Welcome Lilia Helena Mallén Latty!

Finally I have my little girl in my arms and not my belly! Lilia Helena was born December 5th at 7:15 p.m. I broke my water at 8:30 a.m. on Friday right as Quique and I were getting in the car to pick my mom up from the airport. I started contractions around 12 p.m. and labored without an epidural until 3 a.m. The baby had not engaged into my pelvis and was not pushing against my cervix which is why I labored so long and dilated sooooo slow. After my epidural I labored for 16 more hours (surprisingly with still a little bit of pain) and finally was told that we would try a test run of labor. Because the baby still had not gotten into my pelvis we spent about 10 minutes pushing while the doctor attempted to turn the baby. Finally I said I just couldn´t take the pain anymore and we decided on a c section. During the c section I had an almost panic attack which elevated my stress levels allowing me to feel the pain of the actual surgery (I panicked because my mind started to wonder if my baby was okay even though nothing was going wrong). Lilia was born absolutely perfect though and when they showed her to me I immediately went back to feeling numb (so strange how the body works). All I could think was Oh my goodness she´s a little chipmunk!! She had the biggest cheeks I have ever seen!! Quique got to hold her for an hour while I recovered.

I am doing excellent now although I´m still at the hospital. I have a little bit of anemia, but it´s nothing to worry about. I am learning a million new medical terms in Spanish! The baby is AMAZING. She is absolutely gorgeous and I just can´t stop looking at her. I can´t believe I lucked out (so far) because she is the most calm baby I have ever seen in my life. She never cries for more than a minute or more than once a day. Breastfeeding is incredible. The bond I feel with her when I feed her is amazing. Sue, Quique´s mom, and my mom are here. Let´s just say we are the nurses´LEAST favorite room because not only are there new parents in my room, but also 2 grandmas. We ask a million questions! Quique is making such a good father as well. He helps me a TON with working with the nurses since Spanish can be difficult sometimes and he has been changing her diaper and doing pretty much everything since I had a hard time moving around the first few days.

Well I´m going to relax for 20 more minutes before I have to breastfeed. I think I´ve gotten a total of 10 hours sleep in the last 5 days! I feel so lucky to have our little daughter with us and I can´t wait to share every little moment of hers with all of you in the coming years. Thank you so much for your prayers, thoughts, and support. Lilia is lucky she is being born into such a wonderful network of family and friends!

In labor!

This will be short because 1) I'm in labor and 2) it hurts to type with my IV. I'm so excited and nervous! My water broke this morning at 8:30 right as Quique and I were getting in the car to pick up my mom at the airport. Talk about timing! The hospital's policy is to admit you once your water breaks so I am now relaxing (haha) in the hospital room now. So far so good as far as contractions go. They are coming every 5 minutes, but they are mild right now. I'm a bit nervous for the stronger ones!! Say a prayer and wish me luck!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I wish I could be in the U.S. celebrating one of my favorite holidays. I love Thanksgiving in Georgia and I especially love the tradition of fried turkey at our house. There is nothing like it! That reminds me of a really funny commercial I saw for AT&T: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MR-2zKnn1I

I celebrated my Thanksgiving by going to a doctor appointment. The appointment was just to monitor the baby's heartbeat and if I have any contractions. According to the midwife and doctor the baby's heartbeat was "excellent" and I wasn't having any notable contractions. I'm relieved to hear the baby's heartbeat is completely normal and that she is healthy so I am definitely thankful for that!

Today Quique's family came to Madrid to celebrate Thanksgiving with us during the weekend. We'll celebrate the holiday tomorrow. I'm making the yams so maybe I'll try and take a picture since cooking anything is an accomplishment for me! I'm excited to eat excellent Thanksgiving food.

Today I received a package from Grandma and Aunt Cindy Williams with some great baby stuff! Aunt Cindy gave me the cutest newborn outfit and Grandma sent me a beautiful crocheted blanket. We also got some Christmas gifts from Grandma, but I won't peek until Christmas!!

I hope everyone is having an excellent Thanksgiving and I'll be sure to say an extra prayer for all of you on this holiday!

37 weeks and counting!

I am now a little past the 37 week mark. We had a doctor appointment yesterday and found out the baby is 6.94 pounds. That sounds huge to me since I was 5 lbs 13 ounces when I was born (2 1/2 weeks early). She's in a head down position, but her head's not "engaged" yet like I was hoping. This waiting is hard! I know it's early, but I just want to have this baby already! The not knowing makes it hard to wait because I could be two weeks early or two weeks late. She was moving a lot yesterday during the ultrasound as well. I've definitely been feeling her kicks although it's been more like pushing because there is barely any room left for her! Sometimes Quique will put his face really close to my belly and talk to her and then she'll give him a big kick in the mouth. I just laugh because she's not even born yet and we're already ganging up on Daddy!

I've been trying to stay busy preparing for her to get here. I've washed all the blankets, clothes, and those teeny little socks! We're still getting the room ready, but so far it's painted and we've set up the bassinett and clothes in the closet. This weekend we're going to paint a border and set up the curtains. I was on a mission to set up the carseat this weekend so now we've got the little seat in the back. Every time I get in the car I'm like, "What's that?" It takes me a second to register. I talked to the priest at our church and we've set up a meeting to discuss the baptism (dates, etc.). I've also been researching daycare centers for when I go back to work. There's a lot right by our house including some schools that go all the way through 6th grade. I've thought about applying to teach at some of these schools starting in March or next year. Not sure if it will work, but it would be so convenient! In the next week Quique and I are also going to go to the American Embassy to find out how to get her a social security number and passport. Today at 6 I've also got a birthing class which I'm looking forward to. It will all be in Spanish though so it should be interesting! Finally, I'm in the middle of packing our hospital bag. I've got the going home outfit all picked out which was so fun! So many things to do!!

So now I am left to wait...and wait. We STILL do not have a name for this little one because every free moment we get we just want to crash from exhaustion! We have written some names down though so she won't be nameless! I'm attaching some pictures of my belly in case some of you haven't seen the pictures on facebook. The first is me at 31 weeks, the second is 36 weeks, and the third is 17 weeks (back when I had cheek bones). Keep me updated on your lives!

Baby and Apartment Update

6 more weeks (or less) until the baby gets here! I can't wait! My doctors appointments have been going really well. It seems like I have them every two weeks. We recently switched hospitals because we found one that was a lot nicer and closer to home. The baby weighs about 4 lbs. 8 oz. right now which is average and she is perfect. Everything else (amniotic fluid, placenta) looked fine too in the ultrasound so so far smooth sailing. She is head down now, but not yet in the proper position for being born. She is also a kicker! She kicks my ribs a lot now. Sometimes I feel so weird because I'll be having a conversation with my students and my belly will be shifting so much I can't focus! She also gets hiccups a lot which feel like little spasms in my stomach. We still haven't decided definitely on a name, but November 1st is the day we decided we HAVE to know for sure. I want my baby to be born with a name!

I thought I might have a problem with my sugar a few weeks ago because my glucose test for gestational diabetes was slightly high. The second test involved me drinking a bottle of glucose lemony syrup and having my blood drawn four times in three hours. I went early in the morning because you have to fast before the test. Twenty minutes before the end of the test I started burning up so I walked out into the hallway of the hospital to get some fresh air. Apparently that was a bad idea because I ended up clinging to Quique to keep from passing out and then I threw up all over the hallway. Thank goodness I hadn't eaten anything but glucose syrup!! The heat and lack of food just got to me, but in the end the results of the test showed that while my sugars were borderline, they weren't high enough to be gestational diabetes. I just have to watch my diet now (no more spoonfuls of marshmallow fluff, dangit!).

We recently moved into an apartment a week ago and it has been a whirlwind ever since. The apartment is two bedroom with a large living room and kitchen. It's really bright and cheerful with lots of light throughout the day. We have a small park across the street too. Quique's dad, Enrique, has visited once to help us decorate (he's really good at it!). He's coming again this week to help us finish up. We're trying to do everything as fast as we can so we can concentrate on birthing classes, baptism classes, and researching daycare facilities in November. I really like planning out how I want the baby's room. We're going to paint it lilac. I'll put pictures up as soon as we have it finished!

I can't wait for our little baby to get here! The waiting is the hardest part! Not only do I want to see her, but I am counting down the days until I'm no longer pregnant!! It's so uncomfortable especially with being on my feet all day. I'm super excited because my Aunt Michele and Uncle Dave just had their little baby girl, Julia! I'm excited that our daughters will eventually be playmates.

Keep me updated on your lives. I wish I could be near everyone! I miss you all!

First day of school

I've been back in Spain now for the past two weeks and I'm pretty much settled in. I've been looking like crazy for apartments and will probably move within the next two weeks (so I guess I'm not so settled in after all!).

Today I started my first day of school. All the teachers are around my age and really nice. The school is private and is so much more clean and new than my last school. Considering my last school also did not have toilet paper or soap in the kids bathroom (no wonder I got sick all the time) this new school is definitely a step up. Last year was their first year and they're still working on construction. For this year I'll be teaching first graders through sixth graders. I have ten different classes and then the principal wants me to teach some teachers English classes as well.

I continue to get larger every day! Now I can not only feel the baby's kicks, but I can also feel body parts like her head/butt/back pushing against my stomach (can't distinguish which is which). I really like watching the kicks and I don't think Quique ever gets tired of seeing them either. She likes to move and be active when I'm lying down which I guess is good practice for parenthood...the moment I want to relax is the moment she wants to play. I've also gained weight in other places besides my stomach. I guess since I started school I've got to earn it by having "teacher flab"...you know, the back of your arms that flops all around when you're writing on the board. So attractive, and just when I thought waddling wasn't enough...

Baby!

I really wish I was better at keeping up with this blog and I feel like I say that every time I write! I think I'm just going to e-mail everyone every time I update so they'll know to check it.

Anyways, Quique and I are excited to announce that we're expecting a baby! I'm currently 25 weeks along and the baby is expected for December 5th. We found out about a month ago that we are having a little baby girl! We both wanted a girl especially Quique who's convinced it's going to be a "daddy's girl." We're not set on a name yet, but I'll keep you updated when we make our final decision.

I've been feeling really well. The first four months were really difficult with morning sickness. I haven't felt sick in a long time though and I don't feel too big yet. In the past few weeks I've felt and seen the baby kick my stomach. It's such a strange feeling! Quique got to feel the baby kick once before he left to go back to Spain (I'm currently in Georgia on vacation) and he couldn't stop talking about it because it was so neat for him.

I'm headed back to Madrid in a week. I'm starting a new job in a different school this year. I'm teaching English to 3, 4, and 5 year olds and a few English classes to the teachers as well. I plan on having the baby in Madrid so I'll be sure to send lots of pictures. If I can figure out how to upload an ultrasound photo onto this blog I will although I make no promises because that involves scanning the picture and I am not exactly good with technology!

Nice long week of vacation

I just spent all of Holy Week with two friends in Italy. I had a great time although I´m glad to be back! I feel like I took every mode of transportation known to man. We flew into Milan last Tuesday and took a day trip to Lake Como. Lake Como is a beautiful lake shaped like a Y where a lot of the Italian people go on vacation. George Clooney owns a house there too! We walked around the lake all day and took a scenic bus ride around the cliffs. Because Lake Como is so close to Switzerland I also got to see the Swiss Alps covered in snow. We only spent one day in Lake Como and the next day we were off to Verona.

I think Verona was my favorite place. The hostal we stayed at was amazing. It was nicer than any hotel I´d ever been in and we got a free homemade breakfast. The first thing we did in Verona was grab some food from the grocery store and eat in the park. We went to the old arena after that. It looked like a scene from the movie Gladiator on the inside. The seats in the stands were so smooth that I slipped and fell on my butt on one of them. I´m sure nobody noticed... We saw Juliette´s balcony where Romeo and Juliette supposedly had their famous meeting. Overall, Verona was really calm and very small. I liked it a lot.

Venice was neat because you had to take a boat everywhere! We took a boat to our hostal which was nice because it gave us a nice tour of the Grand Canal. It´s so crazy to see people´s front doors about a foot above the water. We visited a beautiful church called San Marcos. It was absolutely huge. Because the ground was so uneven all of the towers and tall buildings in the city looked like they were leaning. The second day we were in Venice we went to a small island called Burona which is known for its brightly colored houses and lace. It was my favorite part of Venice. I thought it was so neat how every house was painted a different and very bright color.

Our last stop was in Florence. Florence is beautiful and known for all of it´s famous statues such as David and Michelangelo´s Pieta. After my second day in Florence I left with one of my friends back to Milan to catch a flight to Madrid. We arrived in Milan on Sunday night and weren´t leaving until 6:45 a.m. the next day. We slept in the waiting room of the train station and let me tell you THAT was an experience. All of the homeless people sleep there because it is warm and open all night. So I slept next to like 6 homeless people who hadn´t bathed in awhile and seemed very sick. I felt like I was homeless that night. It was a strange feeling.

Now I´m back in Madrid at school. It´s nice to get back to a regular schedule and sleep in my own bed!

Finally a new one!

Okay so I'm going to try and get back on the horse with this blogging. I think after this blog I'll start writing lots of little ones as opposed to big long ones.

Everything's been going really well lately and I've been staying really busy. I moved at the beginning of February to a new apartment downtown. The apartment is big, but my room is pretty small. I live with 6 other people: 3 Spaniards, 2 Germans, and 1 other American. I'm right off of Plaza de Espana which is one of the main plazas in Madrid. I'm really close to everything and I love that I can walk out my door and get where I want to quickly. All of my roommates are nice, but I probably get along with the American girl the best. My kitchen is big, but so far I haven't used it that much. I think I know how to cook a total of 5 things and one of those things is cereal...haha.

I'm taking Spanish classes 5 days a week as well from 7:15-8:15 p.m. I think going to class everyday helps me to force myself to learn and speak more Spanish. I've also been speaking more Spanish with Quique. Now I feel like I can communicate a lot easier than I could before, but the journey to fluency is a long one...

I went to Quique's graduation last month and it was great. I got to hang out with his family all weekend. I was really proud of him (can't write much about his job because this is on the Internet!). After his graduation we all came back to Madrid and I hung out with his family the rest of the weekend.

Lately I've been enjoying the nice weather in Madrid. The past two Sundays I went to the Retiro park which is the most popular park here. I had a picnic with some friends and last week 15 people showed up! We mostly just talk and eat our food and then some of the guys kick around a soccer ball. I hope we make it a kind of tradition for every Sunday.

The past two Sundays I've also been going to a new church. The church is called Our Lady of Mercy and they have Mass in English!! The Mass is really interesting because there are so many different people of different nationalities there: Irish, English, people from different countries in Africa, and a few Filipinos too. I like hearing the readings because you never know what accent you're going to hear! The priest, Fr. Ron, is American. These Masses and the church remind me a lot of the U.S. I recognize the songs we sing, I can say the prayers along with everyone else, and there are lots of clubs and activities you can do within the Church. Next week I am going to register as a parishioner.

I'm headed back to the States for a little bit in August. One of my best friends, Kate, is getting married in Denver and I'm one of her bridesmaids. I'm really excited to see all of my friends and to be Kate's bridesmaid. I'm also excited to go home and see the fam.

Alright well I'll try and keep this updated a lot more often. The picture in this blog is of my family and my brother's girlfriend at my grandma's on Christmas.