Pippa Jane Arrives!!

Well, November 29 was my due date...and the day our baby girl decided to make her appearance! Patrick and I decided to take a long walk on the beach that morning, then still feeling antsy we decided to go downtown to do a bit of shopping and have lunch. During lunch I sort of realized I didn't feel all that great..and that maybe the contractions I was having were no longer the braxton-hicks kind. We decided it was prudent to be a bit closer to home if this was "it". This photo is me right when we got home from lunch, about 2:45 in the afternoon...and only about 5 hours from when our daughter was born!!!

Everything happened so fast; once the contractions started they came on strong and close together. Patrick waited about an hour to call our midwives thinking we'd be in for a long day and probably night, but when the first midwife, Alice, arrived around 4:30 I was so far along that instead of all the stuff to help me through labor she got busy setting up for the baby's arrival!

A few short, but intense hours later our baby girl was here!

Pippa Jane Redman

born 11/29/2008 at 7:50pm

7 lbs 1 oz

20.5 inches

Now the waiting game!

Well, I am in week 40...and just waiting, waiting, waiting! I am completely off work, and the house is reorganized and ready again after the craziness of the fire. Now what? My company gave Patrick and I the jogging stroller we wanted (which was a GREAT surprise!), so we put that together last night. This week I have also cleaned all the floors in the house, vacuumed all the furniture, organized a few dresser drawers...and this moring I baked banana bread!

Doesn't this baby know she is supposed to arrive this week???

New slide show through week 38.

Week 39 update

Well, I am officially off work this week, but today I worked for a few hours to prep for a board meeting I'll be attending tomorrow, so I am still plugged into the office. I felt like I was taking plenty of time off to prepare with some extra relax time, but it already seems to be going quickly!



Today I had an appointment for a car seat safety check, they helped me install the seat safely and showed me how to buckle the baby in securely. It was difficult enough with the practice doll, I can only imagine how it will be with a real baby until I get used to all the buckles and straps!



The next few days I'll be organizing the baby's stuff, her changing table, getting her crib situated, etc. I'll take and post some photos. Over the weekend Patrick and I had a date...possibly our last one for a while. Here are a few pictures of us, plus some of the dirt in our house from the fire.

Back at Home!!

Whew! What a crazy few days!! Patrick and I packed the cars and went to Maynard and Linda's Thursday night. Thursday and Friday the fire burned over 100 homes and got within a half a mile from our place! Saturday during the day the evacuation order was lifted for our neighborhood...but we are less than a block from the mandatory line and the air quality was so bad that we decided to wait one more day. We had a Saturday night date planned, so we went out and had a good time and tried to relax.
We came home this morning and were relieved to find the air relatively clear and most of the ash had stayed outside. Patrick hosed down the outside of the house and deck while I vacuumed around all the windows and doors inside. Fire crews had been up and down the street making way for equipment and removing brush, the evidence they were here is both strange and comforting. The worst thing today is the heat! It is about 90 degrees out and the house has been closed for days so it is HOT in here, but we can't really open up without letting tons of ash back in.
I feel good, no early labor or issues with the baby or anything. Patrick has done a great job of taking care of me and making sure I was out of the smoke and not working too hard. We're super happy to be back at the house and to know that we'll be able to have the baby here.
Everyone on the block seems to be coming home today and is cleaning up and settling back in. It feels strange to be back here and thankful for our good fortune when there are people so close to us who lost everything. There will be a lot of things to think about this year at Thanksgiving!
Thanks for all the calls and emails checking on us, I'll be posting pictures soon!

38 weeks...and Evacuated!!!

Around 5:45pm last night the "Tea Fire" broke out in the canyons between Santa Barbara and Montecito. Patrick could see the flames and smoke from his office, so he called me and told me not to panic, but to pack a bag. I got Suzallo (our cat) in his carrier by the front door, and put our fire safe box with papers in the car, and then kind of wandered the house trying to figure out exactly what the "necessities" are when you have to just grab them and go.
From the street in front of the house you could see the glow and smoke from the fire just over the hill, the neighbors were all outside talking and making sure everyone was getting organized and getting ready to leave. It was scary, but I felt reassured that everyone was looking out for each other.
Patrick came home from work (after what felt like ages!), and we had time to pack some larger bags (with two weeks left before my due date I was torn between my maternity clothes and my regular ones!!). We grabbed baby stuff and personal stuff and headed out to Goleta to stay with Linda and Maynard. Our neighborhood was officially put under mandatory evacuation a few hours later. We're safe, we have everything we need if we have a baby before we can get home...or if the worst happens and we lose our home.
As scary as it was, the fire looked spectacular crawling across the hills in the dark. I'll try to post some pictures soon...and promise to keep everyone updated on what is going on.

Week 36 update.

I have always been ankle challenged (thanks Grandma Buzzell), but I have officially transitioned into "cankle" territory this week. The ankle/feet swelling symptom all the books talk about has finally come my way. Thankfully, not many other troubling symptoms have bothered me and I have had a pretty great pregnancy. I am both scared and excited to be 4 weeks away from my due date...but mostly excited.

I'm slowing down a bit and have finally replaced my weight training classes with more prenatal yoga. I'm still as active as I can be, it is hard to get comfortable enough to sleep at night...so it helps to be really tired! I have also given up the scooter for the most part. It is actually more comfortable to drive than trying to fold myself into my car...but it is dark so early now and I'd hate to be out somewhere with it and go into labor and be a bit stranded. At least with my car Patrick can bike over to meet me, throw the bike on the roof, and drive me home!

Patrick and I are fully "educated" on this birth stuff now...we finished our childbirth class series this week and this morning we attended a Baby Basics class. We brought along some of our cloth diapers and got to show the class how cute and easy they are...hopefully we inspired some converts! This afternoon we installed the car seat (thanks again Grandma Andrea and Grandpa Dave!) it seemed pretty easy so we'll definitely be dropping by the fire station to have the guys there give it a safety check!

Other than that we're just trying to enjoy the fall weather in SB by hiking, going to the beach, and baking lots of cookies. Here are a few recent pictures...

Baby Shower

My baby shower was this past weekend! My friends Tanya and Diana teamed up with Patrick's Aunt Linda and his cousin Veronica to pull everything together and I think everyone had a great time. Patrick's Mom came out from Yuma...but for all our 'too far out of town' family and friends...here are a few pictures!

30 Weeks and still a Gym Rat!

Well, somehow I made it to week 30 already! The agonizingly long first few months have morphed into weeks just flying by! It is hard to believe I am just 10 short weeks away from my due date, and only 7 weeks from "she could come anytime" status.

I am still feeling pretty good, I am happy to say. Here I am coming home from my weekly power walk with my friend Medina...we go a little slower each week, but she's hanging in with me for about an hour and a half each Sunday down by the beach.




I am also still at the gym most days, although the sideways glances are getting more and more obvious. Most people I interact with are supportive of my quest to stay in shape for labor, but I think my Group Power (weight lifting) class has started a pool to guess when I'll finally give it up!




Got some new gym gear recently at Lucy, their roll waist yoga capris are great for growing bellys! I also graduated up a size in tops...but am wondering if I should trade in for baggy tee shirts...What do you all think? Too much belly for the gym?

"BabyMoon" in Vegas!

Patrick and I took off over the Labor Day holiday for 5 days in Las Vegas for our last grown-ups only trip for a while. We had a great time and enjoyed the time off work and away from the daily grind. It was over 100 degrees outside, so we spent most days lounging around the pool.



We had a great room with a terrific view of the strip. The color in this photo is a bit off, but you can see how big my belly is growing! I am in week 27 during this trip.






We went and saw the Cirque du Soleil show "O", it was amazing!! We did a bit of gambling - but mostly chilled out in the evenings and enjoyed some great dinners.

Shopping in Portland, hurray!

Last week I flew to Portland, Oregon to visit my Mom for some quality time and shopping. My flight was uneventful, the little one didn't seem to notice, and I didn't feel different than I normally do. It was HOT in Portland, 104 one of the days (yes, you read that right, 104!), but my Mom and I survived by staying mostly indoors.
The shopping was a huge success, thank heaven for Mimi Maternity and Bella Bellies...I now have some super cute maternity clothes that don't make me feel like a little girl or a whale in a muu muu. I found some Lucky Brand maternity jeans that are like a dream, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Hooray!
Shopping for the baby was also a treat, although not as immediately gratifying. Our little girl will now sleep and dream in the cutest sleepers and has a few dresses for hitting the town. Not to mention one super cool pink cowboy hat courtesy of my friend Jeanne...thanks again!

Deciding on Home Birth

Ok, so as soon as I found out I was expecting, I started to panic about how this baby was going to make it out. As a lifelong avoider of pain, I have been pretty set on a planned c-section to be my choice when and if I ever decided (was lucky enough) to have a child. My boyfriend, Patrick, although not thrilled with this idea, was supportive of my choice.
I was between jobs when we got the good news about the baby, so I found myself browsing Netflix one day between surfing LinkedIn and Monster.com. I found the documentary "The Business of Being Born", and watched it.

You can check it out here: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

Lets just say it changed my whole perspective on how to give birth to my child and propelled me into a research frenzy. I had let fear of the unknown and an aversion to pain lead me to choose a major surgical procedure to give birth. Popular culture and the medical community says this is safe...but my research contradicted this.

Check out this movie, do some research, and make a birth plan that is right for you. Patrick and I chose to find a Certified Nurse Midwife and plan for a home birth. My fear hasn't gone away...but I am excited and optimisitic that I"ll have a great birth experience. I encourage you to watch this movie, then read everything you can get your hands on before you let a doctor or a insurance company tell you what is right for you.

Month 6 Begins

Well, officially in week 23 I have started the 6th month of my pregnancy. It seems unreal most days...but then the baby starts a little gymnastics routine in my belly and there is no denying there is something in there!

I feel great and have had a relatively trouble free pregnancy thus far (knock on wood). However, I have pretty much gained a layer of fat from my ribs to my knees instead of a cute little baby bump, but I am trying not to hold it against my body. My midwife tells me that it is my job to gain 25 pounds during this pregnancy, and my body's job to decide where it wants to put it. I am not sure that is a fair trade...but what can I do?

We went to Patrick's Grandparents in Murrietta, CA this weekend to tell them the baby news and hang out. His Uncle John and Aunt Patty were there...we had a great time hanging out.

Elisa's visit to Santa Barbara

This summer Patrick's daughter, Elisa, was able to visit Southern CA and spend a week with us in Santa Barbara. For those of you who don't know, Elisa lives with her Mom and brother in France, and hadn't been to visit the US in several years. We were super excited to have her with us! She got to see her Grandparents, Great Grandparents and a few cousins, and we had fun doing lots of typical Santa Barbara things.


She is 13, and tall and gorgeous (just like her Dad, of course!). She is into music and skateboarding. She enjoyed shopping, riding with her Dad on our scooter, and hanging out at the beach.


Elisa is excited to be getting a new baby sister, and we talked baby names together. Top of her list is "Lucy", but Patrick and I aren't announcing the baby's name until she is actually here, so we'll see. Elisa suggested we visit France with the new baby while I am on maternity leave, what a disappointment to tell her that women in the US don't get the 2 years of leave that is offered to women in France. TWO YEARS! What a dream to have the flexibility to give your child the care you want for his/her first two years without losing your job! Anyway...we'll definitely take the baby to see her sister in France, planning will just be a bit more challenging.

Here are some great pictures...

We're Expecting!!!

Patrick and I are expecting our first child together at the end of November. We are thrilled!! I have repurposed this blog to house pregnancy news and pictures for everyone, so enjoy!