Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that our first outing went well! I was a bit nervous getting Emi for her first day out. Mostly I am just nervous about when to feed her and where we will be when she wants to eat. Since I now live my life in three hour intervals I love the moment she is done feeding because I start the clock at three hours and know I have time to get stuff done. I was a bit frustrated when Emi was done eating at 745am as I wanted a bit more time for my three hours as her doctor appointment was at 1020. Turns out, Emi knows best.

Wow- does it take a lot to get out the door with a baby. We managed to make it to my office by 915 to show her off to all my coworkers. In typical Emi fashion so was peaceful and perfect the entire time. I was also able to get a few things done for work which was nice to cross off my "to do" list.

After we left my office we got Emi to the doctor. Tommy and I were so impressed with the Doctor that saw Emi a few times after she was born that we are considering seeing him rather than the Pediatrician we had picked out. We are somewhat hesitant because his office is in Waukee and that just seems silly, but after our experience today in the Ankeny office I think we will be going to the other doctor. Sometimes I think I must be really hard to please, but I dont think that was the case today. First, we didn't actually see the doctor, which was fine; however, it was not fine that every question we had for the nurse (which I imagine are typical questions for first time parents) she seemed beyond clueless. Here is an example:

Me: "At the hospital they said I need to get her up every 2-3 hours to feed for the first week. Now can I go longer between feedings if she is not hungry and asleep?"
Nurse: "Well, how long do you think she would go?"
Me pretending like I've never let it happen; "Oh 4-5 hours."
Nurse: "Oh yah, that is fine."
Me: "Okay if she is not hungry then I wont wake her up just to feed her unless its been 5 hours."
Nurse: "NO! Never let it go 5 hours! 4 is the maximum."

Now you can imagine what is going through my head considering ten seconds earlier she had told me it was fine, and considering what her nurse friends did to my angel the second night in the nursery at the hospital. Anyway, she failed to answer really any other question we had either. Now this could have happened at any other office, but I just feel like its a sign we should go to the Doctor in Waukee. (Oh, I am so that Mom that I never thought I'd be...)

I'm thankful that Emi has gained some weight. Breastfeeding can be stressful not knowing if your child is getting enough to eat. But Emi is doing great! She was born at 7 - 13. When we left the hospital she weighed 7 - 5. When we weighed her today she weighed 7 - 9. Tommy asked this same nurse when we could start using a bottle. The nurse said "I thought you were breast feeding." Tommy reminded her of the invention called the breast pump in which you could extract breast milk from the mother and feed it to baby via a bottle days later.

I'm also thankful that Emi took a nice crap on this nurse. I'm totally not kidding either. As she picked Emi up to carry her to the scale she let loose. She still had her diaper on loosely so it wasn't quite the mess I would have loved, but it was great to hear the nurse scream "Oh, its runny! Hurry!" Um... no shit.... (no pun intended).

After the doctor we stopped at Grandma's house (because according to Anthony- its Grandma's house and Grandpa just lives there). We ended up staying there until 5pm. It was nice to get out of the house for a few hours. It was also nice to feed her somewhere else than my home to see that we could accomplish that.

I can tell how much our lives are changing now. As Tommy and I realized we needed to pick up a few groceries I quickly ran into HyVee on the way home while Tommy stayed with Emi in the car, grabbed the items that were on our list (which managed to be a cart-full) and made it back out to the car in less than 10 minutes. Normally I would not buy so many groceries at HyVee, but we didn't want Emi to have to wait around for us, and I was worried that she was going to be really hungry again soon.

Lastly, I'm thankful for such a wonderful first week with Emi. Last night after her bath I fed her and she fell asleep on my chest. I fell asleep too. It was experiencing a little piece of heaven...

Emi Update

Here are some random thoughts since Tommy and I have become parents:

- Apparently I am bilingual. I speak "Baby." Tommy does not. Me: "Can you grab me a onsie?" Tommy: "I don't know what that is." Me: "You know... the little t-shirts that you put on as the first layer for the baby." Tommy: "Oh, I thought those were called t-shirts."  Or there was this conversation: Me: "Can you grab me the boppy?" Tommy: What the h*ll is the boppy." Me: "The little green pillow in Emi's nursery that I use to feed her." Tommy: "Why don't you just call it the green pillow." And the list goes on. On another note, Tommy is speaking Spanish and Japanese to her all the time. I have no idea what he is saying to her, but I just wait to hear "mama" and then know the baby is coming back to me. I've got a lot to learn.

- I am SO glad we did not name Emi "Giuliana." This occurred to me when I called to schedule her first doctor's appointment. After spelling her last name not less than 5 times to the receptionist, I was so thankful that I only had to spell her first name once, and was even more thankful it was only three letters!

- I have always heard that the Asian gene is a very strong gene. I did not believe it because I always thought Tommy looked equally Asian and Hispanic. Well... Emi has confirmed the strength of the Asian gene.

- After I feed Emi she lays on my chest and we reminisce about the good ol' days when we went and got coffee together in the mornings and went everywhere together!

- I feel guilty for saying this because I know so many new moms struggle with difficult babies- but Emi is really easy going. Last night she must have cried for two minutes which was a new record for her. She only fusses when she was struggling to feed and its usually for less than 30 seconds. It didn't bother me that much but when Tommy woke up this morning he said: "Last night was horrible! She cried for almost two minutes!" Most of the time we just sit and look at each other. She sleeps all the time and when she is awake she just looks around just as happy as can be. Getting up every two hours to feed her last night was a bit exhausting- but I keep wondering when/if it is going to get more difficult. (I also know that it is easier with Emi since Tommy and my mother in law are here. After I feed her I can hand her off to one of them to hold her and love her for awhile so I can get other things done). It's nice not to have to worry about her.

- I am surprised how Emi knows the exact moment I remove the dirty diaper to put a clean one under her and uses that moment to relieve herself. Tommy keeps telling me he is surprised I haven't learned my lesson yet and found another technique.

Here are some updated pics of Emi:

Looks like mama needs to invest in some tanning minutes.

 Grandma Takekawa brought home these cute Japanese baby clothes when she was in Japan in December. Emi models them quite well.

Funny Conversations... BGT Delivery

Erin: "People who don't get epidurals are just trying to be heroes."
Silvia (Mother-in-law): "I didn't have an epidural."
Erin: "Well, you're a hero."

Erin: "I just walked by the nursery and there was only two babies in there."
Me prior to epidural: "I wish mine was one of them!"

Nurse as I started to push: "Wow- you're daughter has lots of dark hair."
My mom: "Oh shoot, the video camera wasn't running. During her next contraction can you say that again?"

Nurse: "Do you want a mirror to watch the delivery?"
Me: "NO!!!!"
Nurse while I am pushing: "Do you want to reach down and feel her head?"
Me: "NO!!!!"

Laura after delivering Emi: "How was it?"
Me: "It was miserable but it is over."
Laura: "Yah, don't tell Kimber (our first time 6 month pregnant friend)!"

Mom: "Good thing you didn't schedule your highlights until after the delivery. You are going to have to take Emi with you to get a perm!"

Laura referring to some surprising news and laughing "God! I love it when stuff like that happens to people that are not me!"

February 3, 2012

(Note: You may find this blog long and boring, but I wanted to document everything from the day she was born so I could remember it later! I'll post some more interesting and entertaining blogs that you may want to skip to).

On February 2, 2012, I had been having contractions all day long. While they were mild and about 15 minutes apart, I knew BGT was well on her way. All through the day I kept telling Tommy I was going to be having her soon. Tommy's mom arrived in Des Moines on February 2 in the evening. We went out to dinner with my family. I noticed during dinner that the contractions were getting closer and closer. I told Tommy, but I think he thought that because I had been saying it so long that it was reallly going to be awhile yet (maybe this is where a What to Expect: Daddy's Version would have been useful). Silvia (Tommy's Mom) had already taken a good look at me and decided that the baby was not low enough to be born anytime soon. In fact, we made a bet. I bet that the baby wouldbe here by the 5th- she said the 10th.

We Tommy went to bed around 11pm. I could not sleep. I had downloaded the contraction timer on my phone and was keeping track of the time between contractions. A little past midnight the contractions were now down to about 9 minutes apart. Then, at around 2am, they were about 6 minutes apart. They had also been increasing in strength. I figured if they had progressed that quickly in two hours it was time to go to the hospital. I called the doctor's office, and they agreed and told me to go to the hospital.

I woke up Tommy and told him it was time to go. I had already showered and finished throwing the last things together into my hospital bag. At some point in the evening, there must have been a conversation between Tommy and his mom that I would not be having this baby because he did not want to take me to the hospital. I cant remember if I told him that I would drive myself then or he just decided that maybe I actually knew what was going on when he complied. As I grabbed my hospital bag for Tommy to carry to the car his mom informed me I did not need the bag because I would be coming back home. Using my advanced degree, I decided that we would take the bag along, and if we did come back home still pregnant we could bring the bag back with us.

We got to the hospital a little before 3am. They checked us into triage. There they monitored my contractions and performed a Non Stress Test on BGT. They also checked to see how far I was dilated- just a 4 ( I was a 3 the week prior). Ironically, a few days before I went into labor, my friend, Katie, and I had discussed her labor experiencing and how she went to the hospital two times prior to giving birth. In my head I was so shocked to hear that somebody as bright as Katie would not know when she was in labor. Well, I learned that I might soon be eating those words. As they measured my contractions they started to decrease in time and severity. Don't get me wrong- I was still in at least what I thought was a considerable amount of pain. I kept thinking to myself- there is no way they would send me home when I'm in this much pain, right? They suggested that I walk around the hospital for an hour or so and then they would measure me again and decide what to do.

Before I could walk around the hospital BGT had to pass her test. To pass the Non Stress Test, BGT had to increase her heart rate up 15 beats for 15 consecutive beats (Her resting heart rate ws 145 so for 15 beats she needed to measure 160 or above within 90 minutes). Usually babies do this within 30 minuntes. The nurse tried everything to get her heart rate up. She gave me juice and zapped BGT with a stun gun, but nothing did the trick. A few times BGT got close but never succeeded. The nurse spoke with the Doctor (Doctor Erin Lehman "Dr. Erin") who decided that becaues I was 39 weeks and 6 days, it was better to admit me and have the baby than to send me home.

I was admitted into the hospital at about 6am. I was assigned to a nurse, Ashley, would I had no idea would be sticking with BGT and I through delivery. She actually had no idea either- informing me early in the morning that she was off at 3pm, but would come visit me and the baby the next day since I will not have her by 3pm. At 630am they broke my water.  They told me they would monitor my contractions and decide whether I would need pitocin. At 930am they administered pitocin. Everything went downhill from there. The pitocin speeds up labor and is used to induce mother's into active labor. And that it did. However, by 1130am I was still only dilated to 5. When Dr. Lehman broke my water at 630am she had told me I could have an epidural at anytime. I was surprised that she had mentioned that so early. By 1130, I couldn't take it any longer. I told Ashley I was ready for my epidural. She acted surprised that I wanted it so early. Honestly, it was the best decision I ever made.

I remember as I was sitting there waiting for the doctor to administer the epidural, he was going through a list of things that could result from the epidural- including paralysis. I also remember at the time thinking that any of the side effects of the epidural would beat going throguh another minute of this labor. I must say that I cannot believe that moms do this without an epidural. The pain was so signifcant that I thought for sure I would never have another child again.

While the pain subsided after the epidural I shook so bad after that. I remember just laying on the bed shaking uncontrollably. I kept thinking that surely this was not right, but Ashley and the doctor did not seem concerned at all. I felt hot and cold at the same time. It was pretty miserable. Ashley told me to tell her when the urge to push was so strong that I could not resist it any longer. I told her immediately. She checked and I was alread dilated to 8 at about 1pm and by 120pm I started pushing. I also remember asking each nurse that walked in whether they were concerned about BGT not passing her Non Stress Test and whether everything was okay. Everybody told me that she was fine, but I was so worried about her.

Now I was under the impression that pushing would take hours. Maybe this was the best misconception that I had about labor. Ashley called Dr. Bingaman (Dr. Amy) and told her I was ready for her. Unforteunately, Dr. Amy had overestimated the amount of time that she had to do a circumcision down the hallway. I could overhear her on the phone with Ashley stating "I thought she was only at an 8!"

I dont remember what time Dr. Bingaman got into the room. I just remember that she sat down and was ready to have me push but then suddenly realized she didn't have any booties over her tennis shoes. All I could think is "Lady, I'll buy you a new pair of shoes just get this baby out of me!" Unforteunately, with me shaking so bad I could not really speak. I was able to manage one word during the pushing phase. Apparently when moms get the baby's head half way pushed out they have the option to feel the child's head. I remember Dr. Amy asking me if I wanted to touch her head. What I thought was "Are you kidding me?! Get her out! Why waste time touching her? I'll hold her when she is out." What I said was "No!" I remember all the nurses and Tommy laughing in shock that I had denied the request. I also felt guilty then that I didn't want to touch her head. At 154pm on February 3 BGT was born. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounzes and was 20 and 1/4 inches long.

Right away they handed BGT to me. These were the thoughts I had running through my head:
- Wow, this baby has a lot of hair. I'm surprised I didn't have heart burn.
- Oh no! This baby does not look like an Emme Kay. I'll wait to see what Tommy says.
- Is she okay? Shouldn't she be crying more?
- Thank God that is over.

I yelled to one of the nurses- shouldn't she be crying more? The nurse immediately reached down to BGT and irritated her to get her to cry more. After a few minutes they took BGT from me and checked her out. Girl got a 9 on her APGAR score. So proud! It just so happened that the pediatrician was available immediately to see BGT so Tommy cut her cord and took her to see the Doctor. At some point during the day BGT's cord detached from the placenta. The cord was also loosly wrapped around her neck. Nothing serious- but I was glad that I had gone to the hospital and that they induced labor.

Once the excitement of labor was over the pressure was on to name BGT. I was so certain in the weeks leading up to her birth that she would be Emme Kay. I became somewhat concerned when I looked at her and it didn't seem like her name. I kept quiet waiting for Tommy's suggestion. I ran through the other names in my head- but none of them seemed to fit her either. Thankfully Tommy's mom had done some research and come up with some names that we should name her- including Ayako or Risa. She hates the name Emme. Tommy and I strongly considered the name Maia (pronounced Maya) which to do this day I still like, but I could not name her something I had just heard of. It did not seem to fit her either.

BGT would remain that- BGT for a few more days until we decided what to name her. The next two days at the hospital were pretty uneventful.  BGT proved to be very easy going. I struggled a little bit breast feeding, but have learned with some patience we both get through it. BGT would hardly cry. She would just chatter a bit. In fact, she soon became the most popular in the nursery at the hospital. During the day I kept her in the room with me. The most difficult thing about breast feeding is the feeding every 2-3 hours for the first few weeks. I hate having to wake her up to feed when she is so peaceful. In fact, at one point, I had not fed her for 4 hours because she was resting so easy. I was then promptly bitched out reminded by a nurse that I could not go that long. I was mindful the second night at woke up just minutes before expecting them to roll BGT in for a feeding. I waited and waited and waited. Finally after about 5 hours since her last feeding I made my way to the nursery. There were all the babies laying peacfully in their cribs and BGT's crib was empty! I banged on the nursery door to see all the nurses standing around in a circle chatting and one of the nurses holding BGT. Apparently while BGT looks nothing like me she has many of my personality traits including loving a good chat session with the girls. However, remembering how the nurse made me feel so guilty about letting BGT go 4 hours without feeding, I bitched reminded the nurses that BGT hadn't eaten for 5 hours and just because she was so easy going and not fussy they still had an obgliation to check her chart! BGT would not return to the nursery! (In defense of the nurses- possibly they were holding BGT because they were so concerned that so much time had gone by and she was still not named!).

While we were ready to go home on Sunday, I was nervous because that meant the deadline had come to name BGT. I waited for Tommy to bring it up. I had thought and thought and thought about it and had come to the conclusion that she must be Emme Kay because she was nothing else. As I suspected, Tommy was hesitant about naming her Emme because his mom hates the name. However, Tommy agreed her name was definately Emme. We talked about it a little longer and Tommy said that we needed to spell her name "Emi." Of course! (Note: Tommy's mom also hates the name "Emi"). Why hadn't I thought of it sooner? She was totally an "Emi" but not an "Emme." Now... for the middle name. I employed a technique I invented in law school when my friends and I could not decide where to eat. We would each suggest a restaurant and one of us would suggest two. Then we would go around the room each person crossing off a restaurant until there was only one left- and that was where we would go. So Tommy and I came up with this list:

- Emi Marie
- Emi Sofia
- Emi Leah
- Emi Ai
- Emi Kay

I crossed off Leah and Ai. I hated Leah and Ai was just Japanese overload. Tommy crossed off Marie and therefore had the choice between Kay and Sofia. He choose Sofia. It is so her. I cant imagine that we would have named her anything else. I'm glad that I was patient in coming up with the right now.

As we headed to the nursery to see the doctor one last time we took notes of the other babies' names. They were: Charlie, Noah, Josiah, Rachel, Levi, Kenzi.... and Maya. Tommy freaked out when he saw the name Maya and said "Oh, I'm so glad we didn't name her that!"

We left the hospital around Noon. As we got into the car Tommy said to me "This is the new me" as he drove the speed limit all the way home while we both freaked out about the way people were driving around us on the interstate (which was probably pretty normal).

I think one of the most amazing things about having a child is that the labor was probably one of the most miserable experiences of my life, yet only a few hours later while I remember how painful and miserable it was- it really doesn't bother me at all- and I would do it again in a heartbeat in another few years.

We have been enjoying our time at home. Emi has been so peaceful and wonderful. She really is a good baby, and we feel so lucky to have her. Every time I hold her I have the same feeling I do when I am on vacation- I never want it to end.

And, in case you were wondering how my three part birthing plan went- well- I deviated from the plan. I did have the epidural. But I also allowed my mom and mother in law in the room. Honestly, I am glad that I did. While I was glad to have my husband in there, it was really really nice to have my mom there too- even if she was answering my phone and sending random text messages from my phone as I laid miserably shaking on the bed.

Emi Sofia Takekawa

I have lots to blog about, but with only two arms can only get pictures posted for the time being. Enjoy!

When I look at this photo I only see the blood pressure machine. My blood pressure was extremely low and it was taken every minute. It was miserable!

 He gets the easy part!

7 pounds, 13 ounzes!

 My favorite part about this photo is that Tommy is just happy as a clam carrying his daughter around while the doctor still is still fixing me in the background.

That's nice my mom can still smile at Emi like that after watching the birth. It was videotaped. I have PTSD and wont be watching it anytime soon.

Emi is a little chatter box. Tommy loves listening to her so he holds her extra close to his ears.

 Emi is skyping with Grandpa Tomio.

The answer is Yes. The question is: "Does that baby look more Japanese than Tommy?"

Anthony likes to smell her. He also likes to listen to her make noises!

She sported some nice trendy clothes at the hospital.

She is pretty cute!

They let us take her home!

 Yikes! I still look a little swollen!

Her first bath! Wow- I cant believe how much she changes every day!

Thankful Thursday

I waited all day long to post this Thankful Thursday blog. Why? Because I had hoped to be writing a blog like this:

"The Most Thankful Thursday: Today I welcomed Emme Kay Takekawa into the world. I have a short and easy labor. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. She has the most perfect even-numbered birthday of 2-2-2012, and was born on one of the most beautiful February days that Iowa has ever seen. [Insert cute picture of child and mom looking glamorous after birth]"


Well.... that didn't happen. (Note: I repeat- I did not have my baby today. The previous paragraph is only in my dreams. I'm still huge pregnant.

So instead, here is my Thankful Thursday:

I'm thankful that my mother-in-law made it safely to Des Moines. I am glad that now she will be able to share the happy time of welcoming our baby into the world. Having her here makes my husband feel more at ease, and I am glad that she is able to spend the next three weeks with us. Wow- that was mature!


I know every week I talk about how thankful I am for my family and friends, but seriously, they all rock. I love all the text messages and phone calls I have been getting all week wondering how BGT and I are doing. How lucky is BGT to have so many people that love her and care about her when they have never even met her?!

I'm thankful for this gorgeous weather. I washed my car and am so happy I can get in and out of it without getting my nice sweats dirty.

I'm thankful that I have still had so much energy to get things done around the house. Before I went into work today I loaded and washed dishes, did a load of laundry, finished cleaning up the guest bedroom, repacked the hospital bag (since I was certain we would be taking it with us soon). Grant it, I didn't make it into work until 10am.

Lastly, I'm thankful for hot baths, a comfy bed, pretty nail polish, clean laundry, lip balm, soft toilet paper, and  lavender scented lotion.

Funny Conversations...

Me: "Honey, did you hear what the doctor said today?"
Tommy: "Yes. You are dialed to three!"

Text Message from my girlfriend, Andrea: "Remember when I told you that in the shower photo you didn't look 9 months pregnant? You have now crossed the threshold to super pregnant which people do not remember that people get that big when pregnant." A few moments later.... "Which isn't to say you still don't look great..."

Test Message from my Mom: "I just colored my hair so your baby doesn't think her grandma is that old!"

Me telling a story to my girlfriend Katie: "Anne, from my office, says that she loves reading my blog because she thinks that the person she reads about is not the same person she works with everyday."
Katie: "Oh yah, I totally agree!"
Me; "But people really like who I am on my blog! What does that say about who I am in person?!"
Katie: [silence]

After hearing my girlfriend, Laura, talk about all the unpleasantness of labor my pregnant girlfriend, Kimber (due May 14), turns to me in panic and exclaims "I'm so glad you're going first!" Long pause.... "Sorry."

This is a conversation with my attorney friend and her client:
Client: "My neighbor just called me and somebody is over at my wife's house mowing her lawn!"
Attorney: "Actually mowing her lawn or figuratively?"
Client: "I don't know what you mean."
Attorney: "Is he actually mowing her lawn or is he sleeping with her?"
Client: "Well, don't you think he is sleeping with her if he is mowing her lawn?"
Attorney: "Actually or figuratively?"
Client: "I don't understand!"
Attorney: "Does he actually cut the grass blades in the front yard of the house?"
Client: "Yes!"

Attorney to opposing counsel: "We have a problem. Apparently some guy is mowing your client's lawn."
Opposing Counsel: "Like having sex with her?"