhh.

Friday: After being busy all week, Friday was going to be my chill day. Rocio invited me over to her place where she made me lunch (yummy!) and we watched her birthing video. I was finally able to start looking at visuals and it was really great to be able to see it and ask all sorts of questions and mentally prepare. Wow, it is going to be a wonderfully intense experience, giving birth to our Gemma.
I ended off the night with a hair cut with Wayne at Salon 661. He's just fabulous and I love how creative and talented he is. He'll also hilarious. Scott and I both received hair cuts from him this week in preparation for Gemma's arrival. :)

Thank you to all the woman I spent time with either in person or on the phone (Magda, Maria, mi mama, Marisa, Mirari....). It really helped make the week go by and was just what I needed to make the transition out of the Crystal Dynamics mentality. I appreciate you all and look forward to meeting up again when Gemma arrives. :)