{Oliver Cash is HERE!!!}

Oliver Cash Vinograd
Born: February 17, 2012 at 6:28 pm
6 lbs 4 oz, 19 " long

Whoa!!! That was a whirlwind of soooo much awesomeness, I can't even describe it. I have been m.i.a on here because our little guy made his arrival and I have been soaking him in ever since. I am in contact with most of the (3) people that read this blog, but I thought it would be fun to type up the story of his birth so that I don't forget anything about it. It-Was-Amazing! Here we go.....

My due date (Feb. 15th) came and went and I tried not to be too grumpy about it. I got a mani/pedi and that seemed to help. I had my 40 week appt the next day (the 16th) and she checked my cervix - dilated only to 1.5 cm. After my exam, I felt the usual crampiness, and went about my day. I got in bed around midnight that night, and woke up at 4 am to use the restroom. It occurred to me then that my water might be leaking. I got back in bed and fell back asleep (I wasn't quite sure if it just as a result of my exam the day before, or if it was something different). At 6 am, I woke up to what was almost certainly water leaking. I called the dr and she told me to come in. I hopped in the shower and at that point the contractions really became noticeable. I guess my usual "crampiness" was a little more than usual, and at this point, they were very noticeable and getting stronger. We got in the car and headed for the hospital.

Once I got there, they determined that my water was in fact leaking, and that my contractions were 30-45 seconds long and about 3 minutes apart. At this point they started to be quite painful, and I found myself breathing through them and cringing. I got admitted and they gave me my IV. They gave me some pain medicine to "take the edge off" and it definitely worked. I could still feel everything, but it was sort of tolerable.

Here I am "tolerating" the pain and getting ready for what was to come....


The doctor came in to check my dilation, and as soon as she put her hand in me, my water came pouring out. It -- felt -- weird! lol! Very warm and very weird! One interesting thing was that there was "meconium" in the water, which meant that our little guy had had a bowel movement in my womb (due to contractions and the stress of the situation), so once he was born, the NICU team was going to have to suction him really well before bringing him to me to be sure that he hadn't aspirated any of it into his lungs. It could be dangerous and cause infection. I knew we were in good hands though, so I was sure he was going to be ok.

The doctor determined that I was dilated to 4 cm at this point and that I was ready to get my epidural. "THANK GOD" I thought to myself, because at this point, I was hurting and was having a hard time staying in the moment. The doctor went out to find the anesthesiologist, only to find out that he was in the middle of a c-section and wasn't going to be able to get to me for at least an hour. AN HOUR!!!! ONE WHOLE HOUR!!!?? Now that my water had broken, my contractions were even stronger, and I could NOT fathom waiting a whole HOUR for relief. But alas, that was what I had to do....and . . . . it . . . . was . . . . ROUGH! I have never been in so much pain in my life. Honestly. I was at my wits end. I didn't even really cry because that wouldn't help. I was just miserable and wanted so badly to feel some relief. By the time the anesthesiologist came in, I felt like my head was spinning round and round. I was in AGONY! My poor sweet husband was crying for me and wished that he could take the pain away. He was super supportive and helpful and I will always be grateful for that. The anesthesiologist worked as slow as molasses unfortunately, but once I had my epidural I could take a deep breath and relax. It felt soooo much better and I was ready to bring my little guy into this world. It turned out that in the hour that we waited for the epidural to come, I had dilated from 4 cm to 8 cm. Crazy. If I never feel that intense pain again it will be WAY too soon!

I finally got to 10 cm, and it was time to push. My husband and my sister were the two people that I wanted in the room with me and thank goodness they were there. They were such a big help. They held my numb tree trunk legs and told me I was doing a good job when I felt like I was going to have to push forever.

Here is my adorable husband taking a break between contractions/pushing....
He was SO excited. I'll never forget the look on his face when Oliver's head started to come out. He thought he would be too squeamish to look, but he wasn't. He watched everything and is so glad he did....it's such a miracle.

After 1 hr and 15 minutes worth of pushing, out little guy was here....
The chord was wrapped around his neck in a bizarre figure 8 that my doctor had never seen before, so he was a little pale looking at first and had a "deer in headlights" expression on his face. Once I held him, he pinked right up.

Once he was born, I felt an immediate sense of calm and peace. Not only was he out, so I was able to take a deep breath (which I hadn't been able to do in a long time), but I felt so happy and euphoric knowing that our little guy was here with us and that our journey as parents was beginning. It was one of the best feelings that I have ever felt. Truly. Nothing compares.

Josh's mom was a nursing supervisor for years, so she was glad to know that the suctioning went well, and he would have no issues from the meconium...
And then, he came to me, and we snuggled and warmed up together....
It was INSTANT love. Instant.

Oliver is the first newborn that my husband has ever held, and he is a natural already. He is such a happy Papa....

and I am such a happy mama.

My husband is too sweet for words and got me this beautiful "push present" . . . a Tiffany & Co. "O" for Oliver....
SO pretty!

Auntie Ali was in love instantly too.....can you tell....?

and he was VERY cozy and content in her arms.

They took VERY good care of us in the hospital, but by the time Sunday came, we were definitely ready to go home. Here is our guy ready to go (of course all of the outfits I brought for him were HUGE!! This was the best we could do)...

And we were off!! :)


Oliver is settling in just fine. Here he is meeting Sadie for the first time...


He loves all of his baby gadgets so far. Here he is in his swing...

..and although he sleeps a lot, he is one wide-eyed little baby...
We have had a ton of visitors, and sooo many people have showed their love and support for us. People have sent gifts - handmade, store bought, and edible - and have been so loving. We are such a lucky little family. The word thank you is an understatement, but I will say it anyway --

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you. We are so lucky to have our new little miracle and look forward to all that this adventure has in store.

(Last 3 photos by Bubba-Loo Photography)

xo

-L

{I've been tagged}

Happy Valentine's day everyone!!! Oh, and it's also my Due-Date-Eve!!! Come on baby boy!! Come on out!!

I did some of this this morning after my yummy V-day breakfast....



Come on baby boy!!!!

OK, now for the real post......

One of my favorite people (Cassie) tagged me in this fun game where you answer questions that she created and then create new ones for another set of 11 people to answer.....FUN!

Here are the questions she asked and my answers....


1. If you could meet any person in American history, who would it be and why?
I think I would say Anne Frank. Sounds a little sad, I know, but I am so fascinated by how people felt during that terribly scary time in history. As a young girl, I would love to learn about her experiences and how she felt and to hear it from her mouth. It would break my heart but would be very interesting.


2. What do you consider to be your greatest talent?
Is bargain hunting a talent??! I sure think it is. I would say getting a TON of bang for my buck! I am a shopaholic, so I better be able to seek out good deals!!

3. If you could go back in time and live in any period, decade, era, where would you land?
I would live in "Flapper-land" - the 20's. Speakeasy's and long cigarette thingy's - so glamorous!! ;)

4. If you could have unlimited credit at any store, what store would it be?
Ooh.....TOUGH ONE!!! I have to say 2 - one for clothes/accessories and one for home furniture/decor.
CLOTHING = NORDSTROM!!
HOME = Z GALLERIE

5. What is your most prized possession?
My wedding ring set -- it means so much to me to finally have my sweet husband in my life, and he picked out the rings himself. He really thought about it and wanted me to love them and I really do love them! --
**2nd to that would be my upholstered bed :) hehe - I LOVE that thing so much!!!


6. What are you most looking forward to in 2012?
Oliver!

7. What is your favorite season and why?
I love the summer because the beach is one of my BEST friends, but I almost equally love the winter and holiday season. It's so cozy and festive. :)

8. Do you have any bad habits?
It used to be ice crunching...but now, I would say....not flossing my teeth...? That is a bad habit, right? I really should floss.

9. What do you miss most about being a child?
All of the fun extracurricular activities that I got to be a part of -- Swim team, Junior Lifeguards, dance class, Indian Princesses (kinda like Girl Scouts, but way cooler), tennis, basketball, etc. I had such a wonderful childhood!

10. When you go to the zoo, what is the animal you can't leave without seeing? I LOVE the Meerkats...they remind me of my little Sadie, the way they lick themselves and dig around. They are so cute!

11. If you could rename MY blog, what would you name it? Wow....that is a tough one.....um......I'll have to mull this one over a bit longer and get back to you Cass!

xo - L

{Due Date Eve Eve)

Wednesday is the 15th....my official "due date". I am 2 days away from my "due date" and my little one is still inside me. This is not how I envisioned this all going down -- LOL!!! Boys are STUBBORN!!!

I know, I know...."He'll come when he's ready"....."He needs to fully marinate"....."Take advantage of the me time"....."He's so comfy in there".......


T--H--A--T

I--S

A--L--L

C--R--A--P--!!!


Come out baby Oliver, right now!!!!! Your mama says so!


;)
-L

{25 Things}

I am jumping on the 25 thing bandwagon...I've got nothing but time as I wait for this little guy inside of me to make his appearance!!

Here we go.....

1. I am a total sucker when it comes to those "In-store FREE $10 coupons with no minimum purchase necessary". I ALWAYS spend more than the free $10. It's a problem ;)

2. I am a Mac girl. My computer broke and it was going to cost $310 to fix it (flat rate) or my husband said I could get a brand new PC.....we fixed my Mac :) (Phew!)

3. I am never the person at an event with a camera in my hand ready to take pictures. I ALWAYS used to be the one with the camera in our group, but the last few years I've just gotten over it for some reason. I am sure with my little guy here, the camera will resurrect.

4. I eat regular old Original Shredded Wheat cereal -- the big biscuits. I don't add sugar or anything. I think I am the only person I know that buys those. 2 biscuits has over 6 grams of fiber...that's a big plus!

5. I totally have delusions of what my pre-pregnancy body looked like. I keep saying "I can't wait to have my body back" and "I miss my mid-section", but truthfully, I wasn't super thrilled with my body before I got pregnant -- LOL. It wasn't horrible, but I was definitely in need of some toning. A healthier lifestyle overall is in my future, I am making that promise to myself right now!

6. My FAVORITE perfume is "Body by Victoria" from Victoria Secret. It sounds cheesy, but it smells soooo good, and it's not cheap (it's around $50, I think). Every time I wear it (literally every time), someone stops me to tell me I smell good. It happened in the grocery store yesterday even. I am not even joking. You should check it out.

7. I love to sleep in! Well....not lately as much because I'm pretty uncomfy, but in general, I could sleep until 10:00 everyday, no problem. I know that is going to change here very soon, but generally I don't wake up early if I don't have to.

8. I don't drink soda at all. Ali has been trying to convince me that I should love it (Root beer has been creeping in a little bit), but I just don't. I'm a sparkling water, iced tea, sparkling apple cider kind of gal :)

9. I have acid reflux. I have taken medicine for it daily since I was 18 yrs old -- even through my entire pregnancy. It sucks, but is much better now than it has ever been.

10. Back in the day, Ali sent in a "Bachelor" application for me. They never called :/ (haha!!)

11. A couple of years ago I got into a car accident. It was bad. I turned left in front of a car going straight through an intersection (it was actually a police car - oops!) when I was supposed to yield, and he t-boned me on the passenger side. My jeep spun around and then slammed over on it's side. Thank God for my seat belt locking so tight. My head was dangerously close to hitting the asphalt. It was scary. My car insurance premium went up -- a lot :/ but I was VERY lucky! VERY!

12. I am really only a discount shopper, but at the same time, I am a sucker for brand name stuff at discount prices. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I'll think an item of clothing isn't great looking, but when I find out it's a designer that I like, I sometimes (not always) change my mind. It's shallow, I know. I don't know why I do that.

13. I had my 39 week Dr. appt yesterday, and I have gained a total of 25 lbs this pregnancy with only a week or so more to go (I hope). I know it doesn't matter, and if I would have gained more that wouldn't have been bad at all, but I am secretly proud of myself for not going overboard. It made me feel good when the doctor said that I did a "good job with my weight gain" :)

14. I watch 'Friends' re-runs every-single-night. They are on from 11:00 pm - 1:00 am. I usually watch them all (lol). I have seen every single episode -- twice.

15. I have only ever had 1 massage in my life. I should get them more often. They hurt, but they feel good.

16. I don't like my teeth. They have a slight slant to them (they slant forward) and I really don't like them. I like Ali's better. I always have. I think I could have a better smile if they weren't the way that they are.

17. My one pregnancy craving has been Haagen Dazs 'Coffee' Ice cream. Mmmmmm! So good.

18. If I was having a girl, and hadn't already named my dog Sadie, that name would have been at the top of my baby girl names list :)

19. I always have gum in my purse. Always. Usually peppermint.

20. I REALLY want to get laser eye surgery. I have trouble seeing far away so I wear glasses when I drive, go to the movies, and watch TV. I really should be wearing them all of the time, but I don't. I will get it someday. It kind of freaks me out, but I want it. People say that it has changed their lives. I always see the world a little blurry. I will get it someday, mark my words.

21. I am not a girly girl. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion and makeup and clothes and girl stuff in general, but I tend to lean more towards the classic/different over the "girly" style. Example - pink is not my go to color for anything really. I prefer blackish/red or grayish nail polish, never pink, and I have a plain white cell phone case, etc.

22. I am NOT flexible. Sitting on the ground Indian-style or with my legs in front of me even is tough for me. Ha! I suck.

23. For years I was OBSESSED with crunching on ice. I would even order an extra cup of ice at restaurants (weird, I know). I chipped my tooth (twice) because of all of the ice crunching. I was told it was a side effect of anemia (low iron). I in fact have been anemic for years, but never took my iron supplements because they were hard on my stomach. Since I've been pregnant I have had to take 2 iron supplements per day (and of course I am religious about it because it's important for little Oliver), and TA-DAH...I am officially off of ice. LOL. I never even think about it at all. Crazy! I never thought I'd see the day (and don't worry, I plan to continue taking the appropriate amount of iron going forward. I know that my health is important too :) )

24. I only like using yellow highlighters. I especially dislike orange and green. (Ha! That one was really random!!)

25. I am READY to be a mommy. It's what I've wanted to be since I was a little girl. I've waited a long time. LONG time. I am ready!

That was kind of fun! I am an odd one, and I realize that now more than ever ha-ha!!

Happy Thursday!

-L

{39 Weeks}

Today I am officially 39 weeks pregnant, and boy do I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Obviously I am hoping that he comes on his own (and soon), but in the event that he doesn't, my doctor has scheduled an induction date for February 23rd :). All of my "peeps" are pretty hopeful that I won't stay pregnant that long, but in the event that I do, it's nice to know that little Oliver will be out and here with us no later than that.

My bags are packed and Oliver's coming home outfit is all ready to go.....

We decided on this adorable circus pj (from Baby Gap)--

...coupled with this adorable giraffe knitted hat (from H&M) --


SUPER CUTE, don't you think? I think it is!!


It's a beautiful brisk sunny day here in So. Cal. We did get some rain yesterday, but today the sun is shining bright! I am going to head out for a nice uphill walk to get things moving along here (fingers crossed!!)

I hope you have a great day!

:)
-L