Posts Tagged ‘Austin’

A Year of Changes

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Happy New Year from Binary Blonde & Family!

Happy New Year from Binary Blonde & Family!

This year brought so many changes, it’s hard to wrap my brain around just all that has happened in such a short amount of time. I think instead of making a list, I’ll highlight the top three.

2008 marked our 5th wedding anniversary. It’s been an amazing five years, just Kevin and me. It’s amazing to think that just last year we were in Thailand for our anniversary. This year, however, I went into labor on our anniversary and Binary Boy was born a day after!

So, 2008 also made me a mommy to a handsome baby boy and I could write volumes on how I finally feel fulfilled with him in my life. I am honestly not sure how to explain how becoming a mom has changed me, but I can say that the changes are certainly welcomed. I can explain certain things, like patience, selflessness and unconditional love, but it’s hard to put into words just how much my whole perception has changed.

Needless to say, I can’t imagine my life without Binary Boy in it. He filled a void that I never knew I had until it was whole. :heart:

2008 also took Kevin and I to a completely different city. We moved away from everyone and everything familiar to start a new life on our own terms. It was the best decision, aside from choosing to start a family, that we’ve made during our marriage. We still wonder to each other why we didn’t move here sooner.

We cleaned and decluttered all the stuff we were toting around from our lives from even before we met, packed up what was left, rounded up the cats and moved into our first house in Austin.

Happy New Year from Binary Blonde & Family!

Happy New Year from Binary Blonde & Family!

Sure, we had purchased our condo back in California, but this house was different. This house was carefully chosen to have room for friends and family to visit and stay and to grow our child(ren) in. We picked everything out, from the tiles in the bathroom to the color of the paint on the walls. This was where we wanted to settle down and grow roots.

And now, with Binary Boy, who is the light of our life, this house is now a Home. 2008 has been a year of many changes, most (though, not all) of them positive. My life, our lives, are richer and greater than if we would have never taken a chance and accepted the inevitable that I always try and remember: that change is the only constant in this world.

Here’s hoping that 2009 brings many more positive, prosperous changes! Happy New Year, Y’all! 😉

That Cold White Stuff

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Surprise! Look what we woke up to this morning…

Snow at our house in Austin, Texas

Snow at our house in Austin, Texas

Snow at our house in Austin, Texas

Snow at our house in Austin, Texas

Yup, that’s snow. In central Texas. I didn’t move to Texas to wake up to snow! It’s not that I’m against snow, in theory. The concept of snow is nice and all, and it is very pretty to look at, but I am not a fan of it when I have to deal with it being outside my door step.

See, where there’s snow, there’s cold. And cold and I have been mortal enemies for my entire life. We’re not about to kiss and make up now, especially now that cold has wedged it’s way under the door and into the house and makes me wear a fleece hat all day. Grrr. It almost makes me miss being pregnant in the 100 degree weather. Almost.

On the positive side, I got to dress Binary Boy in his adorable fleece footie outfit. So, I guess the cold isn’t all that bad. 😉

Binary Boy in fleece footie outfit

Binary Boy in fleece footie outfit

He Flipped! (With Some Help)

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Today, I have some good news! Binary Boy flipped. He is now head down the way he should be. 😀

So, what worked? Well, unfortunately, nothing I had been trying for the past 2 weeks did, so I asked the midwives for a referral to an OB that could perform an external cephalic version. They referred me to Dr. Uribe. So, yesterday, Kevin and I went in for a consultation to see if I am a good candidate for the procedure.

Side note: If you live in Austin and need a doctor to do a version on a breech baby, Dr. Uribe is the guy to see. He’s been doing versions for 20 plus years and really knows what he’s doing.

He checked the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby via an ultrasound and felt for the amount of “give” and wiggle room available. After a few dozen other questions and filling of paperwork, he deemed me a good candidate, especially since I am between 36 and 37 weeks pregnant.

Before I made the decision to get it done or not, we also went over the risks. The most major one is the placenta detaching. If that happened, I would have to have an emergency cesarean section to deliver the baby. Which is why it’s good to be between 36 and 37 weeks pregnant – the baby is still small enough to turn, but developed enough so that we could take him home with us if it came down to an emergency cesarean. Scary thought, that one.

Since there was a very small chance that would happen, I couldn’t eat or drink anything past midnight last night. No water even. That was the toughest thing about it for me. I usually drink water throughout the night when I wake up.

Anyway, after we discussed all the risks, I made the decision to get it done. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, but I know that a version is much less invasive than a cesarean and I just had a feeling that Binary Boy wasn’t going to be able to flip on his own. I was told several times, by a few different people that I was somewhat small and it might be tough for him to fully turn around without some assistance.

So, first thing this morning we drove to the hospital. (more…)

Home, Sweet Home

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

We arrived home last night. Well, at least to the apartment-home, which is still in Austin and so feels like home.

I never imagined that home would be somewhere else than California, but I’ve never felt more at home in a place than I do here. I am so happy to know that we will be raising our child(ren?) in a city that we decided, on our own (with no outside influences), to live in. There’s just something freeing about that to me.

Even though I am so happy to be home, the trip to California was a lot of fun (at least for a few mishaps, which I will talk about later). The best part, no contest, was seeing our family. I only got to see my mom and best friend for the baby shower, but I am grateful I even saw them at all, considering they both had to travel a distance to get to where we were staying.

We did everything I wanted to do, too! We saw Batman: The Dark Knight (a masterpiece – go see it!), we went to Sequoia National Park (started out rough, but ended well – details later) and, of course, we had my baby shower (details and photos for another post!). We even threw in a game of miniature golf, which was a whole lot of fun!

As soon as I get unpacked and get the photos uploaded, I will set about posting the details of both the baby shower and visit to Sequoia National Park. I also plan to catch-up on everything going on with all of you, as I feel like I’ve missed so much already!