She arrived on Grandparents day, Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 11:02 am. She weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and measured 17 3/4 inches (at her 2 week appt. she measured 19 3/4" - wrong measurement at birth?). Even though she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice, she had a healthy apgar score of 8-9 - just like big sis. She is also a Virgo like Mommy and Fallon. Below is a montage of pictures. If you can't view it,
click here for better quality. Or here is the link to the complete album with captions on
KodakGallery.Morning of Inducement...
This morning we went to Summerlin Hospital so Charlene can get induced at 8am. However, last night, she had been very uncomfortable and complaining of lower pain. She was a little nervous anticipating what might happen this time around since Fallon's delivery was extremely difficult. Her blood pressure had been good all throughout, but had just become a bit borderline this past week. She was praying for no preeclampsia and no delivery while on magnesium sulfate (feels like delivering with the flu) - like with Fallon!
We checked in at 8am and had to wait for the room to be cleaned. Char could not even walk because something for sure was going down!! Finally by 9am, she was in the bed and beginning to complain about pelvic pressure. They checked her dilation and she was 3-4 and definitely contracting since last night! Then they gave her the pitocin to induce, beginning at 3-4 cm. The nurse asked her, "on a scale of 1-10, what is your pain?" Char said, "One." Then, they started asking her routine medical history questions, drawing blood while Char's Dad was chatting to the Filipino nurse.
About 20 minutes later, Char started to feel more pressure and the contractions were getting closer together. She was yelling, "It's a 10!! Get the epidural, already!" Of course, they had to wait to get the blood test results before even giving it! Within a half an hour, she went from 4cm - 8cm - no drugs! Char's dad was in the room observing and of course, the doctor in him came out and started doctoring, "Why didn't you guys draw blood upon arrival and then start the pitocin?" Little did they know, I would dialate so quickly. Minutes later, the blood tests arrived and the epidural was given...ahhhhhh!!!! Dad then left and went to pick up Char's Mom and Fallon at home. Within 30 more minutes, the doctor arrived, and saw that the 8cm was already 10cm. I made a call to get Char's parents and Fallon to the hopital asap, but the baby was out in 20 minutes! Wow...it's a GIRL!!! They missed it! :(
The delivery was SO different than when Fallon was born. It was an amazing experience and now I really know why people would want to have another child right away. Char was in great spirits...it was truly witnessing a miracle.
Aspen was reported to have the looks of my Dad (Steve Gregson), then
Mr. Magoo, but with her eyes open, she looks just like Fallon when she was a baby. She is Fallon's "twin," having similar birth stats and Fallon's birthday was just the day before! Fallon, is so excited to have her around. She is helping change diapers and taking care of her. Char's parents, Yolanda and Fernando Ayala have been a tremendous help - with cooking delicious meals, laundry, errands, picking up Fallon from school, making sure Char is recovering well and helping us out with the overall adjustment. We are so grateful for their presence! I'm off for the week to help Fallon adjust to the new baby and maintaining her school schedule.
One Week Later...
At her 1 week appt., she gained 2oz. to 6 lbs. 4oz. and they measured her at 19 1/2"! She is alert, moving her head and responding to sound. She is a good eater/sleeper. Char had a few humps to get over with some postpartum pain and getting over the breastfeeding hurdle. She is getting stronger and we are just so glad it was not like the delivery she had with Fallon.
"ASPEN"She is named after the beautiful tree, Aspen, which is the largest living organism in the world. Its leaves are bright gold in the fall and its spiritual meaning is "far-reaching, strong survivors." We might call her
Penny. The Aspen tree is also very abundant in Utah and the mountains of Mt. Charleston (30 minutes from Las Vegas). See below a picture of Fallon in a stroller perched above the beautiful Aspen trees last October. If it was a boy, he would have been
Easton Vance Ayala Gregson.
My mom left tonight from being with us since Sept. 3! She has been a tremendous help with the baby and Fallon. Fallon and Lola became best friends and it was a sad farewell. The dogs even miss her since the next morning, they ran into the guest room sniffing around for her. We will all miss her! Thank you for everything. We love you Lola!
Fallon's pumpkin painting for cousin Michael.
A quick stop at the pumpkin patch for a photo of the kids. Aspen was not happy.
Shay "Anakin Skywalker" and Fallon.
Aspen is doing well with everything so far - laughing, looking at us, lifitng her head, responding to noise, following with her eyes and eating like a champ! We've had a few discrepancies on her height: at birth, she was measured at 17 3/4 inches. At 1 week, she was measured at 19 inches. At 2 weeks: 19.75", at 5 weeks: 20.5". Her Dr. said that they definitely measured her wrong at birth and was probably over 19 inches then. Fallon was 19 1/2". Aspen has been cluster feeding (nursing every 90 minutes) which leaves no time for much else. Her schedule is opposite ours which we are trying to reverse to get more sleep. So far, she is similar to Fallon - aware of her surroundings, already enjoying baby Einstein videos and smiling. Fallon is very helpful and understanding with her and continues to be a proud big sister, especially when I come to pick Fallon up from school.
Scott Bissell (Jon's best friend and Fallon's godfather) was in town for an Orthopedic Medical convention. He came over to meet Aspen and play with Fallon for a bit. Scott also bought a ticket to see Gwen Stefani with us. It was great to see him. Fallon especially loves him because he plays so well with her.
I finally got to see Gwen Stefani solo in concert (I've seen her with No Doubt)! Love her! Jon got me tickets for my birthday. Mom babysat while Jon and I ran out with Scott Bissell to catch the show at Pearl in the Palms hotel. Awesome venue - I will definitely go back there to see more concerts. Her performance was incredible and her stage was not overdone. And as always, fun outfits. You can really see how she is influenced by Japanese culture. We had great seats and I was so bummed that I did not bring my camera! I had my phone which wasn't so bad. At one point during the concert, she parted the standing room only section, ran through them and climbed up on the sound mixers box which happened to be right in front of us! Other highlight: the breakdancing.
Merryhill School got to wear costumes instead of their uniforms today. Fallon was Snow White. We helped with their Halloween party and took a ton of pictures - as most parents would, right? This last photo is with her teacher, Mrs. Ghanimian and her "crush" Jordan, donning the Thomas Train costume. He is the funny man in class and has a sarcastic personality which Fallon adores and understands.
We had our first show of the season this weekend and we are exhausted! Two days and lots of wind. We lost our tent Saturday night. The winds were so bad, it shattered our frame and broke, so we ended up moving to the other side on Sunday - where the traffic was much better. The Green ended up being lame. I think I did pretty good and friends came to show support: Tina and Thanya Chinakarn (Lee) and her new baby stoppped by. The Almontes, Cora Hanley, friends and neighbors came. Mom and Fallon were there both days having fun. Next show: Boston and Connecticut area!
Today, one of my favorite cousins (and Fallon's Godmother), Raquel Villanueva, married Tom Porter in Chicago, Illinois. We could not be there since travelling would be very difficult with the brand new baby. We are so sad we could not be there to celebrate, but we were there in spirit. The wedding was beautiful and it was the most memorable time of their lives. We are so happy to welcome Tom into the family and we Congratulate you both on a wonderful life together! (They are a very good-looking couple, don't you agree?) Hope to see you soon!
Jonathan began round 1 of the flu bug. Mom and dad caught it and then Fallon got it and ended up getting so dehydrated again with constant vomitting. We were so worried, Jonathan took her to the hospital. She was so brave - not even afraid of the i.v. or the hospital (my dad hopes it is an early sign to carry on his legacy of becoming a doctor). They came home in 4 hours and she was chattering like normal. It was nice to have her home from school this week even though I was juggling kids and blankets. She had to use the nebulizer this week - Dad was afraid she might have asthma or be allergic to our dogs! Oh no! Anyway, she got to keep her cute hospital gown!
This weekend of October 20-21, Ashley and I are teamed up again at an Arts Festival in Henderson. I've been working day and night the past few weeks to prepare. It's been challenging with 2 kids now, but I'm excited to start the season. We'll be located on The Green between Whole Foods and West Elm (my 2 favorite spots).
We drove up to Mt. Charleston to catch the last of the Aspens before they lost their leaves. We missed their golden peaks, but we were able to locate a few. It was soo cold, it made it difficult to snap some photos, but here are a couple.
Fallon picked up on my nursing habit...guess it's never too early to learn.
I can't believe we are celebrating our 5th anniversary! Jonathan got the night off (miracle!) and we went to Bartolotta at Wynn Hotel. I've been dying to go. We sat outside in a cabana with a view of the mirror balls in the lake. We were amazed at how excellent the food and service were - right down to their bread. Fresh seafood is flown in directly from European fish markets to this restaurant. We had rabbit, gnocchi, ravioli and the Occhiona fish. The almond flour chocolate cake was amazing. I could not get over the meal - you just have to go!
I saw this in my domino mag. I would love to hang the bubble swing somewhere in the new house! How fun it would be for the girls. Ok, maybe outside.
It was our second week with Aspen and we went out eat at Diablo, where Jonathan has transferred from FIX. It is The Light Group's third restaurant venture which opened up at Monte Carlo. Aspen did very well during this outing - not one peep from her!
Fallon wanted Hello Kitty cupcakes for her friends at school. She is the last one to turn three, but she seems to be doing just fine in school. The kids all enjoyed the cupcakes, especially the icing and the Hello Kitty ring on top.
