Happy Halloween!

Our little Starfish.
Outfit provided by our cousins, the Dill's – knitted by Chelsea


This was from a recent visit from Matt, Lindsey and baby Georgia.
Regardless of the whole "burnin' a whole in my heart" incident, I think Ila and Georgia will be good friends.

Swings, Strolls, Surf spots and Special Guests

How in the world is Ila already 3 weeks old? Time is flying - except at night when it seems to drag on for days now that she is in the cry all night phase - which all of you assure us will pass. Hope you're right. One thing we know for sure: Ila has a great set of strong, healthy lungs. She is also able to say the word "Mom". Early, we know! Actually she clearly shouts "MMMooouumm!" when her crying has really taken off. She may not actually be calling for Mary, but it does give us a nice bit of humor in the wee hours when we are nearing the ends of our ropes. Speaking of those fraying ropes, Tuesday night when the lack of sleep was testing our limits we found ourselves online ordering the huge Fisher Price infant swing that we swore we'd avoid. Next day shipping? Hell yes! Chris, a.k.a Mr. anti-plastic baby stuff, placed the order. Needless to say we had very high hops for the swing. To our delight it is doing the trick most of the time. It is proving to be the best baby purchase yet.



The nights are one story but in the day she is quite the spectacular little baby. Last weekend we spent our days taking long strolls around Brooklyn.



We explored the new Brooklyn Bridge Park which is full of the coolest playgrounds we have ever seen! "The Valley of Swings" and "Slide Mountain" among others. We are so excited to take Ila there in the spring when she can hold her head up and play!



This past week was Mary and Ila's first week home together with no family in town during the day. You might be wondering what this duo has been up to. Mornings are spent by Ila eating while Mary cooks vicariously through Food Network chefs. Afternoons are spent taking long walks around the neighborhood to such destinations as Macy's and Union Market, strolling the shops on Montague street, dreaming of buying a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights and gazing at beautiful handmade baby dresses at the Brooklyn's Women's Guild. These two are going to make great shopping partners, especially when Ila stops crapping her pants and screaming like a banchee whenever Mary is trying is trying to make a purchase. Needless to say, she is getting good at feeding and changing in dressing rooms, restaurants and parks.



Since cooking is proving quite a challenge with an infant in the mix we have some wonderful friends who have formed a meal train bringing us delicious food and spending time getting to know the baby. First to come was Aimee with great food from our favorite Italian neighborhood spot. We were so delirious from lack of sleep that we forgot to pull out the camera. We promise to post Aimee at a later date. Next was Mike & Joanna with an incredible roasted chicken in tow. We know they were quite pleased with Ila but hope that Mike won't make Joanna move away to the 'burbs to start a family too soon! We need her in the city!



Mid-week we had a very special visitor - Lucy the doula! After an hour of recapping the birth Ila was over it and would not make a pleasant face for the camera. We know she loved seeing Lucy and we did too! We hope that Lucy will always be a part of Ila's life.



The next visitors were our longtime friends Cory & Emily. Emily was shaking with excitement to meet Ila when she arrived! They brought us an exceptional lobster macaroni and cheese and our favorite Jersey Shore ice cream.



Today we were visited by Matt, Lindsay & baby Georgia who brought a meal of meatballs, sauce and fresh salad. Ila was in a fussy mood but we know she and Georgia will grow to be quite a cute pair together!





On Saturday we rented a zip-car and took a day trip to Rockaway beach to check out the surf spots and give Ila her first glimpse at the Atlantic Ocean. She fell sound asleep as soon as we approached the boardwalk likely because she listens to the sound of the ocean through her Dozy Dolphin each night. She's learning young that nothing is better than a good nap on the beach!



We didn't envision Rockaway to be a picturesque beach - and that it was not. It was more like a trip to a coastal version of war-torn Russia. Guess that's why the town offers free ocean front parking? Our family enjoyed the excursion none the less.

More Grandparents to meet!

In preparation for her next set of visitors, Ila had another sink bath. We love them because it's a chance to put her in a hooded towel!



Pop and Candie came to New York to meet Ila this week. They are completely in love with grandchild number 6! After several hours of "She's so cute & tiny!" and holding objects up to her to compare sizes (apples larger than her butt, remote controls to measure height, mini cabbages larger than her head - you get the picture) we took a long stroll around the neighborhood. They cooked us many yummy foods and attended Ila's second well baby appointment where she checked in at 7 pounds even.





Pop and Candie also took Ila to her first museum, the "NYC Transit Museum" - sure to be one of her cousin Eli's favorite places.



They were also in town for Ila's 2 week birthday. We just can't believe we have been blessed with this sweet little person for 2 whole weeks! Pop baked an apple pie with her name on top to celebrate the occasion.



Now Ila has met all of her grandparents and seems quite please with each of them. She is so lucky to have six wonderful, diverse and loving grandparents in her life.

Visitors

What a weekend! It was kicked off on Friday when Tony, one of our best and oldest friends, came to town for a visit.



We had bagels in the park for the second day in a row! Ila is quickly becoming a regular in Carroll Park. Tony parted ways for the afternoon to get a new tattoo then had some Ila cuddle time back at the apartment.



We had dinner together at Pacifico to celebrate Ila's one week birthday. She napped the whole time in her Maya wrap.



On Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Dye flew up for just 9 short hours to meet Ila. She was quite honored by their whirlwind trip! Luckily the weather was perfect and Mary was feeling well so we had a leisurely brunch, took a long stroll on the Brooklyn Promenade and went for shakes at Farmacy.



On Sunday, Grandma Vivie returned! She was already planning to apartment-sit on the Upper West Side and with Ila's earlier than expected arrival she was able to have a bonus visit.



Ila also got to meet another one of our closest friends, Jamie, on Sunday. We know her sister Jeanne will be quite jealous that Jamie met Ila first. Sorry, Jeanne! She'll meet you soon!

A Week Already!

It's so hard to believe, but at 2:18 tonight/tomorrow morning Ila is going to be a week old! We have had a really fun time getting to know her this week. I think we had a breakthrough last night as far as figuring out how to get everybody sleeping at the same time. The kind folks on the Kaplan Video team sent us a box of goodies from our registry, and included in the package was the Dozy Dolphin! If last night is any indication, this is really going to help out in the early morning hours.

So what have we done this week besides lay around the house changing diapers, feeding, and trying to sleep? Well......



On Monday we took a little trip to see the Pediatrician. It was drizzling and cold, but we walked anyway since it wasn't too far from the apartment. It was our first time using our stroller.

Tuesday is the day we pick up our farm share from our CSA. This time Mary decided to try out our Maya wrap baby carrier, and Ila slept the entire time. Since we were out we decided to swing by the beer distributor to pick up a little something for Chris. After that we hit up Union Market for some meatballs to go with the lasagna Vivian made for us, and a mini Jr.'s Cheesecake for dessert. We made one last stop by the baby supply store to pick up a wipe warmer. I know – I thought these were another ploy by the baby industry to subject parents to more unnecessary plastic crap too – but put a cold wipe to Ila's bottom and she might convince you otherwise. This was just about all the walking Mary could stand in her delicate state, so we head back home.

Wednesday we stayed home and made applesauce from all the apples we've been getting from our CSA. Sean came by to borrow a drill and was able to spend some time hanging out with Ila.

Today (Thursday) was a beautiful day! We took Ila to Carroll Garden park to sit outside and soak in some awesome fall weather. We stopped by the bagel shop and got coffee and sandwiches to make the trip complete.



Video!


The weather is looking good for the weekend so we are excited to show Ila more of the neighborhood. Ila is also looking forward to meeting Grandma and Grandpa Dye on Saturday, and also seeing Grandma Vivian and Grandpa Doug again.

Bonus Video!

Going Home!

After a very long weekend in the hospital, Mary and Ila finally got to come home on Sunday! They were released around 11:30 in the morning and Doug and Vivian were there to pick us up. It was a beautiful day– a stark difference from the weather we had on Thursday and Friday. This was the first time Mary was able to see the outside world since Thursday.

From Getting to Know Ila

Things we won't miss about being in the hospital:
-Shared rooms
-Loud roomates
-Shabbat elevators

Things we will miss about being in the hospital:
-Chris bringing David's Bagels for breakfast
-Chris bringing Blockheads Burritos for dinner
-Surprisingly good coffee in the cafeteria
-Ukranian nurse: master of the swaddle blanket


Videos!

Recap of the Weeks Events

We've known for some time that our baby was likely to be born before her due date of October 14th. We just didn't expect it to happen this soon or in this way.

From Getting to Know Ila

Mary went to see her midwife Tuesday morning for her weekly checkup. She was on her 37th week. Up until this point her appointments had been smooth and fast – the result of, what was for the most part, a very healthy and relatively uneventful pregnancy. Besides a scare in the 3rd month, the only thing she's had to complain about was her pillow feet and dragon esophagus. This visit would be slightly different. Mary's blood pressure was running quite high and her fluid tests were of some concern. Her job over the next 24 hours would be to collect and carry her urine around in a large jug. Yup, she would carry a large sloshing jug of urine on the subway, through the city streets, and store it in her office or home fridge when she wasn't making a deposit. She did this diligently for 24 hours. At home, Chris would entertain himself by offering up golden punch as often as possible and practicing his SurvivorMan accent.

Thursday morning we went back to the Midwife's office to find out what the verdict might be. Sadly, Mary's hard work, sloshing around in what was now a 10 pound jug, went untested. From that day's urine and blood pressure test, and the consulting of many OB's, the final word came to us: preeclampsia = get the to a hospital. We will be having our baby TODAY!!! Being Thursday, September 29th, we tried to stall as long as we could to ensure that our baby would be born in October, since we like to spread our family birthdays out as much as possible. We taxied home, grabbed our bags and some snacks, called our doula, Lucy, and headed out to make our way to the hospital.



After the lengthy process of getting checked in we were given a labor and delivery room and Mary was hooked up to an array of fluids – Magnesium (to prevent seizures that could occur from preeclampsia), Penocilin (Mary tested positive for group B strep), and finally Petocin (to induce labor). Far from the ideal, uninhibited, free roaming pregnancy that we had envisioned. These started at about 2pm. We didn't think there was any way we were going to make it all the way to midnight, October 1st, but at this point I don't think we wanted to. The contractions didn't really start until about 4pm and didn't really get fun until about 6pm . At this point Mary wold have been overjoyed with another September birthday! By 8pm Chris and Lucy were working hard to keep Mary as comfortable as possible. This is also when Vivian arrived from Virginia to lend a hand in the evening's activities. Things were quite literally starting to heat up. For some reason the temperature in the room was about as comfortable as a boiler room. There didn't seem to be anything the nurses could do – no fan, no control of the A/C. Getting desperate, Vivian began ripping signs off the wall to use as improvised fans. This would be her official duty for the duration, along with ice water re-fills. Surprisingly, the attendants didn't seem to mind that their lamenated sign –"10 rules for Successful Breastfeeding" – had been liberated from the wall.

You can probably guess the outcome of all of this, but let me quickly fill in some of the details. Somewhere around 12:30AM (Yea!!! we made it to October!), beckoned by the sounds only an un-aneasthatized labor can produce, the doctor came to check on Mary. She had been progressing pretty rapidly up until the last visit when things seemed to slow down slightly. Now at about 8 cm, and concerned for Mary's comfort and abilities, the doctor broke the news that she could be laboring for 2-4 more hours before the pushing could begin! By this point Mary's own confidence was wearing thin, and again, the doctor's "reminders" that epidural is an option, wasn't exactly motivating.

About one hour later, with Mary probably at the threshold of what one can endure, the doctor checked Mary again. Hallelujah!! 10cm!!! The only minor problem was that the doctor had to leave almost immediately because their was another patient about to deliver at the same time. After another few agonizing minutes, the doctor arrived, and Mary was free to finally push and deliver the baby.

After about 30 minutes of pushing Ila Myrabelle Dye was born. Chris cut the cord. After the pediatrician was finished checking out Ila, Chris got to hold her while Mary was being tended to.

Some time later...

Videos!