New Camera

This year for the holidays our family decided we would do one family gift, a new digital camera. We have a couple of mediocre digital cameras that we've been using for awhile. But recently, I spent way too much money at Costco printing some photos I'd taken from the cameras only to find out that they turned out awful! It was such a disapointment to see all the pictures I'd taken of Esperanza's first few months of life blur in almost every picture. I nearly pulled my hair out! Neadless to say, there was no question that we needed a new camera. So, after a few visits to electonic stores, lots of online research and exhausting rewards on a credit card to get a gift card to purchase the camera, we finally have it! Yay! Of course, we weren't going to wrap it up and wait until Christmas to use it, though it might take me until Christmas to figure out all the nifty features it offers and how to use it to it's full potential. It's no fancy DSLR which I wouldn't have the patience for anyways, but it's a few steps up from a standard point and shoot and should meet our needs perfectly. I haven't printed any pictures yet, but can tell a huge difference in the clarity of the photos even on the computer. I could still use a lot more practice but here are a few pictures...

Black and White Nursing

My sister Mary and Esperanza

Close up

The last few leaves on a tree in my backyard

Bird taking a bath in a little rain water sitting on top of one of our compost bins (I was sitting on my couch in the living room, used full zoom through the room, window and to the back of the yard)

Flying in Daddy's arms

Spit Bubbles

The other night we were getting ready for bed and I set Esperanza down in her 'bouncy' chair so I could change and brush my teeth. When I emerged from the bathroom and looked at her she was making silly noises as usual and blowing spit bubbles - deliberately! She's been slobbering for months, but now she's found a way to entertain herself with all that spit. It was pretty entertaining to me too. So, I ran downstairs, grabbed the camera and was able to catch a few moments video of her talking with a little bit of the spit bubble action. The video isn't the best quality but it sure is cute. Be sure to scroll to the very bottom of the page and pause the music before you play the video...

Three Month Update

I can't believe it's been 3 months since my little girl was born - time goes by so much faster now that she's in my life. Though I am sad to see my tiny newborn baby girl grow so quickly into the chubby healthy baby she is today, I am also thankful to have survived the first three months. As most of you know either by witnessing it yourself or through my pleas for help and advice, she was a very fussy and colicky baby for about 2 1/2 months. I know I'm not alone in having had a colicky baby and maybe I complained about it more than others. But it just broke my heart to see her in so much pain and know that there was nothing I could do but stay calm and try my best to soothe her as she struggled with abdominal pain daily and nightly. While the herbal colic mix my midwives made us and eliminating all dairy from my diet did make a huge difference, really what she needed was time. Her very sensitive digestive system is much better now. I've stopped dosing her with herbs but I'm still terrified of consuming anything that has cows milk in it (goat milk fine, cows milk not so much). Maybe in a couple more weeks I'll try a little cows milk butter or yogurt and see what happens. For now, both Mando and I are thankful she is happy, healthy and feels good - though as any normal baby, she sure does still have her moments.
Here's a few fun tid bits about Esperanza:

• She has one dimple on the upper left side of her mouth noticable when she smiles


• She has what appears to be a really light birth mark on her tummy just to the upper right side of her belly button (just a shade darker than the rest of her skin)


• Her skin is getting lighter and lighter - she was darker than most of her cousins the first couple of months but not any more.


• Her eye color is still so hard to say. Today they are bluish-greenish-gray on the outside fading into a tannish color on the inside. They seem to change color daily though so it's just hard to know what they'll be for good.


• She weighs probably about 13 pounds. I got on a scale to weigh myself then picked her up and weighed myself with her and determined that the difference is her weight. Not sure when I'll take her in next for a check-up (I think all those well baby check-ups are a waste of time, gas, energy and money - and thankfully my midwives/her providers agree)


• She had her first cold already but it only lasted a few days


• She HATES tummy time and I can't convince her it's good for her - any advice?


• She's already wearing some 6-9 month clothing


• She sleeps with her arms streatched out above her head


• She is starting to pick up items when placed in front of her and put them in her mouth - though her hands are her favorite thing to put in her mouth (second to her food source)


• I think her hair is going to be curly - OMG, I can't even do my own straight hair!


• She had a tooth already. The interesting thing is though that it went back in. Armando is my witness, be both saw and felt it.


• We're not piercing her ears but it'll probably be up for discussion once she's older. Oh, and no tatoos ever, no discussion.


• She a chatter box and is cooing all the time - one of the cutest sounds she makes sounds like an owl - Whooo, Whooo
• She's already 'daddy's little girl' - Mando is a stay at home daddy for now and the two of them are just lovin each other while I'm at work!


• She laughs only sometimes, usually a quick giggle. It takes a huge amount of energy to get her to REALLY laugh hard, but it's possible.
• She fights it hard to stay awake when she's tired. Afraid she'll miss something I guess

Babywearing and Tatoos

Funny combination - but that's the best way to 'wrap' up our Sunday. I took Esperanza to a babywearing gathering on Sunday morning at Maligros in Portland. I previously and spontaneously bought a moby wrap because it 'looked' really neat, but unfortunately after only a few times of wearing it, little Esperanza decided she doesn't want to have anything to do with it any more. After some online research I found a group of babywearing women that meet monthly to give parents who want to wear their babies a chance to try different carriers on with their babies before they go out and buy one (like I did) and a chance to ask questions and gather information about babywearing and all the how to's. We went last month and found that we could actually borrow one from their stash, and we did. So, a month later we headed there to return it and borrow a different one to try out. I didn't get any pictures of us using the one we borrowed this month, but here's a picture of us in the one we got last month - it's a mai tai ring sling and is really cool, even Espy thought so! The one we got this time is much different but just as fabulous and made by a local mom.

After we tried on various baby carriers, settled on one to borrow and chatted with other parents and their babies, we went down the street to New Seasons to get some groceries then headed over to my sister Cyndi's house for an afternoon visit. Cyndi and her husband Tony are expecting thier first baby in January. This is where the tatoos come in...Tony is like a big, cuddly Italian teddy bear, covered in tatoos. We got a few pictures of him with Esperanza and they are just too fun not to post...

Espy's First Days...

This is Esperanza just an hour or so after she was born, in her dad's arms

One day old

Aunt Mary holding Espy the day after she was born2 days old

Aunt Cyndi holding Espy a few days after her birth (Cyndi is busy growing a cousin for Espy and should be done sometime in January)Family photoGeneva is finally an aunt!Espy's first bath - 4 days old7 days old in wool soaker grandma made My best friend Val's daughter Annabelle holding 8 day old Espy Isn't she so stinkin cute at 11 days old!
First ride in the car at 12 days old - we've since adjusted it so she's a little more comfortable I think

Daddy kissing his little 2 week old girl2 weeks and 1 day oldI finally got a wrap - now I can do stuff again while holding Espy at the same time! Yippy! Thats a yawn, not a cry...

Baby Arrival and Home Birth Story

Our baby girl arrived Sunday July 27th at 7:03 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds exactly and was 19 3/4 inches in length. Most importantly she is perfect and healthy! Since we didn't have an ultrasound, we didn't know she was a she until her birth, and hadn't settled on any names. After about a week though, we finally settled on the name Esperanza Flor Valencia (or Espy for short). We love the name and hope she will too.

The birthing experience at home was peaceful and surreal. My rushes started in the middle of the night. I woke around 1:00 a.m with a mild but noticable contraction. Armando woke up at the same time and got sick for some reason. About a half hour later, same thing, I got a contraction and Mando was back in the bathroom getting sick. He wasn't really ill with the flu or anything...so, I'd kinda like to think he was feeling my pain. I didn't say anything to him about my pains and we just went back to sleep. I got up early, ate breakfast, called my midwife to let her know we'd probably be having a baby that day, then spent most of the morning enjoying the sensations of my body and baby. Eventually, I sent my sisters and thier boyfriends off so Armando and I could go through the early stages of labor alone. The labor pains didn't get intense or consistent until late that morning. Armando and I went for a short walk and not long after we came back home, the contractions picked up very quickly. We called our midwife when a contraction finally put me into tears. She sent one of the assistants (or apprentice - still can't get it straight which is which) to check me. When she showed up and checked me, I was between 5 & 6 cm dialated. The rest of the happenings around me are somewhat of a blur as I entered into 'laborland'. I spent most of my hard laboring on all fours, on a birthing ball, leaning against my husband and/or sister, leaning against pillows, etc. My water broke while I was leaning over my bed with a contraction. I think I remember being told I was 9 cm dialated around that same time. It wasn't long after that that I started pushing and eventually chose to birth our baby on our bed. I labored for about 7 hours plus an hour or so of pushing time.

I am so thankful and blessed to have been at home for the entire process, as I can't imagine a hospital would have allowed active labor to the extent that I needed, or that they'd have had the staff comparable to my midwife Nora and her assistant/apprentice all from A Gentle Beginning. I am also greatful to have had the support from my closest friends and family that were present for the birth. It was a magical experience for all of us.

Quick trip to the river

Today I picked up my sister Mary and her boyfriend Yoshi from my moms and we headed to the river. My sisters and I all have fond memories of the Washougal River - from the time our memories begin, to now. As a family, would walk a few blocks from home to get there when we were little kids. As we got older, every summer we ventured off with friends and with each other to explore the river. Now, after 28+ years, I thought there wasn't a spot on the Washougal River I didn't know about. But today we found one. We didn't stay long, we didn't swim, and it certainly wasn't the typical 'hanging at the river with my sister and some cold beer' summer day I'm used to. But it was still nice. We chatted, got our feet wet, tried to catch crawdads and reminisced on our previous river adventures. At 9 months pregnant, this was my first and unfortunately probably my last visit to the river of the summer. But you better believe I'll be there with baby next summer!

Mary, Me and Baby still in the belly
I may look like I'm off balance and about ready to fall, but I'm not. Mary, as always, is picture perfect with her blonde and blue dreaded mohawk.Mary and Yoshi

Still Pregnant

At 39+ weeks, I'm torn between the saddness of knowing that my days left of being pregnant are minimal and the feelings of excitement I get when I think that any day now I'll feel the first signs of labor. I am going to miss so much about pregnancy - the feelings of our baby moving about inside my womb, those sharp painful jabs that wake me at 3 in the morning, the amazement that comes from watching the baby in my belly move entirely from one side of belly to the other, baby body parts pushing desperately at my sides, the uncomfortable and humiliating reminder when I laugh or sneeze that I haven't done nearly enough kegals, feeling the baby hiccups, playing with the baby through my belly with poking and rubbing, all the wonderful visualizations and wonders of what the baby is doing and feeling inside me, and I'll even miss those days when I cannot find a thing to wear that fits comfortably while still looking half way decenent enough to appear in public. One thing I'm looking forward to (other than of course finally meeting our baby) is sleeping on my stomach again.
Since Fridays full moon only brought on a few mild rushes that passed with little excitement and nothing since, it looks like our baby isn't yet ready to meet the world. It could be days or even a couple more weeks until our little bundle of love arrives. Since the rest of the posts on here will likely be dedicated to pictures of our baby growing outside the womb, here are some pictures to remember the pregnancy I have absolutely loved and will miss so much (yes, I got a little obsessive about taking pictures of the belly throughout the pregnancy)...

12 Weeks


16 weeks 20 Weeks

24 Weeks
26 Weeks
30 Weeks
31 Weeks 33 Weeks

35 Weeks
36 Weeks38 Weeks
39 Weeks