Nola Reading in Bed

Nola took a break during the hectic holiday season to catch up on some important reading...

Here she just looks a little miffed that she's been interrupted.

I guess it's all good.

No, seriously, that is a happy face.

Christmas Day at the Smith Casa

Auntie Jaimee has been in town for Christmas, so we headed up to the Smith's house for Christmas day. Nick wore his red footie PJs and snuck in from the backyard to surprise Kim and Taylor's kiddos as a younger, darker (and in my opinion, much hotter) Santa. Their littlest one was terrified. Reportedly the whole concept of Santa Claus scared her, but she was pretty wary of Nick the rest of the day.



Aunt Kim tried to introduce "Frosty the Snowman" to Nola, but it had about the same impact on her that "Saint Nick" had on Kim's kiddos.

Starting Solids

Nola has been staring us down during our dinner lately, so we after her last doctor's appointment, we were given the green light to start solids. We have a few pictures here of our growing four-and-a-half-month old and her first steps into the wonderful world of "solid" food.

"What is this?"

"You're kidding me... eat out of this?"

"Okay, I'll try it, but I can't promise anything."

u"I may have polished off the bowl, but I'd really rather not let you see how much I liked it."

O Christmas Tree

We went out to a "cut your own tree" farm this past weekend to get ready for Nola's first Christmas. Here are some pictures of our little adventure:

Nola approving of the tree selection.

Nick posing beside the tree before cutting it down.

Nola and the tree getting to know each other.

Rally Caps

Our dear and wonderful Saints have pulled out 12 wins so far this season, and we couldn't be happier. Of course, this picture doesn't conjure up the joy that the season has given us, as it was taken during last week's nail-biter against the Redskins. We barely squeaked out of that one, and we know it couldn't have been done, had it not been for our rally caps.

Backing up my Laptop

So, Nick asked me to back everything up on my laptop to update our operating system, and I happened upon a picture we generated while pregnant with Nola, as we were dying to know what our genes would look like when scrambled up into one little package.



Poor Nick... I had to use a pubescent photo of him, because ever since he could grow facial hair, he's had it, and the software program that generates the images of your offspring wouldn't recognize a face with a beard. Boy, were we relieved when Nola was born without a little jewfro.

What We're Thankful for

What a year! We didn't even know little Miss Nola was on the way this time last year, and now she's four months old! What a wonderful blessing she has been in our lives. If you're reading this blog, it means that you are also a wonderful blessing in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

Karaoke

Nick and I purchased a karaoke set a couple of years back, and despite our dedication to using this thing, we have yet to become great singers. In fact, one of my favorite parts of our little karaoke sessions is to sit back and listen to Nick approach unknown English words with the same amount of zeal that he would approach a reading of "The Big Lebowski" script.

In the first clip, Nick is singing, "Get Back," while Nola is trying to gnaw her way out of the Bjorn like a trapped wolf would gnaw at its paw. Too bad those teeth are still working their way to the surface.

In the second clip, you can see that Nola has resigned herself to live as a captive in this crazy karaoke singing household, in which the dog has been stuck for a while as well. Hopefully, Nola won't pick up Rocky's aggression-relieving tendencies.

Things to Do While Avoiding the Flu

Sigh.

I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic with flu season now in full swing. I look at everyone on our daily walk around the neighborhood as if they were Typhoid Mary, and just wanted to spray their potentially Swine Flu laden germs all over my baby. I know it's incredibly unhealthy, but I don't know exactly what to do until she can be vaccinated.

The injectable vaccine is now available in Ventura County, but I'm not about to wait in line for three hours with hundreds of people teeming with God knows what sorts of illnesses. Besides, Nola can't get it for another three months, and she's the one I'm worried about. I am going crazy, and looking at things going in people's lives through the window of my computer screen, and wondering how you all are going on with your daily routines. I need to figure out some way to get a life without getting the flu.

Poor Nola has to put up with a lot of stir-crazy entertainment courtesy of her agoraphobic mother. I've included a video of the beginning of a "Three Little Pigs" puppet show that goes awry when Nola starts gnawing on one of the pigs. Don't worry, I sanitized it before the skit began.

Nola Babbling

Nola is starting to love the sound of her own voice, which does make our little video camera a great purchase, but doesn't mean that mommy will necessarily take the greatest videos. I do apologize for the bouncy camera work, but wanted to try to make eye contact with Nola while trying to catch the coos on tape.

I need an Artistic Director or something, but I guess that would mean that I would have to bleach the house after they helped out with the video, as I am a Swine Flu FREAK. I guess that's another blog entry for another day. Anyhow, happy germ-free viewing!

Nola Sits up... kind of

So, we just love our pediatrician, Dr. White, who not only told us that "Tummy Time" (which our little baby just hates) is a yuppy invention and not necessary, but also generously informed us that our [then] two-month old had the neck strength of a four-month old. I've been dropping that tidbit into just about every conversation I've had lately, so I thought I might as well post it on the blog.

Anyhow, Nola does like to be in a seated position (I suppose, she can see the TV better while seated) so we've been doing these little sit ups, of sorts, and I thought I'd share. The second video clip is another attempt at showing off her advanced neck strength: She's hobbling about in a bouncy-threshold-chair-thingy -- and not complaining (at least not on the clip I've uploaded.) Enjoy!

Camping In

Nick is trying to introduce the notion of camp outs to Nola while she is young and impressionable... or at least before she becomes high maintenance, like her mommy.

Here's a little video of Nick and Nola hanging out in the nursery in a makeshift tent. Nola is thoroughly delighted that a big person has joined her in her playtime.

Nola and Her New BFF, the Creepy Puppet

Nonnie sent Nola a "baby puppet" and it appears that the puppet makers use the same template for a baby and an old man... other than the pacifier. Anyhow, we anticipated that she might be afraid of the puppet, since it was kind of creepy looking, but lo and behold, she loves it.

I've attached two videos of Nola with the puppet for you to see just how creepy this little baby puppet is, and to see how passionate Nola is with the puppet. Nick and I realized after seeing her make out with it that we probably need to cancel cable (or mommy needs to seriously stop watching My Antonio with her.)

Our Little Pumpkin

We joined a Meetup Group (the Mountain Mamas and Papas -- and yes, we watch enough TMZ to know that the timing of anything named "Mamas and Papas" is pretty much tainted from here on out). We joined so that we can be aware of all of the family friendly events in Ventura County, and other than the fact that we aren't really the "Let's meet up with a bunch of strangers at 9:00 on Saturday morning" types, we do like receiving e-mail notifications about non-committal sorts of things, like, Pumpkin Patches.

Here we have some pictures from our trip this past Saturday to Faulkner Farms in Santa Paula.

This precious little Halloween costume was sent out by her Nonnie, and we couldn't resist the opportunity to plop her in the middle of a pumpkin patch in it.

She had to be held up, so there isn't a whole lot of Anne Geddes-like magic to the pictures (not even considering the fact that we couldn't get her to smile for the life of us) but we still think she's the cutest little pumpkin in that patch!

Nola's First Big Outings... and a Library Book to Boot!

Until very recently, Nola's journeys out of the house were an entire family affair, as I was way too anxious to be in the driver's seat and leave my little rear-facing morsel in the back just wondering what happened to her constant attendant. Nick (in the driver's seat), and Nola and I (facing each other in the back) managed to get out and about to a few destinations during the past few months.

Most of our outings tend toward the mundane: Doctor's appointments, scoping out houses much larger than ours, and of course, going to exciting destinations, like, Blockbuster. We did manage to spend one wonderful weekend in Summerland (sadly, no pictures), and we've visited family and a our friends, the Fraziers. It was the Fraziers, in fact, who emboldened me to attempt a trip or two on my own... with Nola ALONE in the backseat.

Let me clarify... she isn't exactly alone. She has all sorts of dangly things (probably choking hazards) to entertain her, along with a mirror (that the guy at the Fire Department told me to remove, but I just couldn't because it was the only way that I could have peace of mind while not being able to stare at her from the backseat), and NPR (which I logically assume is soothing to her, as she listened to it so much in utero), and one of my hands (bent in a Cirque de Soleil like fashion just to touch her head and make sure she's fine.)

So with all of these safety nets, Nola and I have begun to venture into the wilds of Camarillo, and I think we both are getting braver by the day. Our first trip was to the Bread Basket (Aunt Jaimee would be very proud) to get a cake for our friend Melissa Frazier (very wise of her to embolden me to get out of the house). After that, most of our trips have been to the library. I wish that I had some great pictures of the Camarillo Library, but when we're out, I'm usually hand sanitizing everything in our path, so I don't have much time to pause for photos.

Other than my new obsession with hand sanitizing, I've decided to commit myself to curing Nola of her blossoming TV addiction. I figured, rather than turning off the TV altogether (I can't manage all that well not knowing if Antonio Sabato, Jr. is going to end up riding off into the sunset with his mom rather than one of his floozie bachelorettes), I should counter TV time with book time. So, I picked up a book at the library, and wanted to include a little video clip of Nola with her first library book, Let's Dance Little Pookie.

I like to think that all of her sounds are signs of an incredibly accelerated knack for language, but I fear it's just her objecting to the fact that we are not watching the book on TV.

Getting Out of the House, Part Two

When we do get out of the house, we usually trek down a little trail in our neighborhood, which offers much more than a typical suburban sidewalk. We are nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains, so there are all types of wildlife that we've encountered - or at least - come into contact with via paw prints or neighbor accounts. (Remember, Nola and I were probably inside watching some cheesy reality TV instead of encountering wildlife.) Some of the more notable animal "encounters" include:

1. The mountain lion that two neighbors saw scoping out our garage from the driveway.
2. The bear paw prints leading from the woods (and a torn apart trash can) to Nick's truck.
3. The deer that kicked Nick. I suppose this particular scenario needs some explanation: There are deer all over the neighborhood, and we do encounter them on an almost daily basis. One evening, about a year ago, Nick and I were watching The Office, and he had to run out to park his car up the street during commercial break. It took him longer than usual to come back from parking the car, and the show had already resumed. Nick comes limping in from outside, rubbing his shin, and excitedly asking, "What did I miss?" Of course, I ask him, "What happened?" to which he replies, "Oh, I was kicked by a deer." Apparently my husband tried to sneak up behind one of the deer who graze in our neighborhood with the innocent intention of petting it. Needless to say, the deer was not interested.

Of course, my favorite animal encounter includes our family pets. Since the last trimester of the pregnancy, Nick and I would go on evening walks with our dog, Rocky, and our cat, Sid. We all continued to walk together after Nola came on the scene. I have included two pictures, both taken on the neighborhood nature trail, of our little family on a walk. We live in a neighborhood along with a lot of well-meaning retirees who all seem to enjoy commenting on our cat.

The commentary ranges from the informative, "That's some cat!" to the menacing, "You'd better watch out for coyotes!" Either way, we think Sid is pretty impressive. He scampers along with us for about a mile and a half just about every day, yet he still can't seem to lose his belly. Just like me.

Getting Out of the House, Part One

In the Lebanese culture, there is a tradition in which a baby is kept more or less underwraps for the first 40 days of his or her life. Anything that allows me to shelter my baby from a germy germy world is a tradition I am more than happy to embrace.

However, that being said, I sure did get stir crazy by day 39. So, as soon as we could, Nola and I ventured out into the world. Never fear, those of you who are all overzealous about exposing your child to the outdoors and all of the germs therein, it's not like she and I have just been sitting at home watching My Antonio. There is also a brand new season of Real Housewives of Atlanta.

I was looking back at a few pictures that we took during her first few days, and here's one taken from Nola's very first walk. We look back, and yes, we can laugh at ourselves now.

We know that she was born in July, and it was probably not necessary to wear three layers, mittens and a beanie, but we were prepared for whatever this crazy climate had in store for us. We've come a long way since then, and due to the lengthy reading commitment you'd have to make within the confines of one blog entry... I've decided to break this one up. Stay tuned for "Getting Out of the House, Part Two."

Geaux Saints!

Nick, Nola and I are so excited about the Saints season kicking off to a stellar start. Here we have a picture of little Miss Nola in a Drew Brees' jersey that her Auntie Jaimee gave her.

While we're only two games into the season, we already have a game-time ritual that we think gives the Saints lots of luck:

1. The Saints flag is hung before the start of the game.
2. Nick, Nola, Rocky and I all get our respective jerseys on.
3. Rocky goes outside to cope with the fact that he has a jersey on.
4. Mommy feeds and burps Nola.
5. Nola spits up on her jersey and mommy's.
6. The Saints win!

So far, we feel that our little game day ritual has been pretty good luck for our beloved team, so we plan on keeping it up throughout the season.

My Breast Friend

So Nola and my boobs are involved in a very passionate love-hate relationship. Both boobs are equally committed to Nola, while she has an obvious and shameless preference for the left one.

Now to be honest, my boobs have never been equivalent in size, but now -- with all of this preferential treatment -- lefty is much larger. I've had to sneak the right one on her when she least expects it, otherwise it will leak all over the place (which is another gross post-partum side effect that never really registered with me before it actually started happening.)

To complicate this little love triangle, Nola has been pretty abusive to both boobs. She punches them quite frequently -- especially when we are laying down in the evening -- when I'm a little bit less attentive, and allow the boob to sneak away from her mouth. And this punching thing was something that didn't really concern me until I woke up the other morning, and sure enough there was a little bruise on her favorite boob. At first I figured that she may be punching me harder than I thought, but upon closer inspection, it became clearer that the bruise was a hickey!

Now I've assumed all along -- as any parent would -- that she was an advanced child, but this is going a little bit too far. I don't know if Nick and I should sit down and have "the talk" with Nola at this early stage. It does make me wonder if all of those episodes of "Rock of Love Bus" that I watched when I was pregnant somehow seeped through -- and influenced Nola's aggressive and passionate behavior -- especially towards boobs.

Regardless of where she learned it, I do wonder if my boobs are going to make it through a six months to a year of this tumultuous relationship.

After Birth

There's no book entitled "What to Expect Your Body to Look Like After You're Done Expecting," although I think it would be a great addition to Heidi Murkoff's series. I knew that my body wouldn't whip back into the pre-pregnancy state of pudginess, but I didn't anticipate that I would look so much like Mrs. Doubtfire's bodysuit.

I think that my post-partum issues were exacerbated by the fact that I had been prescribed one heck of a strong painkiller, and upon returning home, started working towards earning my keep as a stay-at-home mommy, rather than resting as any sane, stitched-up, sleep-deprived person would do. I would probably still be on the meds (they were great, I have to admit), had it not been for the fact that they were completely constipating... which was the last thing that region of my body needed to deal with at the time.

Speaking of the hinterlands... I've had lots of talks with girlfriends prior to embarking on the baby making journey, but for some reason all of the words of warning ("hemorrhoids," "tearing," "stretch marks...") were deafened by the precious coos of their little babies. It has definitely been worth while, as I glance over at her inquisitive little face, and know that even though my body has been rolled over by Mack Truck, I would do it all over again just to see her smile.

Co-sleepless Nights

We've been home from the hospital for over a week, but are still going through the adjustment of life with our precious Nola.

Overall, she's been an incredible baby -- at least that's what my mom keeps on telling us. She has taken well to breastfeeding, and even gained a full pound in a week. We've only had a few distraught nights of sleeplessness, due to our feeble attempts to figure out what her different cries mean.

It's been so nice having family (my mom has been here since we've been home from the hospital, helping out and taking lots of pictures like the one at the top of the blog entry -- and Nick's family has made us loads of food and helped out around the house) and friends (Sarah & Tony dropped by with bags full of baby goodies & food) and neighbors who have been so good to us. Healing from the labor and delivery has been a longer journey than I anticipated, so all of the help has been such a welcome and wonderful gift.

We've been co-sleeping (I know, Erin, counter to your warnings of 'No exit strategy!') so we get a close-up view of her little face each morning (the picture to the right has been my vantage point for the past few days),and the peace of mind that she's breathing and content (something Nick and I both seem to be checking on regularly -- evidenced by our bleary-eyed whack-a mole-styled awakenings throughout the night). However, our recent doctor's visit came with a strong warning against it (due to a bad experience he had with another patient), so we transitioned into a bedside "arms reach co-sleeper" bassinet last night -- and probably had the first unfettered two hours of sleep in a row since Nola was delivered.

We're certainly learning as we go, but thought we'd share a few nuggets of wisdom gained in the 11 days of little Miss Nola's life:

1. Putting on a onesie doesn't have to take two and a half hours -- although, it usually seems to when I'm involved in the process.
2. Saving an umbilical cord SOUNDS a lot cooler than it actually is.
3. Not every cry is gas or hunger -- sometimes Nola seems to be protesting the fact that Nick and I are really inexperienced at this whole parenting thing... but I think she knows that we're working really hard on it!

Akls = 1, Grumpy Ultrasound Technician = 0

Actually, the Akls have 3! Nola Bibi Akl entered the world at 8:37 pm on Saturday, July 25. She weighed in at a svelte 8 pounds 15 ounces, versus the 11 pound baby we had been anticipating -- thanks to our nemesis, the Grumpy Ultrasound Technician. Okay, from here on out, I promise to stop obsessing -- as we have someone much more important in our lives to obsess about now!

We knew that we just might be on the verge of the birth experience we had been anticipating for so many months, as my water broke in the middle of the night, at 1:15 am on Saturday morning, and we rushed to the hospital, full of the excitement of what was to come -- and Nick's specific excitement over the fact that he would now be able to use his i-phone application, i-contraction.

When we got to the hospital, we learned that the doctor on call only wanted for us to have a C-section as a final effort to deliver if, and only if, labor failed to progress -- and we didn't even have to refer to our Ultrasound Technician as grumpy for the doctor to be dismissive of his assessment.

After allowing labor to progress for seven hours (to lots of pain, accompanied by lots of puking), we finally got the epidural at 9 am, and everything from that point on started to look brighter. We figured we were close to the end of the labor part of things.

Anyhow, we were wrong. Twelve hours, multiple bags of I.V. fluids, and a few more puking sessions later, we were ready to endure the estimated two hours of pushing to meet our little baby. Very long story short (and this is to save Nick the embarrassment of mentioning that he nearly fainted), three pushes later, we became the proud parents of Nola Bibi Akl!

Here she is world! Don't you just love her?

We're having a C-section

Disclaimer: This is not actually a picture of Nola, but could be close if the Ultrasound Technician is right!

So our doctor agreed with the tech: We have a big baby, and ultimately urged us to schedule a C-section, to avoid any risk. Our somber car ride back from the Dr.'s office included this sad conversation:


Me: (stifling sobs in the passenger seat) The only way I know how to show love to things is to make them fat. I made Nola fat. (All the while, by the way, my tear-filled eyes are riveted on the "In & Out Burger" as we pass it on the way home.)

Nick: (driving, while trying to comfort me) Don't be silly. What do you mean?

Me: (whimpering now) Just look at Sid (our very fat cat). Everytime he comes to me I give him a can of food - sometimes four a day. If I were Rocky's only owner (Rocky, our very lean dog, thanks to Nick), he would be obese because of all the junk I feed him. (sniffle, sniffle)

Nick: Oh, don't be silly. Nola is very loved, and you don't use food to show love. She will be just fine.

Me: (sniffle) Thank you, baby. (wipes eyes, and takes deep breath) So, do you want pick up something to eat?


Even though we know that this is the best decision for our baby, I think both Nick and I have had this image in our mind that we would have a cartoony-frantic-running-to-the-hospital-in-the-middle-of-the-night-because-the-water-broke type of experience, and now we just now we won't.

So, for now, unless we go into labor, and have to rush in for a C-section over the weekend, we are scheduled to deliver at 7:30 am on Tuesday, July 28. Our little (scratch that: BIG) Nola will share a birthday with her Aunt Allyson!

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers that morning. We post any changes in the plan, should they occur!

Fat baby, fat mama

So, Nick and I went in for a fetal non-stress test this morning, and Nola looked great -- she passed with flying colors. However, we are one week over our due date, so the doctor compromised with us (we desperately want to go into labor naturally) that we would induced Monday night, if she doesn't come naturally over the weekend.

Fair enough; however, he did want for us to see the grumpy ultrasound technician one more time before heading home. So we did, and of course, he enjoyed raining on our parade.

The grumpy technician's report is that she has plenty of amniotic fluid, but she is a big, big baby. Anyhow, he estimated her weight to be 10 pounds 8 ounces, stating that there is a plus or minus one pound standard deviation. Again, we did our little plus or minus dance, when he said, "She could be 11 pounds 8 ounces." To which I replied, "...or 9 pounds 8 ounces?" To which he gruffly laughed and said, "Unlikely." He then told us to stay put while he called the doctor to report his findings.

Anyhow, Nick and I are going to the doctor's office right away to see what our options are. I thought we'd just take a minute to post this info -- just in case we get stuck in Ventura delivering our big baby.

Fashionably Late

I thought I'd use the wait-time to finally upload some pictures of Nola's nursery.

Nick built the closet (to the left) and the daybed/wall-unit (to the right)with the help of some Swedish stick figures.

The closet is already jam-packed with a miniature wardrobe that is triple the size of Nick and mine combined. She does have a lot of family and friends to thank for her fashion-sense -- hopefully she won't get that from either of her parents. Sorry to drag you under the bus with me on this one, Nick, but neither of us are what one would call fashionable.

We finally got the crib in (bottom right), and it's not so matchy-matchy with the rest of the space, which is kind of a bummer, but it's a nice big crib that will eventually convert into a toddler bed and finally a frame for a double bed. I hope that the lack of a matching crib isn't what's keeping Nola from emerging; however, if that were the case it would confirm that she has indeed inherited a sense of style far beyond her parents

If you see anything missing from the nursery setup, let me know, as maybe that's the thing she's waiting for. Perhaps she's just fearful that she won't get the constant supply of ice cream that she's currently receiving. Either way, we'll keep you all posted on her arrival. Whenever she chooses to come.

...And we wait

So, about two weeks ago, the grumpy ultrasound technician approximated that Nola was between 8 pounds 10 ounces -- and 9 pounds 10 ounces. Shortly thereafter, my mom and dad hop in the car to speed cross country to await the arrival of this large baby. My OB was dismissive of the technician's estimates, saying that there's a considerable standard deviation around those estimates, and said to "not worry" if the baby goes past due.

I laughed, thinking that there was no way that this baby will be late. I was wrong. She does have my genes in her afterall, so being late should be expected.

The due date came and went (it was Wednesday) -- and now we wait. I have no exciting pictures to upload, unless of course you would like to see some footage of me watching the "Golden Girls." My dad flew home, while my mom is still out here, spending time with Kim's kids and calling me at least once a day with concerns such as this ditty:

"Hi Kris, this is mother. I just wanted to let you know that if you feel like you've wet the bed during the night, that may not be pee, it actually may be your water breaking, so you need to get up and go to the hospital in case that happens."

Well, our hospital bags have been packed for two weeks now -- just in case I wet the bed one of these nights.

Nola in 3D

So our normally disgruntled ultrasound technician (we've seen him twice now, for a heartbeat and gender check) was unusually chipper the day we came in - paying - for our 3D ultrasound. He gave us a good 25 minutes worth of video, when our package only covered 15 minutes or so. This is a little segment within the ultrasound video in which Nola is playing coy with us, the paparazzi.

She looks so squishy. She's orange, too -- but that all seems to go with being a little celebrity these days.

I can't wait to play with her little dimpled fingers.

Hospital Tour de Force

From our hospital's maternity tour, we came away with three general observations of note:

1. CMH has something called Kangaroo Care, which we're really excited about, and will explain momentarily.
   
2. Are teenage pregnancy statistics on the rise? Half of our tour had to be high school-aged girls.


3. It's probably best that Nick and I were never in school together.

First, we'll focus on the good news: Kangaroo Care. Basically, rather than be sucked, smacked, sanitized and swaddled before Nick and I would have a chance to hold her, the hospital puts her in direct contact with you for a good hour or so before all of the check-ups. We are very excited about that... especially because it's being true to the tenets of the Bradley Method we learned about over the past few months... most of which I'm not going to miss once that epidural starts dripping. Sorry, Dr. Bradley, I don't think I want to feel the experience of childbirth.

Other than the Kangaroo Care, the only noteable observation from our hospital tour is the high number of pregnant teenagers who were there. We probably had 8 - 10 waddling ladies on the tour, and 4 or 5 of them appeared to be under 20. Maybe I'm just getting old, and everyone is starting to look young to me, but a few of them were with their moms. On a positive note, it does seem that they've timed their pregnancies to deliver in the summer -- so as to not interfere with their studies, I assume? So, we could have some very smart young ladies who are passing these very smart genes and commitment to education on to the next generation.



Lastly, for the past few years, Nick and I have been going to classes to teach us how to best approach the next big step in our life. We took dancing classes prior to our wedding, premarital counseling, dog obedience classes and, of course, our recent Bradley Method class. During our hospital tour, it became evident to me that we may be at the end of our co-ed rope. Basically, this is due to the fact that I am one of those very annoying questioners who decides to prolong the agony of the entire class with lots and lots of questions that pertain solely to my situation. Nick, on the other hand, is one of those students who likes to get through something with very minimal interaction and attention from the instructor. I like a lot of eye contact from the teacher -- and affirmation that I am doing well as a student -- even if it's an hour-long hospital tour. Nick, realizing that he's stuck with me, and knowing by now that I'm going to do this at every single class that we attend, has started finding seats that fall right behind a fairly large person (not tough to do during our maternity classes) so that he can comfortably check his e-mail on his Blackberry.



Sigh.



Nonetheless, I'm signing us up for an Infant-Child CPR class to ensure that we're equipped for the next step.

More very important baby preparation

So, I have bags and bags of onesies and dresses too small to imagine being draped over a living, breathing human being. I've been holding off on washing them (with our *first* jug of Dreft), as we've been holding out for a lifetime supply of baby hangers I ordered on ebay. Well, they just came today, which means I've got start washing the itsy bitsy clothing... and I can't continue to troll my i-tunes for songs that have some ironic reference to laboring and delivering (I am open to all suggestions, by the way.)



To distract ourselves from tiny-clothing-hanging duties, and enjoy the homestretch of pregnancy, we decided to make a belly cast of Nola's uterine domecile. I fear it's a tad indecent, but decided to post our belly cast picture anyway. Tell me if it needs censorship bars or pasties. I guess the question now is, where the heck do we put this thing in our little home?



We're off to register with the hospital, and to go on a little tour of the maternity ward! I'm sure I'll have the boring details ready to post tomorrow.

Adding twigs to our nest

How wonderful our gestation has been! I mean, despite the swelling, stretch marks, acid reflux, anemia, varicose veins, carpal tunnel syndrome, occasional nervous breakdowns and incessant breathing constraints... we've been so fortunate to have family and friends who have been so generous to us as we prepare for our little baby.

Thank you to Kim and Carole, Nola's aunties, who have little girls of their own -- both under two -- and have been so generous with baby supplies and clothing. Thank you to Melissa, our dear friend, who just delivered her little boy right before we found out we were pregnant -- she probably saved us thousands of dollars in maternity clothing alone. We've had neighbors and coworkers who have brought by bags and bags of baby gear. We are so grateful to you all!


I just came back down from my sister Kim's house, and got to hang out with her little ones while talking about labor pains with their mommy. I got to stay with them during our major flooring renovation, and it was so nice to spend quality time with Kim, Taylor and the kiddos. The twins are adorable, and while her baby, Eliza, kept on giving me the stinkeye (as if to say, "Why are you still here, Prego?"), she's equally adorable. I've posted a picture of the kiddos here... the twins are playing outside & Eliza is making sure they stay out. It was really nice having a home away from home during that time. I love having family nearby.


Labor day is looming, and I'm filling my time with very important details, like making a "Labor & Delivery" mix, as per a discussion from our birthing class. So far we've got a pretty discordant mix of peppy "pushing" songs (i.e., "Push It" by Salt N Pepa) and lullaby-type ballads to little girls (not in the creepy Pete Townshend sense, but in the "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder sort of way). So far we have enough songs to cover about 50 minutes of labor -- which is about the average length of your first delivery, right?


Oh boy, we certainly don't know what's in store for us -- despite the sage advice of those who have been there before us; however, we'll have really good music to listen to while we figure it all out.

Our first official blog

Had it not been for Kama's recent visit, I would have remained blog-less for a much longer time, but here we are! The Akl family (which is about three weeks away from adding another member) is online!

To update: Nick has been working feverishly to get the house in tip-top shape for our little girl. I will post pictures of the home improvements as my blogging savvy increases. Needless to say, he can build a piece of IKEA furniture blindfolded at this point. Lots of home-changes have taken place, most noteably the wood floors -- which not only allow us to see of all of the dog's fur, but they provide lots of hours of entertainment to Nick and I as we watch Rocky slipping and sliding around the house.

We're very excited about meeting our little baby! We are in hyper-nesting mode, but still have a lot of to-do's before the due date.