Team Espinoza

Saw these stickers on a van leaving church today. It totally describes Amanda and I.

* These photos were taken by my friend the fabulously talented Breanna Powers of Powerhouse Studios. I am so thankful that she was able to be there!

Baby Zander Augustus was born on St. Patrick’s Day 2011 at 7:55 a.m. 9 pounds 1 ounce, 20.5 inches.

Here is the short version of my labor and delivery:

Wednesday evening Annabelle happened to be spending the night with her cousins. Daniel, Roman, and I went out and walked Lowe’s and Barnes & Nobles. Then sporadically chose to eat outside at Chuy’s where I could eat some labor inducing spicy salsa and a salad. After watching an episode of Lost we went to bed.

My water breaks at 11:30 p.m. and contractions start a half hour later. We arrive at the birth center at 2:30 a.m. thinking that the baby would be out very soon. At 4:30 a.m. I was only 4 to 5 cms along. Disappointment.

The contractions I was having were very painful. Contractions after your water breaks are a lot harder without the water to soften the pain of them. Also, it turns out that the baby was laying sideways instead of with his back up. He turned to the correct position as I began to push. Baby Zander finally arrived at 7:55 a.m. I literally said “Praise the Lord he is out!” about three times.

Afterwards, I lost a lot of blood and fainted, because my uterus wasn’t contracting. The midwives took care of me. Recovery was slow, because I had been up all night and didn’t have a lot of food in me. We left the Birth Center at 2:00 p.m. with our new little boy!

Here is the timeline of events with a bit more detail for those that like details in a labor story. (I am one of those people. )

11:30 p.m. My water breaks

12:00 a.m. Contractions start happening. On that Thursday morning I am officially 39 weeks along.

2:00 a.m. Contractions are about 4 minutes apart

2:30 a.m. We arrive at the birth center and my contractions slow down. Daniel’s mom (Felicia), Daniel’s sister (Denise), and niece (Samantha), and Breanna to take photographs are all there.

3:00 a.m. Daniel and I walk around outside and the contractions are around 3 minutes apart. I am anxiously awaiting the pushy contractions.

4:30 a.m. I am only dilated to 4-5 cms. Huge disappointment.

4:45 a.m. Everyone goes to bed and we settle in for the long haul.

4:45 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. I try to sleep in between the most horrible contractions I have ever felt in my life. During this time I feel like I have to pee a lot.

6:30 a.m. Contractions pick up and are getting closer and really hurt. I figure out that the contractions feel better while I am standing up and someone rubs the front of my belly and my back.

7:20 a.m. I am finally starting to feel pushy. I then find out that the baby wasn’t in the correct position and finally turns with his back to my belly button at the last minute.

7:30 a.m. I try pushing while standing up. It was really awkward place to stand, but I was determined to try it. After a few minutes it wasn’t working and they had me lay down. I fell to bed, saying I couldn’t do it. I was panicking.

7:45 a.m. I am really pushing, but I felt so out of it. I couldn’t tell when contractions were starting or stopping. A lot of it had to do with the little sleep and little food. I wasn’t holding my legs the right way. I sort of remember my sister-in-law grabbing my hand, looking at me, and saying “You can do this!” I needed that focus. Finally the head came out and I was so close. I know once the head it out the rest of the body is pretty easy to deliver. So I bared down and gave a final push. In the process I bit the inside of my bottom lip until it was black! I have had two natural deliveries, but I have never experienced “the ring of fire” until this third one. Phew.

7:55 a.m. Daniel caught his second son! I remember my midwife, Alisa, saying “Open your eyes!” I am so glad she did that. I got to see him right when he came out. I did say “Praise the Lord, he is out!” a lot. I was so grateful. It turns out that Baby Zander didn’t tuck his chin in and had his head up when he came out. So that meant that he crowned at the largest portion of his head and his hand was up near his face.

The rest of the morning was a blur. I ate a Chick Fil A chicken and biscuit. I nursed the baby. However, I was still in pain and was losing a lot of blood. On the way back from a trip to the restroom I fainted. My uterus wasn’t in the correct position and it wasn’t contracting properly. I also had a ton of clots and leftover pieces of placenta. They gave me some pitocin and some other drug and had me lay on my back for 30 minutes while they monitored me. I was thankful for the excuse to nap. After the nap and some lunch I was finally feeling better. The length of my recovery was longer than I anticipated.

2:00 p.m. We headed home with our new Baby Zander Augustus. 9 pounds 1 ounce and 20.5 inches long. We got to nap again when we got home.

4:00 p.m. Annabelle, Roman, and Pappas got to meet the new addition to our family.

It will certainly be a St. Patrick’s Day I will never forget!

Zander Augustus Espinoza was born on March 17, 2011!  Yes, a St. Patrick’s day baby.  He was 9 lbs.  1 oz. 21 in.

Amanda and baby are doing well.  I’ll let her write up her birth story in another post, but here’s some pictures from my phone.  We had the amazing Brenna from PH Studios taking pictures at the birth.

Here’s Amanda right after her water broke.  She had worn this shirt when Annabelle and Roman were born, so I asked her to wear it again.

Here’s a picture of the birth center.

Here’s a picture of Zander about three minutes after he was born.

The new addition to our family.  This was a few hours after birth as we were about to go home.

Here’s my boy!!!

Zander Augustus Espinoza

Saturday in New York City: A day in which we run around, sight see and eat until we drop. Being our first full day in the city we wanted to do all the touristy stuff so we can enjoy other parts of NYC in future visits.

First stop: Ess-A-Bagel

I heard about this bagel shop in the BetterBidding.com forums and it was 3 blocks from our hotel.

We had no idea what to order, because there also seemed to be a lot of fish options.

The day we went did not look like this photo. Every table was packed and there was a long line to order at the counter. The older gentleman taking our order totally flirted with me and warned Daniel to take care of me. It was funny. Apparently, a wink and a smile from a blond pregnant woman will get you good service in NYC.

Next up: Rockefeller Center

It was a few blocks walking distance from the bagel shop. It was awesome walking up to a site that I have seen on television so many times before. Just that morning I saw an ice skater on the Today Show filming there.

We walked around and went into the NBC store.

I know I am tiny in this photo, but I love that you can see my boots in it. I had also managed to find some inexpensive maternity skinny jeans to wear with them. I never felt like I stood out in a crowd (other than my preggo belly.) Almost everyone had their jeans tucked into their boots.  Also, almost no one was wearing sunglasses that day. It was interesting to watch and see what other people were wearing.

Top of the Rock: An observation deck 70 floors above Rockefeller Center

A view from the window heading up to The Top of the Rock

A view of Central Park to the North

A view of the Empire State Building to the South

The highest floor of the observation deck was closed, because of high winds. It was a little freaky being up there while it was so windy. Then while we were up there it began to SNOW big fat flakes! We went back down to Rockefeller Center and it was still snowing. That was exciting for this Texan girl who has only seen snow about five times in her life.

Next stop: Times Square

Here we are in Times Square

Times Square is what I expected, crowded and busy. I remember looking up and seeing the Hershey’s shop where Project Runway had a challenge. I am a little bummed that I didn’t make it down to Mood for a “Thank You Mood!” shirt. But really that shirt isn’t that cool anymore.

The temperature was getting cold and we headed to Junior’s for a NY style Pastrami on Rye and authentic NY style cheesecake. The place was super crowded, so we ordered ours to go and rode the subway up to Columbus Circle.

Thankfully it was starting to get warmer, but I was getting tired of walking. So we grabbed a pedicab and rode around Central Park.

Central Park

Bethseda Fountain

The Mall/ Literary Walk in Central Park

Frozen Lake and The Boathouse Restaurant

The San Remo

Daniel and I didn’t want to think about where that blanket had been. We were cold and it worked. Our Egyptian pedicab driver spouted a lot of pop culture references about the park. We had no idea if he was telling the truth or not, but he was certainly entertaining.

After Central Park we walked across to the Columbus Circle mall to warm up while we waited for our early dinner reservation.

Columbus Circle mall

Columbus Circle

At the top of the mall is Chef Thomas Keller’s restaurant Per Se.  The minimum you would spend there is $300 a person for a 9 course prix fixe menu. Daniel and I didn’t eat there, but it was really cool to see where it was.

Daniel and I read books at the crowded Dean & Deluca in the Border’s shop. It was a nice break in the day.

Bar Boulud

I chose Bar Boulud, because any time Chef Daniel Boulud came on Top Chef to judge the contestants they were always in awe of him.  He has a five restaurants in NYC and we chose the most casual one. Plus the website with it’s beautiful photos and Jack freakin’ Johnson music instantly hooked me. I also liked the location of the restaurant. I could see the Lincoln Center from my seat.

When I tried to make a reservation at 5:00 p.m. two weeks in advance the only times they had available were 3:45 or 7:30 p.m. Our show was at 8:00, so I went with the 3:45 p.m. reservation. They were only serving brunch at that time, but it was still amazing. The service was as excellent as it should be.  I haven’t eaten in many restaurants with their own sommelier.

Pineapple and Lime Tart with Carrot Ice Cream

After Bar Boulud Daniel and I did a whirl wind of sight seeing on our way back to the hotel.

Lincoln Center

The Plaza

The Apple Store

The Big Piano at FAO Schwarz

Chewbacca in lego form

After FAO Shwarz we walked down Fifth Avenue to our hotel to rest and change before our show. I did stop along the way to look at the iconic Tiffany’s windows. I was sad I didn’t have a pastry with me to reenact the famous scene.

Wicked

After a cab ride that took us in the wrong direction and then running 3 blocks we made into our seats just before the show began.

The show is about to begin!

The show was brilliant and I am glad that I didn’t know the ending beforehand. Ga-Linda was our favorite character. I recently read “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister” which is also by the same author who wrote the book “Wicked” is based on, so I was familiar with his comedic, Brother’s Grimm style. It was exciting to see an excellent show on Broadway!

When we left the theater it was windy and 23 degrees outside. I had worn a dress and I was freezing! I really wanted some Italian food and used my Yelp app to find a restaurant in the theater district. There didn’t seem to be too many Italian restaurants near our hotel.

Scarlatto

We were too tired and hungry at this point to take any photos. When we arrived the hostess told us that their credit card system was down and they were only taking cash. We didn’t want to go anywhere else. It was late, cold, and we were very hungry. I sat at a table while Daniel used his Chase Bank app to find the nearest ATM. I am so glad he found one a block away.  (Daniel edit:  The app found an ATM, but it was a rinky-ding one inside of an Econo Lodge lobby.  I chose to walk back to Times Square to use one there).

The calamari had fried zucchini in it and it was delicious. We ate it all! My pumpkin ravioli with a sage butter sauce was simply to die for. I really enjoyed Scarlatto. We were one of the last two tables to leave.

We hailed a taxi back to the hotel and crashed after our long day. Next up: Sunday!

Sometimes you just go until you run out of gas. 

Our entire trip to New York, New York lasted 58 hours from the time we arrived at San Antonio Airport to the time we got back. It was an incredible and very tiring 58 hours.  I am still thankful that I didn’t have my baby in NY.  I am very pleased with what we were able to do and see considering I was very close to being 9 months pregnant.

I have so many pictures that I am dividing my New York City post into three: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

FRIDAY

We landed at Newark Airport around 9:00 p.m. and grabbed a taxi to our hotel, W Hotel, on Lexington Ave in Midtown East. The hotel has a club with a DJ, music videos, and a bar right when you walk in. Welcome to NY on a Friday night! We threw our bags into our small, contemporary room and headed straight to the subway station. Thanks to the app HopStop I knew exactly how to get to the restaurants I had planned to eat at in the NoLita neighborhood.

It felt like I was walking on a New York City set. It was surreal. Also, NY had a ton of different smells, trash on the curb, restaurants, strong perfume, disgusting exhaust from the carts of street vendors.

Our first stop: Lombardi’s for real NY style pizza.

Every pizza you order there is a margarita style pizza and then you can choose to add toppings. We added a meatball topping. The fresh mozzarella and basil is amazing.

The room we were sat in was tiny and HOT! The party at the table next to us was speaking in French.

One of the reasons why I chose Lombardi’s is because it was on the same block as Rice to Riches.

Rice to Riches: A rice pudding bar

Sample flavors include: Chocolate Hazelnut Bear Hug, Almond Shmalmond, Chocolate Chip Flirt, The Edge of Rum Raisin, Panna Cotta. Then you can add toppings.

Sampling Time!

Loving some Almond Shmalmond

The sign reads: “Mmm…Still has that new pudding smell.” Daniel LOVED his Almond Shmalmond and Understanding Vanilla.

We ate some pudding that night and put the rest on ice until the morning. Rice pudding makes an excellent breakfast.

On our way back to the subway station we stopped at a crepe place, because they had a real crepe hot plate.  I can’t ever say no to a Nutella crepe. We hoped it was more like the one we had in Italy, but the crepe was too thin. Now we know the best crepes really are in Paris and Italy.

It was almost 1:00 a.m. by the time we got back to the hotel and NYC was still hopping. However, we chose to sleep and get some rest for a long and exciting Saturday. Saturday’s post is coming up next!