Wednesday, July 31, 2013

How Grandmas are Made

The following is Anna's birth story, told by Grandma April.
"Thursday we spent the day taking it slow (after a full week of playing hard we were both tired), we did our laundry, Sara cleaned the apartment (it's so small that took about 15 minutes while I was folding clothes), we had a nice long chat over lunch.  That evening we met up with Zach to go out to dinner near Time Square. Sara found a restaurant that prepare tempura veggies that sounded so good to her so off we went. We ate til we were stuffed then we walked over to Bryant Park near a gorgeous and large public library with lion statues in front of it. The park had very tall mature trees all around with a big open lawn with a movie screen on the end opposite the library. There were lots of little black metal tables and chairs, many people were enjoying the user friendly area-ping pong, chess playing, lighted hula hoops, eating of dinners, people lying on the grass and such, it was a peaceful scene. I was talking to your dad on the phone and was noticing Sara's belly going from round to baby shaped about three times, I asked her, "are you having contractions?" then said, "you are having contractions, how many have you had?" She didn't know, so we started timing them. The contractions did not stop as we made our way back to their apartment. Sara showered, we got ready for bed and continued to time contractions 5 - 8 minutes a part. We turned out the lights-fat chance any sleeping was going to happen. Sure enough the contractions did not stop, so we timed them some more. Five minutes-ish apart, so doctor was called, cab was called, and off we went. She checked into the hospital about 3:30 a.m. and was then hooked up to all kind of things - i.v., blood pressure cuff,  Anna's heart rate monitor, catheter (so she didn't have to get out of bed to pee), and a needle in her back for the epidural. We watched the sun rise over Central Park with it's mature and beautiful trees.  Contractions were doing their job and getting painful. The Epidural got started and she was no longer in pain and was in good spirits, so we spent the day in the hospital watching the Food Network while Sara was dilating and effacing so she could push Anna out.


 She was dilated to a 10 by around 2:30 p.m. The doctor was called in. He tried to have her push but the epidural did too good of a job so she had to wait til she could gain some control of her lower body to push Anna out. He came back after an hour and tried again, he came back after another hour and tried again, another 1/2 hr then yet one more 1/2 hour. Then she was ready. The doctor had Sara put one foot on his leg and one foot on Zach's leg to support her while she pushed through the contractions - such painful and hard work that lasted just over an hour. Then what a flurry of activity, like 6 people in the room as Anna's hairy head popped out, then the rest of her body, then the placenta. Zach got to cut the umbilical cord then a nurse whisked her over to be cleaned and weighed and given to Sara. The doctor continued to work on Sara. Every person that came into the room independently commented (very sincerely) on what a beautiful baby Anna is, a couple of the nurses looked over to see who had the baby and commented "What a beautiful mom." Even the doctor said she was really beautiful and that he sees a lot of new baby's! A nurse placed Anna on Sara for their first bonding time together. They placed i.d. bands on Anna, Sara and Zach and even a security tag on Anna's ankle so no one could take her out of the hospital. After everything was taken care of and cleaned up the doctor and all the others eventually left. Zach got to hold Anna briefly then they whisked her away to the nursery for testing and who knows what all.


I finally got to hold her for a few brief moments. It was after 10:00 p.m. and after all of us being up for two full days Zach and I reluctantly and wearily left Sara and Anna at the hospital to go back to their apt and get some sleep. We both ate a bowl of cereal and went to bed. Up again this morning we went to the hospital to spend the day with Sara and Anna. Sara went to a class for breast feeding so I took a break and enjoyed a different part of Central Park with ponds and a beautiful forest area, I sat and did some scripture study and enjoyed the beautiful park til it started to rain.  It was hard to get Zach to share Anna - I guess to be fair he also needs a chance to bond with Anna, He is going to be a great dad. Sara is trying to teach Anna how to breast feed, she is already a wonderful patient mother. I am so proud of Sara and loving every chance I get to enjoy Anna. She is so perfectly proportioned, has LONG fingers and good sized feet. She is very alert. Her eyes were open right away and she was looking all around. I'm so grateful Sara and Zach allowed me to be here during the special time and that Zach even gives me a chance to hold her, at least a little bit."

Friday, July 26, 2013

Posters, Statues and Parks





Last Saturday we enjoyed showing my mom around the city. We explored the 9/11 memorial, found a vintage poster shop, barely missed the rain on the Staten Island Ferry, and  walked around Washington Square Park before calling it a day. It was a hot one but after the rain hit everything cooled down just in time for dinner and a final evening walk. We love showing off this city!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The Due Date - Week 40


Above are pictures of my cute mom carrying me next to my studly dad.  Below is the next generation. I am officially due, or overdue? Either way I'm calling it, I'm done waiting. We all are. We are so anxious to meet our little Anna girl and to start showing her around New York. My fingers are crossed that she decides to come on her own in the next day or two. 24 is always a good number...


Monday, July 22, 2013

The Irish Hunger Memorial



Last Saturday Zach and I braved the drizzly weather to enjoy downtown Manhattan and the Irish Hunger Memorial. What can we say we felt a pull back to the homeland.


Friday, July 19, 2013

S'Mac & Big Gay



After visiting Governors Island, Lexie decided we needed to show off two of our favorite places to Paula. S'Mac was as good the second time around, if not better. This time I stuck with a reasonable portion and still left way too full. Then we headed to Big Gay's for our favorite ice cream treat in the city, the Salty Pimp. Terrible name, but very tasty. It's a vanilla cone striped with dulce de leche, sprinkled with sea salt, and dipped in chocolate. It doesn't matter how full you are, there is always room for this delicious treat.



Thursday, July 18, 2013

More Governors Island



 We enjoyed a very warm Saturday with Paula and Lexi on Governors Island.  We had so much fun walking around the old town and picking out where we would liked to have lived. Its always amazing to me how 20 minutes away from Manhattan can feel like a whole new world.