March 23rd, 2003

Today is a speical day, it's our nephew Conor's birthday!

Happy 6th Birthday buddy! We love and miss you BUNCHES!

The little NBA star!
1st hair cut, no more curls!
Uncle Tavo and Conor looking handsome!

Chillin in the wagon.

Cheese.
1st day of kindergarten!

Daddy-O

Happy Birthday to you.........Happy Birthday to you..........Happy Birthday dear AMOR/DADDY-O.........Happy Birthday to you.........and many more!!!!!!!

Today is Mi Amor's 32nd birthday! Happy Birthday Daddy-O! We love you!

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!

FRIDAY!

Yeah it's Friday and I survived the first week back at work. It took me a couple days to get back in the swing of things, but today I really worked hard and got a lot done. I had to leave a little earlier to pick up Jaycee because Daddy was working overtime.

It's going to take sometime to get used to being a working mom and I'm only working part-time right now. This helps out a lot so I can get errands run on the days I have off. It's really going to be rough when I have to start back full time. There isn't enough time in the day to get things done. Right now I'm still doing laundry and just got done cleaning up the kitchen. It sucks too because Jaycee goes to bed between 7pm and 7:30pm and I feel I don't get much time with her in the evenings by the time I get home from work. I have to make those couple hours great quality time. I am extremely grateful that both my husband and I have weekends off so that the three of us can spend the time together.

Jaycee also survived her week with Sani; she was a happy little girl today when I picked her up. I think she is enjoying her time with Sani and the other kids. I just wish she would learn to take the bottle. On Tuesday she ate 1.5 ounces, Wednesday 1 ounce and today only 1 ounce. Concerned mommy called the pediatrician today. The doc said to give it some time since this is her first week and if she continues then to call back. The reason I called was because at night she is sleeping so good and not eating, so I'm afraid she is not eating enough. She only nurses 2 or 3 times in the morning before going to Sani's and then again 2 or 3 times when I get home before going to bed. I pray she starts eating soon.

Jaycee's new thing.........her fingers make her happy. I'm always asking her what favor are they?This is one way she soothes herself and falls asleep. ROCK ON!

the no-cry sleep solution

I am currently reading this book called, "the no-cry sleep solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. Gentle ways to help your baby sleep through the night. So far the book is great and is really helping with Jaycee. For those parents that don't like the cry it out method, I highly recommend this book. Tavo and I weren't crazy about letting Jaycee cry and cry; we tried and did let her cry for a half hour. But after finding that it didn't work and she wouldn't sooth herself, we tried plan B. My sister recommended the book; she used it on her second child. Tavo and I were one of those parents that thought if you put your baby to bed later she will sleep longer, we were wrong. Something the book teaches you. Jaycee is currently sleeping through the night and taking naps through out the day. Her naps are not very long but we are working on it. At night she has been going to bed at 7pm and doesn't wake up till 4:30am-5am then goes back to sleep. I wish we could either get her to wake up earlier than 5am or sleep till 7am. When she wakes up at 4:30am - 5am it's so close to the Tavo's alarm time for work. Alarm goes off at 5:30am. We are still working on it. The author also has other books........

• No-Cry Nap Solution
  
• No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers


• No-Cry Potty Training


• No-Cry Discipline Solution


• Gentle Baby Care


• Hidden Messages


• Perfect Parenting


• Kid Cooperation

Back at work

Today was my first day back at work. Boy was it a rough morning. I cried in the shower, I cried getting dressed, I cried driving to Sani's and I cried all the way to work. I even cried last night while getting her things ready for the morning. Jaycee and I arrived at Sani's 8am and I didn't leave till 8:50am. I was taking Kayla (Sani's daughter) to school so she could be there by 9am. We got to Sani's early so I could hang out with them before leaving. I didn't want the first day to be rushed. Over all it was a good day, pretty relaxed getting back in the swing of things. I missed my little princess like crazy and the day couldn't go fast enough.

Sani's report............she was really good. She didn't cry but once when she woke up from a nap and only for about 2 seconds. Her first nap was at about 9:45am for 30 minutes; her second nap was around noon for almost an hour and then she fall asleep right before Daddy came to pick her up. She took her naps sleeping by herself like a big girl. She only ate 1.5 ounces from the bottle, so she was hungry when I came home from work. Stubborn little turkey!

She is doing so much better about sleeping on her own. She is still doing really well at sleeping in her bassinet at night, going on 6 nights in a row. Now we are working on getting her to bed earlier. We used to put her to bed with us around 9pm, but now we are trying to get her down by 7 - 7:30pm. Last night she didn't do well with going to bed early, tonight she is doing really well so far.

Mommy and Jaycee

Jaycee being a big girl sleeping by herself in the bassinet.

Things you must have in your purse…..

Last weekend I was with my girlfriend Monica driving in the car to our girlfriend Maria's house. While talking I noticed she had something in her teeth, so I let her know. I hate that embarrassment, I always let people know. She couldn't get it out so I pulled out dental floss from my purse. She said, “Heather you always have everything.” She suggested I should post on my blog what to carry in your purse, so here are some items I usually make sure I have.............

• Driver’s license
• Bank card / credit card
• Sunglasses
• Cell phone
• A small hairbrush
• Dental floss
• Pen and/or pencil
• Hand sanitizer
• Hand lotion
• Chap Stick
• Lipstick
• Gum
• A small daily planner
• Nail clippers
• Nail file
• Baby wipes (must better than a tide pen, wipes get out any stain, almost any)

Sleeping

Our little princess is doing much better at sleeping on her own. Tuesday she took two 25 minute naps all by herself on the couch. She fall asleep on me first then I laid her down. Not to the stage of her soothing herself to sleep yet. When we were at my sister's last week she did sooth herself to sleep a couple times. My sister has one of those old swings that winds up and Jaycee liked that for some reason. I need to find one. Yesterday she napped a lot in the car while we were running errands and took little 10 minute naps on the couch. Last night she was a big girl. She slept 5 hours in her bassinet. Daddy and I actually got to cuddle for awhile. She woke up at 2:30am and wanted to nurse. I woke up and fed her, but couldn't get her back to sleep in the bassinet so she slept with us till she woke up at 7am. We need to keep working at it and she will get better. Big improvements so far. Now if we can just get her to do better at taking the bottle.

Currently she is laying on the couch asleep........wonder if she will last longer than 10 minutes. Go Jaycee go..........I have faith in you.

My sweet angel sleeping on the couch.

Back to work soon

I only have one more week before I have to go back to work :-( I start back March 10th. Not looking forward to leaving Jaycee. Even thought I know she will be in good hands. I have really enjoyed the time with her, ever minute of it. I am so thankful my work is letting me start back part-time. Working part-time makes things a little easier. She is doing so many things right now and changing everyday, feel like I am going to miss out on things. Never thought being a working mom would be so hard.

Sani you'll have to take pictures through out the day on your cell phone and send to me and Daddy.

Our road trip

Jaycee and I have returned from Zona. We had a really nice visit, but it was TOO SHORT. Wish we could have stayed through the weekend and part of this coming week. Since Daddy didn't go we didn't want to be gone that long. Daddy missed his little princess BUNCHES and thought she grew in the time we were gone. She started sucking her thumb while we were gone and daddy felt he missed out.

It was really nice to hang out with my nephews and nieces. I miss them already, they grow so much each time I see them. Of course it's always nice to hang out with my sister and brother-in-law Shane also. I wish we lived closer. Zerah the little one, who is 5 months old, is really going to be different next time I see her. When we returned home Jaycee was trying to be like her cousin and roll over, yesterday she rolled her whole body over. It was too cute; of course after she rolled over she was stuck and needed help.

Jaycee got to hang out with her cousins all week, along with her auntie and Uncle Shane. She also got to hang out with grandma and grandpa, great grandma and grandpa, second cousin Caylee and great aunt Linda.

Auntie Shelly, Zerah and Jaycee. They are both wearing their cute little octopus outfits.

Cousin Davis and Jaycee. Davis likes to give lots of kisses to the babies. Jaycee just loved Davis, he is always moving around and she loved to watch him.

Big cousin Conor and Jaycee. Jaycee missed cousin Conor when he was at school during the day.

Cousin Aidan and Jaycee. The big princess and little princess.

Great Aunt Linda with Jaycee.

Second cousin Caylee with Jaycee.

Auntie Shelly with Jaycee.

Great Grandma with Jaycee.

Great Grandpa with Jaycee.

Uncle Shane playing with Jaycee and making her smile.

Grandma with all her grandchildren. Look Jaycee's hair makes Grandma look like she has a beard.

Grandpa and Grandma with Jaycee.

Sunday visit with Belita

Last Sunday we went to Belita's (grandma's) for a visit. Below is a cute picture of Belita and the princess sleeping.

Goin to Zona

Jaycee and I are making a trip to AZ to visit my sister and her family before I have to go back to work. We are leaving this coming week. Daddy has to work so he will be staying home. We will miss Daddy very much while we are gone and I know Daddy will miss his two girls too. I'm looking forward to the fun time I'll get to spend with my nieces and nephews. Plus hanging out with my sis and brother-in-law is always fun! The family is looking forward to seeing Jaycee also. I'll post when I return.

My beautiful sister with Jaycee when they visited back in January. Auntie look out Jaycee has grown lots since this picture.

Darn shots

Our little princess went to the doctor's today for her two month check up. This meant she was getting shots; mommy wasn't looking forward to her princess getting shots at all. As the nurse was getting things ready I was talking to her and she was smiling and then all of a sudden she started crying really hard. That darn nurse had stuck her with the first shot and then the second and she was not a happy girl at all. I quickly picked her up to hug and hold her. As I was telling her it was okay I felt tears coming down my cheeks, I was crying too. She started to run a little bit of a fever tonight and daddy had to run out and get some infant Tylenol. Now she is doing better, she is sleeping on my shoulder while I type this post. She wasn't ready for night night yet. Hopefully she will be ready after this, mommy is tired.

Today she weighed 11 pounds and is 22 1/2 inches long and her head is 38cm. The doc says she is healthy and doing well. She is growing so fast. Tavo and I look back at her pictures and can't believe how big she is getting. Time really does fly.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our little angel..........

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day! Enjoy!

Picture update

I can never think of anything creative to write, but wanted to keep you updated with some recent pictures of our little Princess.

Stubborn little TURKEY

Our little princess can be sound asleep in your arms and when you put her down this is what she does. We will let her cry thinking she will cry herself back to sleep, but no she only cries louder and even has real tears. We have tried everything. We have a swing and she will stay asleep for about 5 minutes then wakes up. While I'm talking a shower she chills in the swing, she loves the sound of the shower. Must have something to do with me being in the shower the whole time during labor. Even when she is fussy, I'll give her a bath and she stops crying right away. We have tired putting her on the floor with a blanket, tired putting her on a pillow on the couch, she will stay in her crib with the mobile going for about 10 minutes (she likes the music), and we have also tired one of those bouncy seats.

Anyone else have ideas we can try? I love my little girl and love holding her but want to be able to put her down with out hearing her cry. The only way I get anything done around the house is by putting her in the sling I have for her, which is fine, but can't use that when I am getting dressed or going to the bathroom.

Giggles and Smiles

Jaycee is starting to make little noises and smile all the time when you talk to her. It's so cute; we are really enjoying her smiles. It's really hard to catch it on video or the camera, but we try.

Photographer

Thanks everyone for voting, after talking it over more with Tavo we have decided we really can't afford to spend $300 to $400 right now for pictures. It would be nice, but since I'm not working right now and when I do go back to work it will only be part-time we thought it wouldn't be smart to spend that kind of money right now. I think we are just going to go to a small studio like Wal-Mart or somewhere else and get family pictures taken, which will be really cheap. I know it won't be as nice, but at least we will have pictures. Thanks again for taking the time to look at the websites.

Voting continues......

I thought yesterday was Thursday; I guess I get lost on my days since I have been home with Jaycee. I need to make my decision by Friday so if you could please vote, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again and for those of you that have already voted, thanks!

Check out some recent pictures of Jaycee........

Newborn Photographer

HI ALL....................

I need your help. I am trying to decide on a photographer to take pictures of Jaycee and us. I am looking to get pictures of me nursing Jaycee, along with a cute picture of Daddy and Jaycee, also pictures of Jaycee alone and a family picture. Please take a look at the three websites below and leave a comment below and vote on who you like best. They are all around the same price, now we just need to decide. Sorry I need to make my decision quickly, by tomorrow to get the special that one of the photographer is offering. Your help would be appreciated if you even see this is time. Thanks!

http://www.aquariostudio.com/

http://www.jenibernatz.com/

http://www.rebeccahelpling.com/

Our 1st night out.......

Last night was our 1st night out leaving Jaycee with our good friends Sani and Antwan. We went to dinner with a group of our friends to help Mary Ann celebrate her birthday. HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY MARY ANN! Last night was hard; I didn't want to leave Jaycee. I cried when we dropped her off. We decided to go because the place that Mary Ann picked to have her birthday dinner was right down the street from Sani and Antwan's. It was only 5 minutes away and knew we would only be gone about 2 hours. We ended up being gone 2 hours and 23 minutes. We know we need to get used to leaving her, but it's really hard. We have decided we need to leave her a couple more times before I have to go back to work. Otherwise going back to work is going to be really hard. Thanks Sani and Antwan for making last night possible, we had a really nice time! We are blessed being surrounded by such great friends.

Lastest pics of our little bundle of joy...........

Sleeping with mommy on the couch. Both had a long hard day!

Making funny faces with uncle Kike.

Our sleepy little princess.

Jaycee's one month checkup

Jaycee had her one month checkup today. The doctor says she is healthy and doing great! She weighed 9 pounds and 4 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches. She is growing fast. Can't believe she is already one month old.

Picture taken right before we left for the doctor's.

Bottle-feeding

Bottle-feeding has been a BIG challenge for Daddy but he is doing a great job at sticking with it. This post is to say, "You’re doing a GREAT job Daddy." I forget to tell him and I know it's been really tough. Last night was one of those rough ones. Jaycee is so feisty. Tavo was so supportive when I was having a hard time with breastfeeding and encouraged me not to give up. I wish Jaycee understood the milk in the bottle is the same that comes out of the boobies.

Daddy Back at Work

Daddy has returned to work today! I have mixed feelings about this. Even though it was nice to have him home, it's good he is back at work. We have had a lot of quailty time together and I'm going to miss that. For awhile we weren't even sure if he was going to be able to go back to work. He had found out all the guys that he had been working with in Yuma got laid off. He could have been one of those guys. We feel very blessed that he is still working. Today it's just Jaycee and I for the first time since she was born.

Currently Jaycee is chillin in her swing in the bathroom. Having her in the bathroom with the fan running in her swing is the only way we can get her to chill without one of us holding her. I was able to clean the kitchen, do the dishes, clean the liter box and sweep the floors. Now I'm hoping she will let me be on the computer for a few minutes.

The other bummer about Daddy being back at work is it's going to be harder to get Jaycee used to the bottle. I have been pumping breast milk and he has been giving her a bottle in the mornings and then again in the evenings. She took the first bottle he gave her really well and now she doesn't like it much. She fights the whole time he is feeding her. I even leave the room so she doesn't see me. She is being a little turkey, first it was hard getting her to learn to breastfeed and now the bottle. When Tavo gets home from work every evening he will give her a bottle and we will hope she gets used to it soon. Otherwise it's going to be hard for me to go back to work.

Cousins

Growing up my sister and I were the only children until I was about 15 or 16 years old. We didn't grow up with cousins. Now that we are older we have 9 younger cousins. Jaycee already has 5 cousins and two of them are really close to her age. I'm glad she gets to grow up with cousins around her. Hopefully one of these days my sister and her family will be able to move back to San Diego and they can all play together daily. Jaycee has her cousin Ariana who is currently 6 months old leaving here in SD.

Last weekend my sister, Shane and the kids made a trip out to visit and it was great to see all the kids together. They had a blast playing with auntie, uncle Tavo and baby Jaycee. We miss them already. It was wonderful to see Shane; he is looking great after beating the ugly cancer.

Yesterday we went to visit Belita (Tavo's mom), Auntie Diana and cousin Ariana. Ariana is too cute; she isn't sure what to think of baby Jaycee. I think she gets a little jealous when Belita holds baby Jaycee. Can't wait till they are both running around together.

Belita with her two grandbabies, Ariana and Jaycee.

Jaycee and Zerah sound asleep.

Davis, Zerah, Conor, Aidan and Jaycee.

Jaycee updates

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but it's hard to get on the computer these days. Right now Daddy is at a CPR class for work and I'm trying to type while holding Jaycee. She doesn't let you put her down for anything. She can be sound asleep in your arms and as soon as you put her down she starts crying big time. We are hoping she grows out of this soon. She is still really little so I'm sure she will. Otherwise it's really going to make going back to work hard.

We have finally got breastfeeding down to a science and all is good. Didn't think it would be so hard. Totally understand why a lot of mothers give up on breastfeeding. It took Jaycee 2 1/2 weeks to finally latch on to both breasts without a nipple guard. Those things are great, but really messy and a pain in the butt. It's been a challenging road, but glad we both stuck to it.

Yesterday January 5th was her first bottle of breast milk. She took the bottle well, with no problems. Hopefully the next bottle she will do the same. We will try the bottle again tomorrow. We will give her a bottle every other day this week and then start giving her one everyday. We are trying to get her ready for when I have to go back to work.

Yesterday Jaycee turned 3 weeks. Wow how time flys by so fast. Tavo and I took her to get her pictures taken, she did really well.

Overall, things have been going really well for us. I LOVE being a mom and am enjoying every minute of it. I have been blessed to have Tavo home this whole time. It's been wonderful spending time as a family. Originally he was only going to take off 2 weeks, but since the holidays he has been off longer. He was suppose to go back to work this week, but his boss called Sunday night and asks if he could take off another week. His work is still really slow and they need to find a place for him to work in town instead of sending him back to Yuma. We would not want him to go back to Yuma. He will be going back on the 12th.

Mommy and Jaycee!

Sound alseep in Daddy's arms!

Labor and Delivery

Okay here is the story most of you have been waiting for……

6:15am Sunday morning (Dec 14th) I woke up with the cramps. I tried to go back to sleep but they just weren’t going away. I finally called my sister an hour later and asked her what it could mean. She tells me it could be early signs of contractions. These cramps felt like menstrual cramps and were uncomfortable. I was planning on going to Tavo’s playoff softball game that morning, but wasn’t feeling up to it at that point. I was bummed. (They won 1st place) Plus my sister said I should probably try and get some sleep anyway. I tired to sleep, but realized I needed to get some things done around the house if I was going to start having contractions. So, I cleaned the bathrooms, sweep the floors, vacuumed, did laundry and etc. The cramping had gone away by 10:30am and didn’t return till about 1:30pm. During this whole time I had been talking and texting back and forth with my sister. (My sister has great knowledge when it comes to having babies, she has 4 of them.) My sister decided that I was probably going to have Jaycee soon within a couple days, my due date probably the 16th. She says I am coming down (she lives in AZ). This is wonderful news, even though it’s really hard for her. She was leaving her husband who had been battling cancer for the last 6 months with the 3 older kids. She brought Zerah (my 2 ½ month old niece) with her. I was worried that if she came it was all going to be false labor and it would be a wasted trip. Shane needed her, but he had been feeling much better and wanted her to come. I am so grateful she was here; between Tavo and her I couldn’t have done it without them.

My sister arrives late Sunday night and Tavo and I had been keeping track of the contractions since 4:30pm that afternoon. They were all over the place, but had started getting alittle closer by the time she got there. My sister sends Tavo to bed; he was going to go to work in the morning (back in YUMA). We were thinking Jaycee wouldn’t come till Tuesday and Tavo would have plenty of time to drive back. So glad I didn’t have to go another whole day of contractions like that. After Tavo went to bed, my sister and I decided to try and get some sleep. But I couldn’t sleep, not one bit. I tired so hard and didn’t want to wake Tavo or my sister. My sister had just driven 7 hours and Tavo was going to work. After my sister had only been sleeping for an hour, I woke her up. I was too weak, I couldn’t get through the contractions by myself, I needed someone to rub my back and talk me through it. I felt really bad, but I knew she understood. At this point it’s 12:30 – 1am in the morning and we both had been up since 6am. The contractions had been 5 minutes apart for hours. I was trying to stay at home as long as possible. (I really wanted to do a natural birth). My sister suggested trying the shower, so I got in the shower and stayed in there for about an hour. Even had my sister turn up the water heater because the water was getting too cold. By this point, my sister realizes Jaycee is coming soon. Tavo shouldn’t drive to Yuma. I get out of the shower and we wake him up to tell him he isn’t going to work and to try and get some more sleep. He decides to get up anyway. By 3am I look at my sister and say I think we should go to the hospital now. She agrees and says the worst that could happen; they will just send us back home. We get everything ready and I can’t even get to the car without having a contraction. We get to the hospital about 4am and they check me in, I was 4 ½ centimeters dilated. I still didn’t want to get an epidural at his point, so we walked around the hospital and I stayed in the shower. My sister and Tavo were so wonderful; they really got me through it. They took turns, so one of them could hold Zerah. She was such a good girl through all of this, she didn’t fuss at all. She was amazing also!

Hours go by and the contractions are getting harder and harder. The nurse needs to monitor you and the baby every hour or so, so they want you to lie down in the bed so they can hook you up to the machines. I hated this, it made the contractions worse, and it even made me throw up at one point. I was lucky to get a great nurse and she was willing to work with me, she was really nice! When they checked me again I was still only 5 to 6 centimeters and had been for 6 hours, so the doctor decided to break my water. WOW, that made the contractions even harder and hurt like HELL. But I still wanted to try without the epidural. I just didn’t want to be stuck in that damn bed for the rest of the time. I thought I can do this. Stayed in the shower after that point, it made things so much better. My poor husband, as he is trying to comfort me I bit him twice. The contractions were just so intense I didn’t even know what I was doing, I felt so bad. But he understood. After another 2 hours in the shower they checked me again to see if I had dilated more, which I should have sine they broke my water. Well, I was still only 5 to 6. At that point I had had enough, and couldn’t deal with the pain anymore. It was 11:30am and I was so tired I could barely stand. I got the epidural. My friend Sani was just arriving as I was getting the meds. I was sad at first that I didn’t make it without the epidural, but now I realize I did my best and tired really hard.

After getting the epidural everyone said. I slept like a baby, fell right asleep. I guess I slept for hours. When I woke up I realized I was stuck in bed and I was uncomfortable. By 6 or 6:30pm they told me I was 10 centimeters and it was time to push, I was feeling the contractions again at this point even with the epidural, but nothing like before. I was worried the epidural would keep me from feeling the contractions and I wouldn’t know when to push, but I did. I had only been pushing for half an hour and it was time for the nurses to switch shifts, I was bummed I was losing my nurse, she was great. The new nurse was just okay, didn’t like her as much at all. When she came in, her and the doctor were already talking about a caesarean. I was like, I have only been pushing for a half hour, give me a break. I really didn’t want a c-section. This made me mad and made me want to push even harder. The doctor kept saying Jaycee was face up and her head wasn’t coming down, that was why a c-section was necessary. Jaycee came out just fine and face down and I didn’t have a c-station. I pushed for about 2 hours and Jaycee came at 8:47pm on Monday December 15th. It was so WONDERFUL when they handed her right to me after being born. I cried so hard, I couldn’t believe she was finally with us after 10 months. I was the happiest mommy ever. She was so beautiful with a head full of hair.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas from the PEREZ family! I hope you all have a happy and safe Christmas! We are staying cozy in our home today while it's pouring rain. Tavo and I are really blessed with our little princess this Christmas and couldn't be happier. One more thing we are really blessed for.............knowing we got wonderful news last week that my brother-in-law is cancer free! Go Shane, we knew you could fight the ugly CANCER! We love you!


The Perez Family!

Handsome Daddy with his little girl!


Mommy and Jaycee!