Cuddle time

Almost 6 weeks old!

With her little Easter bunny toy from Great-Grandma Lu and Auntie Lisa & snuggly outfit from Grandma Susie

Isabella loves to stretch out on Abuela Aida's mat

This little one loves her baths now

Funky new toys from Grandma Susie!

Chillaxin' on Auntie Jenni's changing mat - our most favorite pastime

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Isabella is growing so much! It's hard to believe that a month and a half ago I was going out of my mind to see her. We're still not getting much sleep at night but Isabella compensates me with her flashy new smiles and regular cooing sounds (Papa is wild for these sounds too). She now weighs more than 10lbs 7oz!

Happy Easter from the Sotomayors!!!

Here are some pictures of Isabella in her Easter dress (a gift from her auntie Lisa) with April, who had her birthday this Saturday. Happy birthday April!!. It was a snowy weekend here as you can see from the last picture.

Isabella's little feet

Isabella: Space Baby

Isabella's First Month

Isabella is past her first month doing great and being as cute as ever. April spends her time trying to make Isabella smile. Thanks for all your posts and enjoy the new pictures.

Our Little Girl

playing dress-up in Puerto Rican family heirlooms

pasando un buen tiempo con Abuelo

first coffee shop outing - St. Ives

Two Weeks Baby!

Isabella turns two weeks old tomorrow! At this time two Saturdays ago I was about to start the gory labor that would bring a beautiful, wonderful little person into this world. I cannot believe how the days have flown as one. Nights are getting better (knock on wood) and we seem to be learning what her cries mean, which gets us much more sleep! It's like a miracle if one of us gets more than four hours at a time. We tend to stay up really late with Isabella (a night owl like her papa), and because of this, we were awake during Britain's strongest earthquake in 25 years (~5.3). Pedro said that when the whole house started shaking I actually screamed out "my baby!" - like in some cliché Hollywood disaster flick. Isabella didn't mind the tremor and continued to breastfeed and sleep even as I leaped from the couch and ran for cover with her in my arms. I'm feeling a lot better and will soon be my old self again, thanks to all of the amazing help from Pedro's mom and dad - to whom I will be forever grateful!!!!

A Week and A Day

Here are some of the photos we've taken during the week. It's been tough and sleepless these last eight days, but incredibly wonderful at the same time.

daddy's little girl - Pedro has been incredible

we toasted Isabella birth and homecoming with champagne

MORE PICTURES

Birth and Recovery in Pictures

Family and Friends,

April is doing good in her recovery, and was already walking today. She will likely be released from the hospital tomorrow. It feels like she was just giving birth this morning, and I have had barely any time to spend in front of the computer, but I wanted to download some pictures and let you know a little bit about the birth of Isabella.

April started contractions shortly after writing her last blog entry on Friday evening, sometime around 6:30 p.m.. We thought that they were Braxton Hicks because there was no pain and they were barely noticeable. By 8:30 April went to bed and when I went to bed at 1140 April was already having painful contractions. We called the hospital and at about 1:40 a.m. on Saturday morning we were driving through fog to the hospital. Shortly after arrival the midwife that examined April determined that she was already 5 to 6 cm dilated. April actually toughed out being that dilated without complaining or freaking out! She was very calmed the whole time on the way to the hospital and showed herself very brave. It was a long 6 hours before the midwives allowed April to give in to the urge to push and an hour later Isabella came out into this world. Isabella was a little to rough coming out and caused a type III tear on April (the worst tear a pregnant woman can suffer). It was at this time that I heard April scream for the first time since she had gone into labor; before or after, April just stayed focused and carried on with what I, to this moment, consider uncanny superhuman strength. Because of the tear, the doctor decided to have April taken into the operating room for reconstructive surgery and stitching. After a 1 and a half hour procedure, April came out in high spirits and happy to be reunited with our daughter.

So, Isabella is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. Every time I see her she is somehow changed, the color of her hair seems to change from strawberry blond, to light brown, to red. I spent the day today (18 Feb) visiting with April and Isabella. The visiting times were arranged in such a way that I was able to spend every other two hours with them from 10 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.. April wanted me to convey her thanks to all of you and to let you all know that she appreciates all of your gifts, get well wishes and comments.

BIRTH DAY!!!!!

We are very Proud to Announce that our baby daughter, Isabella Aida, was born on February 17, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. weighting 8.2 lbs. April suffered some tearing and is recovering well at the hospital. April, Isabella and I send our love to all of you and I will be posting some pictures as soon as I get some time to mess with the computer. April and Isabella should be getting back from the hospital by Tuesday.

+1

We're still waiting, still walking, still impatient - I've had three people looking expectantly at me all day. Don't mind that little baby countdown ticker to the left - for some reason it's beginning to count UP, obviously freaked out by the fact that I've gone past my due date. I have been having some Braxton-Hicks contractions this evening though, so I hope to take that as a good sign since I hadn't had ANY before. Now I'm off to try some acupressure.

40 Weeks...

...and not even a Braxton-Hicks contraction. After accidentally sleeping through my midwife appointment yesterday, I got to see her today - much to my disappointment - I had been hoping that I'd have given birth by now. BUT today is, after all, my official due date. I now have exactly seven days to produce a baby before more invasive measures are taken to coerce her out. I'm extremely puffy and increasingly uncomfortable. I'm denying our public the last belly picture because my face looks like a marshmallow with humanoid features. The photo you see above was taken this morning after my appointment. Keep sending out your birthing vibes!

Not a Valentine's Baby...

No baby...yet. So far, most people have seem to think this baby is coming out by tomorrow - I hope you're right! Technically, this could still go on for a while!

Belly Laughs

39 Weeks

This week's belly shot was taken at the end of the day, just as I was about to go to bed! I had a bit of a scare earlier when I realized in late afternoon that I hadn't really noticed the baby moving all day. She almost always responds if I rub or push my belly or if Pedro talks directly to her, but she didn't budge after numerous (and increasingly frantic) attempts. So we rushed over to the community clinic to get someone to check out the baby's heartbeat and my vitals just to make sure everything was fine. Of course, as soon as a doctor put the cold jelly to my navel, the baby started moving. That sense of terror and helplessness that proceeded the visit was terrible, though. I cannot say enough how thankful I am that I can just walk into the clinic and get seen right away without having to mess around with insurance paperwork or other bureaucratic concerns. It's hard to believe that almost ten months of pregnancy have passed and we're about to have a baby. I'm including a photo of the positive pregnancy test that I took all the way back on June 26th, 2007 - the very first of many exciting surprises for us!

38 Weeks

After Pedro's company "holiday" party

Postnatal Parents Group

He estado iendo a un grupo postnatal que se reune cada semana en el pueblito de Oundle. Obviamente, todo el mundo en el grupo ya tiene un bebe (de un edad menos de un ano), pero mi comadrona me alentó a asistir a las clases con una otra mujer embarazada de Upper Benefield (el pueblito donde vivimos – bien cerca de Oundle). La semana pasada, aprendimos a atratar a un infante cuando se esta ahogando – la semana que viene será CPR. Hoy discutieron como destetar. Algunas de las madres en el grupo tenían caras cansadisimas, pero no obstante lograron asistir a la clase. Me alegro mucho que tenemos un red social del apoyo, así que no vivimos cerca de familia. La sistema de cuido en los EEUU debe notar el éxito de programas así en Inglaterra. Perdona los errores gramaticas!

I’ve been going to a postnatal group that meets once a week in Oundle. Obviously, everyone there already has babies (under 1 year) but my midwife encouraged me to go with another pregnant woman in the village who is due around the same time as me. Last week Pedro went also and we learned how to deal with choking – next week is CPR. Today they talked about weaning – it’s amazing how many things you need to consider for babies that you would never otherwise think about! Some of the mothers in the group look so, so tired but they manage to make it out each week just to get together for a little social support – I’m really glad that I’ll have that, especially without any family living anywhere remotely nearby. The healthcare system in the US should really take note of this sort of thing!

The Baby Shower

Hoy tuve mi baby shower. Habían nueve mujeres quienes me dieron regalos lindos y preciosos. Katherine se lució con toda la preparación – de la comida, los juegos que jugamos, y todo. Recibí un monton de ropita linda y muchos consejos de las que eran mamas entre ellas. Jugamos un juego donde todo el mundo trata de adivinar la medida de mi cintura – me dio mucha gracia cuando algunas de ellas adivinaron que tenia una barriga gigantesca (y yo era una de ellas!). Pasamas un buen tiempo comiendo y bebiendo (ellas tomaron un cocktail de champaña y jugo) – y me impresionaron con su generosidad incredible.

I had my baby shower today. There were nine women who gave me sweet and precious gifts (Corrine, Kat, Kara Lee, Indira, Emily, Mirka, Julia, Juliet, and Janine). Kat went all out on the setup – the food, the games that we played, and everything! I got a ton of cute baby clothes and a lot of advice from the mothers among them. We played one game where everyone tries to guess the size of my waist – it was hilarious (albeit slightly disturbing) when some of them guessed an enormous waist size for me (I was actually one of them!). We had a great time eating and drinking (they got to drink a champagne and juice cocktail) – and they all touched me with their incredible generosity.