Stop! Baby Time.

One last belly shot before...


Our beautiful baby Audrey was born on December 15th, 2008 @ 5:43pm at Castle Medical Center in Kailua, Hawaii. She weighed in at a petite 9lbs, 2.2ozs. We're so happy to finally have her here with us. Below are some photos of our first few weeks together.

75 days and counting!!

September was a busy month for us. We are in full preparation mode for Audrey, impatiently awaiting her arrival and the return of my former self...though rumor has it, I will never re-emerge. In the past few weeks I have been blessed with cankles, sore feet and heart burn, daily reminders of our baby-to-be. Matthew has patiently put up with my demands for tums and water at 3am and the 67 pillows i need at night in order to sleep.

Matthew and I recently toured Castle Birth Center where I'll be popping Audrey out. It was an incredible experience and I am so excited to give birth there. I will be in the same room for labor, delivery, and post partum recovery and Audrey will be in my room (i guess its our room) the entire time (unless I request that she be sent to the nursery). They strongly encourage breast-feeding so Audrey will go straight to her momma after delivery. They wait a minimum of 3 hours before bathing her or administering any tests. I can wear my own clothes and bring my own food, though they do offer a variety of vegetarian food options on their menu. I got the impression that the Birth Center is run by a group of women dedicated to making birth a positive and natural experience for the mother, the father, and the baby. There is no time limit, so I can labor as long as I want without worrying about intervention.


Unfortunately, due to hurricane Ike, I was unable to travel to Houston where I was planning on having a baby shower thrown by the Puiglets. I was really looking forward to getting my hands on Vanessa's micro-baby-bump and showering my hanai-neice Stella with some Auntie love.

I did, however, make it to LA where I got to see my little mush of a nephew Jonah. His smile will warm your heart every time. On Saturday 9/28, all of Matthew's mother's friends threw me an amazing baby shower. My mom gave Audery her first outfit from dolce & gabbana. I don't even have anything from docle & gabbana, so we can already see how spoiled she will be. Between the 16 baby shower hostesses and the 10 additional guests, I think we got just about everything we need for her arrival! Thanks ladies!!!

Finally, today we start our birthing classes. They run up to the end of November, so at least I know I won't forget what I learned before she arrives. We'll keep you posted on all other developments.

Our Little Ninja

Everything is peachy here on the baby front. Matthew and I spent a wonderful 2 weeks in Brazil and New York City, reconnecting with family and old friends. We are so happy though to finally be home with our furry family. Audrey has been kicking up a storm for the past month now - making my pregnancy so much more amazing. We're glad to have her out of the computer and in my belly!!!

Other than that, everything seems to be coming along swimmingly. We visited our wonderful mid-wife Linda last week and got to hear Audrey's little heart beat. I'm feeling great - though I'm missing my Matty who started his new job yesterday.

Finally, many of you know that Audrey is named after my father's mother, Audrey Phelps Lukens. Below is a photo of her with my mom and dad.

Brazilian Bump

Well kids, I might look 8 months pregnant, but I'm actually only 5. We're 20 weeks to be exact. Half way done... and now that I have hit the half way mark, its really is go time. I gain a pound a week. She gains between 1/4 and 1/2. My size has stayed really steady (until about a week ago) - which means Audrey has formed out of the amorphous gases that blew my belly up like a balloon upon conception. I decided, when I got pregnant, that I could not, would not, and should not weigh myself. I have no desire to see the scale tip 150. I turn my back to it and tell the nurses: "If I'm hurting my child, let me know. Until then, I'm a slim and trim 128... as I should be." They look at me like I'm a recovering anorexic or something - but there is a beauty in ignorance.

Baby Audrey gets bigger everyday, and as a result, momma has less and less space for her internal organs. First went the bladder - baby sat on it all day and momma was a like a leaky faucet of pee. Then went the stomach - not only did baby Audrey steal momma's food for her own, making me constantly hungry for things I couldn't easily get my hands on (veggie-bologna and mustard sandwiches on burnt wheat bread probably being the most repulsive) but she also pushed up against my stomach just enough so that eating more then a mouthful was a recipe for heartburn, indigestion, nausea, you name it. and now - well now baby Audrey has decided to crowd out my diaphragm and lungs, so momma is constantly feeling a shortness of breath.

My nana has explained to me that this is pain we vertically challenged folk must endure in order to create more vertically challenged off-spring.

If I carry a baby the size of my nephew, well, let me tell you - I'm fucked.

In other news from the Southern Hemisphere, the stories I am hearing from my grandmother are amazing. So far I have around 6 hours of material. We record for about an hour a night. I have no idea how I want to structure the final product, but I think we are both enjoying the process, and I can't help but think that little Audrey is getting her first women studies lesson in the womb.

Matthew arrives in Brazil on August 4th. Until then, we'll wait with bated breath. literally and figuratively.

Hope this finds everyone having a happy healthy summer of sun.

Its a...

Its a girl!!!

Today was another big day in the life of Mashley. As many of you know, we went to the doctor in hopes of finding out the sex of our baby. Well the bambino had other plans. It took 30 minutes of searching for the doctor to determine that we're having a baby girl. She sat with her legs crossed the entire time, like a good little lady. At on point, she was standing upright, covering her genitals with her hand! Wonder why she is so damn difficult?!

To note, please refrain from purchasing her pink. I don't want a pink baby. Girl, fine. Baby girl clad in nothing but fairy-puke pink, no thanks.

All this being said, Matthew and I enjoyed every moment of our ultrasound time. It really does feel like you are going to visit your baby, who is living in the computer at the doctors office. Once again, she is getting so big!!!

If you look in the top right hand photo, you can see her waving!

Hi baby girl!!

In other news, Matthew and I finally registered for our marriage license. We enjoyed all the suspicious looks people gave us at the Health Department office. I swear an old lady mumbled sinners under her breath as we walked by, but who knows.

Also, Matthew found out that he graduated 17th in class of 102, putting him in the top 20%. Only 25 days until the bar exam, and only 8 days until i arrive in New York to frolic with friends on my way to Brazil.

Hope you all have a critically engaged 4th of July. End the War!! Bring the Troops Home!! Vote for Obama!!

Sorry, I had to.

Lone Belly

As many of you know, Matthew is currently studying for the bar exam. 12 hours a day. every day. So today, I spent my afternoon trying to take the belly shots everyone has been asking me for. Excuse the artistic improvisation. When you're alone all the time, you have to get creative. On the brighter side, I've discovered that the camera conveniently covers my fat face!

Next week, we find out the sex of the baby. STAY TUNED!

2nd Trimester Here We Come

On Sunday we will happily enter our 14th week or second trimester. For those of you who are not intimately familiar with the development processes of babies, the bambino is about the size of a lemon. Now is the time when normal women start to show...because of my super powers I have developed differently.

According to babycenter.com:

"This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb."

yes, there is a little creature pissing in my uterus. loveliness. Matthew and I are in the process of having the baby screened for a variety of genetic disorders, downs syndrome, spina bifida, etc., so we got yet another ultrasound. the little booger continued to move throughout the process. As they were measuring his neck he turned his back to us and fell asleep. ADORABLE.

I'm off to Paris tomorrow to give a paper I haven't written. I'm hoping the baby will stop sucking my brains out long enough so that I can actually get some thoughts on paper. Luckily, I have a 24 hours flight ahead of me and Continental Airlines has conveniently added laptop plugs to all their seats. Matthew is currently studying for the BAR exam. It is so boring at our house I could cry.

Magical Moments in Mashley-World

Today was pretty freaking magical.

We went to the doctor to verify my due date - since everyone telling me how massively huge I am was kind of getting to my head. They doctor kindly gave me an additional week, so that makes me 11 weeks, 3 days. It also makes me one week less a liar to all the people who I lie to when they ask me how far along I am. the ladies at the dog park are expecting our new child in september. There's only so many "you're HUGE!!"s a girl can take in one day.

Now to the magic. While measuring the little booger via ultra-sound we got our first 'on camera' wave. He moved a few times, each time breaking my heart right back open. Now I obviously know I'm pregnant. I look pregnant. I feel pregnant. I act pregnant... but seeing that little creature move around inside of me made this process so much more real and amazing. Words really can't describe how magical it was... Matthew teared up (for the 3rd time in 4 years) if that says anything at all. i got a fit of the giggles - pure loving delight.

Too bad we don't have ultrasound quick-time clips yet, because this photo does not do the bambino justice. nevertheless, he looks like a little whale.

In other news, I am the proud new auntie to Mr. Jonah Meyer Lukens. He is gorgeous...and looks exactly like clinton.

Gas and Graduation

yes. i'm huge. and its not the baby. its water and air. fluid and gas. the lovely gifts of pregnancy. Other than huge, I'm also happy, healthy, and super excited about the baby. This pic is from Matthew's graduation day. He is officially a JD (juris doctor). Today my momma, Matthew and I went to our fabulous fabulous mid-wife, Linda Chong-Tim, who we are absolutely in love with. She was open, honest, and super supportive. She took some extra time to show us the baby via ultra sound so that my mom could see the heart beat. It has grown so much since our last visit.

Its Not a Food Baby!

Big News!