Our Doula

We just met with Emily Ross our new doula who will help coach us during pre-labor/natal, birth and post-natal. We had no idea how quickly doulas book up in the Bay Area but once we learned that most well known doulas are booked until October or November from now, we decided we better get on it. Luckily Emily had a vacation planned for July that recently canceled so she had an opening right around my due date July 17.

In our first interview we discovered that she has assisted with more than 400 births in the US and abroad. She is funny and laughs a lot but she also has an incredibly calming spirit. Another major bonus is that she has worked extensively with our midwife Hsiu-Li Cheng and had glowing things to say about Hsiu-Li and her abilities. There is something wonderful about Emily and although she was the first and only doula we interviewed we knew she was the right one right away.

Tonight we had our first of three pre-natal appointments. We spent 1.5 hours with her asking us a series of insightful questions with her goal to get to know us each individually and as a couple. It was nice to hear the answers to things like "what are three words to describe you and your partner" or "what intention do you want to set for your family?" We each answered separately and then shared our answers together with Emily. It was really nice. The next appointment in one month will be the "nitty grtty birth stuff" as Emily puts it.

Surprise Party and Rope Swing!

We had the gift of being able to throw surprise party for our great friends Liz and Peden this weekend.
With much anticipation the lovely couple thought they were coming to our house for a small dinner gathering with 6 or so other close friends to celebrate their upcoming wedding, they arrived to a packed house full of social workers, friends and a rocking party complete with stringed lights, streamers, potluck food, and later a campfire.

It was the perfect evening for an outside party, the outside air was warm from the heat of the day and everyone seemed to slip into a lovely rhythm of laughing, congratulating, and feasting. We embarrassed the couple by putting them on the spot with a “Newlywed Game”. Impressively, they were able to answer an alarming number of questions spot with answers to questions such as biggest pet peaves? and # of kids each of them wants? And most embarrassing place they made whoopy? After the fun and games were over we gathered around the campfire that was started with a coal originating from my bow-drill and were entertained by Peden on the Guitar and all of us on the vocals. Time slipped by and I swear we all could have stayed out there all night. It was a night to remember…

The next morning we stumbled out of bed and made haste out to Pt Reyes to catch the tail end of the heat wave and immerse ourselves in the cool and healing waters of Bass Lake. This is a place that I daydream of on hot days like this one when the wind is calm and the air is warm. The hike starts at the southern entrance into pt reyes (a couple miles north of Bolinas) and meanders along steep bluffs facing the ocean and tucked in protected valleys. On the way to the swimming hole we admired a few wildflowers:

Lilly

Iris

Poppy!

TBD?

Miner's Lettuce (yummy and full of Vit C!)

It is the quintessential experience of the perfect swimming hole with the perfect rope-swing.

It's all fresh spring water fed by the surrounding creeks. The swing has been modified over time to reach increasingly higher limbs on the same tree. The tree is a Monterey cypress that sits right on the waters edge and is nestled into a steep sloping hill that rises perfectly behind it with it’s roots forming foot holds, hand holds, and pedestals to begin the downward swing from. We dipped and floated and searched for the warmer patches of water near shore.

What an amazing and special place this is...

Don't say "baby"

After a full day of brunch and hiking, we spent the evening at a baby shower for Kris and Trudi another woman in the Social Work program who is expecting a girl in early July. There were fun games including taste testing of babyfood, caretaking a "baby" egg all night, and a game where you couldn't say the word "baby" all night. The hosts put on a great and incredibly thoughtful party and the party-goers brought wonderful food, baby gifts and their great spirits. It was also a great excuse to see everyone as our lives get busier and busier in preparation for graduation in mid-May. We had a ton of fun and feel so blessed to have this community of great people and future baby-sitters nearby!

One of our gracious hosts (Rachel B.) showing the proper way to take care of a "baby" put him in the egg-bjorn and grab a beer.

Kris's multicolored-head baby

Trudi (27 weeks), Kris (25 weeks) laughing for the paparazzi.

The dad's get into the belly shots too (Billy & Tom)

Friends Old & New

For the last few weeks having this baby has started to feel much more real. I am starting to really look and feel pregnant, we are making room in our old office which will transition to the baby room. In addition, we have had our dear friends Molly and John in town scoping out life back in the Bay Area. We are on about as similar a trajectory as one could be in life. They are finishing grad school and having a baby in mid-July (Molly is due 3 days before me). On top of that, we have some new friends (through Molly & John) who are new to the area or will be moving here this summer. We are thrilled to have a new and growing community and excited to have M & J back "home" with all of us! Here are some shots of our beautiful Spring Saturday in Berkeley.

Billy's special waffles & great friends!
This is definitely them most people around our table ever!

Alita Saenz mastering her orange grip

Emily, Kir (w/Alita) Molly, Liz & Kris in our backyard

The ladies at 25 weeks!

Pack-n-play

The gathering of gear is beginning. Being the youngest sibling in both our families and one of many friends having kids we are the hand-me-down king and queen! We've already been given or loaned boxes of toys and baby clothes from our families and friends. We are not wanting for gear, but.... when we were driving around North Berkeley on Sunday and I casually mentioned that I saw a pack-n-play on the side of the road a few houses back, Billy screeched the car to a halt and grabbed the nearest parking spot. We walk back to find that is it the precise one that our friends Kir and Ben told us NOT to get because they call it the lug-n-play due to the weight of this beast. Anyway, aside from it being a bit dirty it was in pretty great shape so decided to keep it. Thanks North Berkeley family!