Helena Is Two Months!

This big baby girl is amazing!  Helena can roll from back to front, loves to cuddle, and is already in a size 2 diaper.  She looks directly into my eyes and coos and babbles as if she really truly has something to say!  Cuddling and eating are her two favorite things with sleeping at a close third.  Helena recognizes her Baba, me, and her big brother.  She sleeps 2-4 hour stretches at night and sleeps well in her pack'n'play.  She even bats at her toys during tummy time!  She now weighs 14 lbs. and is 23 inches long.

Naveed loves to put his little face right up to hers and talk to her.  He is the best big brother, always sharing his toys with her and joining her on the ground for tummy time.  He's fascinated by her hands and feet, tries to copy everything we do (like burping her), and is the master when it comes to throwing away diapers!

#Momlife

Once (okay, maybe a few times) when I was young, I ate a few coins.  I just picked them up and swallowed them.  I have no idea why, but I have vivid memories of my Mom making sure they "came out".  As karma would have it, my son decided his favorite hobby is swallowing all things foam!  I mean, who eats foam?!?  So needless to say, Mohammad and I have had a nice time making sure it all "comes out".  He just popped a molar, so maybe that's why he's going foam crazy?  On the plus side, Naveed had his first dental exam and didn't do too bad!

Simultaneously, Helena has decided she only wants to sleep while being held.  Did I mention that her last night feeding is at 3:30 am and that Naveed has been waking up around 4-4:30 am?!?  That's right folks, I wake up at 3:30 am every morning and spend my days examining what "comes out".  She also had her first round of vaccines and poor baby had her first cold too!  Thankfully, she recovered quickly.  

Motherhood is crazy, but, the absolute best thing I have ever done.  Nothing brings me more joy than caring for these kiddos!

Our Precious New Adventure: Helena Rose

It was early Monday morning and Mohammad was about to leave for work when we decided I better head up to the hospital.  I had felt some contractions throughout the previous day, but that morning I wasn't feeling anything!  I only felt very small movements, and I wanted to be sure everything was okay.

We woke up Auntie Kat, who had arrived over the weekend, and left Naveed with her and my Mom.  Less than an hour later the hospital's on-call OBGYN was telling us that everything looked great and that I was in labor with contractions every five minutes!  What?!?!  I didn't even know I was having contractions!  We were admitted, given the same room that we labored with Naveed in, and were well on our way to having a baby.  

We were settling in for a long day of laboring (between switching rooms and walking down the hallway, my contractions had slowed down) when the nurse came to check on us.  I turned down the epidural and  asked how far along I was.  My OB happened to be there assisting with a surgery, so she went ahead and checked me, and I was already 7 cm dilated!  I quickly decided that I would in fact like an epidural, and an hour later my OB stopped by again on her way back to her clinic and decided to check me again.  To our surprise I was fully dilated and ready to push!  After 5 pushes, and before we had time to get any cameras ready, Helena Rose Tabatabaei entered this world at 12:24 pm, weighing 8lbs 5oz and 20 inches long.  

Helena had a very healthy set of lungs and latched on right away.  I was feeling great and ready to eat some food myself.  Later that afternoon Naveed, Grandma, and Auntie came by for a visit.  It was an amazing day that could only have been orchestrated so graciously by The Big Man.  Further evidence of The Big Man's hand in all of this, our nurse's name was Lauren Helena!  How amazing is that?!?