3/26/08-I can't believe its been almost a month since the last update..time flies! Where to begin...Giabella has such a little personality and she is so stinkin' funny! She is very strong and loves to stand up and wiggle out of her infant seat and bouncer (which is why we ALWAYS strap her in) If this baby could take off crawling, she would in an instant! Giabella always smiles :o) It's the cutest thing in the world and she has been giggling too. She still sucks her little thumb which is so precious and I am wondering if she will be teething soon because she has been trying to put her entire fist in her mouth! She seems to have a preference for men..haha! She smiles at Grammy and I and other women but she is totally crazy for her father and her Popsie. She starts smiling like a little flirt and actually shakes because she is so excited. It is totally hysterical! She is eating cereal in the morning a couple of days per week. She is also sleeping through the night which actually took me time to get used to. Hmmm..what else...I don't know, Giabella is the light of our lives and just the most beautiful little girl inside and out.

2/29/08-Giabella had her second set of 2 shots today. My little pumpkin now weighs 13lbs 2oz! She gained 10oz in 1 week! My goodness :o) Hoping for the best again as far as no fever goes. We bought her an exersaucer a few day ago and she has been having fun. It's a bit overwhelming to her because there is so much to do. She loves the mirror on it and always smiles at herself..so cute!!! I can't even begin to count how many times I kiss my beautiful girl each day. It must be hundreds, poor little stinker. Mommy is always loving on her and "eating her up".

2/22/08- Giabella had shots today :o( Her doctor gave her 2 shots and one liquid thingie in her mouth. Next week we go for the other 2 shots. Apparently her doctor likes to break it up. My beautiful girl weighs 12 lbs 8 oz and is 23.5 inches long. She's definitely thriving which is always great to hear. Time is going by so quickly though and it makes me sad to think about the fact that it feels like just yesterday she was born.

It seems as though her favorite time of the day is the morning. Every morning when she gets up she is full of smiles. I can't for the life of me think of a better way to wake up. It's truly inspiring :o) She loves to "talk" and have conversations with mommy and daddy. She tries and many times succeeds at holding her own bottle. Giabella is soooo much fun, it feels like she has been a part of our lives for a lot longer than she has. Bill and I can't imagine our lives before we had her. She fits right in and makes us complete.

I am still take what seems like millions of pictures of our precious little one. She is mommy's perfect model. I can't wait until it gets warm to take more outside. Bill and I look forward to involving her in the various traditions that we have started as a couple. In the spring and fall we take many day trips and love attending cultural events like the yearly Native American Pow-wow in our area.

1/30/08- Pretty soon Giabella will be 8 weeks. Our little darling baby is the light of our lives. Bill and I are grateful for her every single day that we wake up, she is truly a blessing. Being home with her for all of this time has been the best experience of my life :o) Mommy and Giabella time is so special and we have a lot of fun being girly girls. So many times I hold her and look at her and cry. I cry because I am happy and honored to be the mommy of such a sweet and beautiful soul. I have always heard that you can't truly understand the way love is between mother and child until you experience it yourself. To all the people that have ever said that to me: You guys were sooo RIGHT! I can spend hours and hours trying to find the words to express my feelings being Giabella's mom but words are just not enough. Giabella is smiling, cooing, and babbling all of the time. Bill and I video taped her last night "talking" to us and we were so proud of her! Her voice is music to our ears and we were playfully arguing over whether she will say mamma ot dadda first. Bella is an eater, that's for sure! She eats about every 3 hours and eats between 5-6 oz per feeding. She is very serious when it comes to her food and while her bottle is warming up her eyes become really big and she shakes her head back and forth in anticipation..it's too cute! I return to work 2/19 and am not looking forward to it of course. My mom and dad are going to take turns watching Giabella so that we can avoid daycare. For now though, I am just cherishing every moment with my Little Lady and loving her up :o)

1/18/08- 6 week check-up today! Where has the time gone? Ugh! Everything is just great so I am very grateful for that :o) My little sweetie is wonderful and we love how she already has her own unique personality and cute little quirks. I never knew that I could love someone the way that I love Giabella. A mother's love for her child is the most beautiful thing that life has to offer.

1/9/08- Baby Girl had her first shot today :o( She is doing well and now weighs 10lbs even! Ped says she is obviously doing well because she is gaining weight and eating lots. Mommy is doing well also. Back to pre-pregnancy weight 2 weeks after having Bella. (thank goodness)

1/2/08- (27 days old) Giabella had a Ped visit today and is weighing 9lbs 6oz! She is 20.5 inches long. She is very healthy and her mommy and daddy can't get enough of her!

Giabella Autumn has arrived! December 6,2007 weighing 6 lbs 9 oz!

Words cannot express how much her daddy and I LOVE her. It continues to amaze me how two people can love each other so much and create a life so precious and new.

Birth Story

Bill and I went in for my weekly exam on my due date 12/5/07. I was 1cm dialated and my cervix was still thick. My midwife said that she would like to induce the following day because there was no sense in waiting because it seemed as though Giabella was not coming on her own any time soon. Midwife leaves the room and says she's calling the hospital to set it up and when she comes back she says "how about today?" Bill and I were very surprised and were reluctant because we were hoping for some time to digest the news but there was a scheduling problem at the hospital and 12/5 had to be the day.

We went home and called our family and got our stuff together. We went to the hospital around 11:30am and were regestered. At about 11:45am I started contracting on my own. I was wondering whether or not I would still be receiving Cervadil because of the natural contractions. My midwife came and I did have the cervadil at 3:00pm. The contractions gradually became worse and by around 5:00 I was in PAIN!! I still was not dialated anymore (still only 1 cm) They did give me something for pain via IV and it did absolutely NOTHING! For all I knew it could have been sugar water in that bag that's how useless the medication was. The contractions only got worse and worse to the point where I thought I was close to death! The nurse called my doctor and she would not give me an epidural b/c she said I had to at least be 3cm. I was so upset and angry. Here I was suffering and suffering. I really think to this day that the Cervadil combined with my body going into labor naturally made everything so much worse. The Cervadil was taken out around 11:30pm and I was told that by taking it out the contractions would lighten up. YEAH RIGHT!!! Nothing was working and I was at my wits end. My husband was so very supportive and I know that it hurt him to see me in such agony. Finally, around 3:00am I called the nurse and said this is it, I had to be dialated further because if i was not and could not have an epidural, some one should just hit me and knock me the heck out b/c the pain was making my body give out. She checked and I was a 3! The doctor and anesthesiologist were called and it took them about an hour and a half to get to the hospital. It had been snowing most of the day and the roads were a mess. UGH! So I continued in pain. Finally I received an epidural at 4:30am and I was in HEAVEN!! My goodness what a relief..that anesthesiologist will forever be my best buddy for his pain relief! I was checked about 20 min after the epidural was done and I was 9cm. So in the matter of 90 minutes I went from 3cm to 9cm. Bill called my mom because she was going to be there for the delivery. She had just made it pretty much. Giabella was born at 5:47am. My only reprieve from pain was from 4:30 to 5:47. This is why I put "without pain relief" on my page. I think I deserve to!!

I still feel that the reason it was so horrible is because I was given Cervadil even though my body was in labor naturally. Our baby girl is here and that is all that matters but I will never forget this experience. The optimist that I am has convinced myself that our next birth has got to be easier than this one because otherwise I don't know that I would go through it again!

End Result: The most beautiful baby girl and her two parents madly in love :o)

7/18/07 We just found out today that we are having a GIRL!!!

7/29/07-Today we're putting the nursery together :o) I can't wait to see it when its complete!! I will post pics. I am so excited (yay!)

8/22/07-This evening my husband and I toured the Center for Childbirth labor and delivery! It was fun and apparently lots of babies being born b/c it was very crowded. We even got to see a couple of them and they were so darn cute!!! We were very impressed with the rooms. They labor rooms have hot tubs and all rooms have a flat screen tv. It is in a separate building from the hospital so it really will be special :o)

10/9/07 I am going onto 32 weeks in a couple of days and have been feeling really good :o) My baby shower is coming up this Saturday (10/13) and we are very excited! It is going to be co-ed which should be a lot of fun. My mom has been working VERY hard on all of the details which really means a lot to me. I will post pics soon after the shower. Can't wait!!!

10-14-07 Yesterday was my baby shower :o) It was wonderful and everyone had such a good time. Giabella received to many nice things and it felt like I was opening gifts for hours! The day was extra special and we will never forget it. We can't wait to share it with Giabella because we have it all on tape. My parents worked very hard to make it such a cherished memory :o)

10/16/07 Today we had our final ultra sound and were able to see our beautiful baby girl :o) She now weighs 4 lbs 3oz. She is growing big and strong. She was sucking her thumb during the U/S and then it fell out and she started looking for it again...So CUTE! The technician said she has a head full of hair! Strange b/c unlike the old wives tale I haven't had any heartburn (knock on wood) We were so excited to see her again. The U/S pics are in my photo book.

10/27/07 Yesterday my job had me a surprise baby shower! Boy was I surprised! I thought I was going into a meeting and that was definitely far from it! It was a great time and now I have a whole bunch more adorable things to put away. I feel like I was just barely finishing up from the first shower. Can't complain though, it was very touching :o)