Siena turned 3 this Halloween… 3 days old. We dressed her up in two shirts, a bib and a pair of socks that T’s friend Tricia gave her. She spent most of the evening in a car seat and greeted trick-or-treaters with her daddy. The kiddies were more interested in the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups I was handing out than a 3-day-old baby just oozing cuteness. When their parent’s heard me announce her age they hurried over to the door for a closer look. One of the parents jokingly said “you’re not a proud papa, are you?”. Siena was quite a hit.

You are one week old today! Your Daddy and I are awestruck by how much you’ve changed our lives these past seven days. Just last Sunday we were driving around the Hood River Valley taking pictures of the fall colors, savoring our time together as a couple but anxious to know when you’d decide to come join us in this beautiful world outside the womb.

We were close to having our answer when I started early labor Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning we headed to the hospital soon after active labor began, and by about nine that night I was lovingly stroking the supersoft hairs on your head as you were crowning. We waited several minutes for a supervising doctor to arrive, and I enjoyed caressing your not-quite-born self until he arrived and it was time for a few final pushes. One kind nurse held a hand mirror so I could watch you come out, and right away they put you up on my tummy. You were so tiny and perfect…and strong! We were surprised that your little arms pushed your head up off my chest and looked straight at me with those piercingly beautiful eyes. Your Daddy says I kept saying to you, “You’re my baby! You’re my baby.” He got to cut your umbilical cord a few minutes after you were out and already busy nursing, and the nurses wiped you clean without taking you away so we could enjoy your first few moments with us. They stayed busy scurrying around taking care of me, while I was oblivious to it all, too wrapped up in falling deeply in love with you.

When we talked to you all those months you were still growing inside me, your Daddy and I told you we loved you, and we did. But in those first few moments of seeing you, touching you, smelling you, hearing you, and tasting our own happy tears – we both completely fell for you. It was different than the slowly deepening love that grew between your Daddy and me as we learned more and more about each other. The two of us chose each other, based on various qualities we each were looking for in a spouse, but we held no prerequisites for loving you, our daughter. God chose you for us, and us for you, and our love for you exists apart from all the things we love about you.

I love how soft your hair and skin are. I love the intimacy we share when you nurse. I love the way your little head bobs around and your mouth opens wide as you look for your next meal. I love the way you purse your teensy lips firmly together to indicate you are all done eating for now. I love watching you hold your head up for a few seconds before it flops back down onto me. I love how you give a couple “warning squawks” before you really begin to cry, and I love how well you respond when your Daddy rushes over to soothe you. I love the way you look completely at peace when you are sleeping. I love every little yawn, sigh, and squeak you make in the stages between awake and asleep. (Daddy calls you a jukebox of cuteness).

I love holding you in my arms as you rest peacefully, and try to cherish every fleeting moment. I love that we have so many weeks ahead of us to learn about each other and grow, but I know I will miss these first tender days. I’ve already cherished your first bath, first meal (minutes after meeting you!), first smiles (even if it is just gas…), first car ride, first doctor visit, and first Halloween. I will be proud of every milestone you reach, and eagerly anticipate your first laugh, first words, and first steps. Even so, part of me wants to bottle up your sweet infancy to enjoy any time I miss it.

You’ve already brought such fullness to our lives. You’ve changed the linear love between your Daddy and me into a beautiful, powerful triangle. How I treasure watching your Daddy gaze lovingly at you as my love for both of you wells up inside. How complete life feels when I lean in to kiss your forehead just as your Daddy leans in to kiss mine. You have changed us from a couple into a family. We will now always share a bond both sacramentally through marriage and biologically through our mutual connection to and love for you.

I love so many things about you, but mostly I love you because you are my baby. And I swear there was a moment today when you opened your eyes, looked straight in mine, and cracked a wide-mouthed grin that seemed to say , “Hey! You’re my Mama!”

I am your Mama, and this one week of being your Mama has been the happiest week of my life. I will love you forever.

Now that we’ve brought Siena home from the hospital, it’s time to show some of the maternity photos we took the week prior to delivery. We set up a simple home studio. For a backdrop, we hung a bedspread from a closet clothing rod placed between a cabinet and a tall lamp. We opened our French doors so that natural light was bathing the photo space, and then shot all of the pictures using the overcast-filtered sunlight and a tripod when necessary. I absolutely love photographing my gorgeous wife!

Siena Francesca Bettale was born Tuesday at 9:12 PM. She was 8 pounds 1 ounce and 20 inches long. T went into labor in the afternoon on Monday and we went to the hospital Tuesday morning. She labored in a tub initially which helped tremendously. I was able to help by massaging her back during the contractions. She later requested an epidural and was fortunate to receive 100% pain relief from it. Apparently this is not common. While T recovered from the birth, I was able to help with bathing, weighing and measuring our newborn. Our stay at the hospital was incredibly positive. We just arrived home from our 3-day experience and I’m going to post a few pictures here before I try to sleep. We are both exhausted but so happy. More soon.

Oh, and Siena is spelled and pronounced like the Italian city: “see-en-uh”

We are in the hospital right now. T is sleeping comfortably and I’m listening to my unborn daughter’s heart beat on the fetal monitor. She made it 24 hours without medication of any kind but finally decided on an epidural. Now she is able to sleep and gather strength for the birth in a few hours.

This is a great hospital – free wifi and a room with a beautiful view of Mt Adams and the Columbia River Gorge.

More soon :)

We had a really fun day yesterday. Our plan was to go to Seattle because we had some stuff to take care of. We finished our business early and decided to play in the city for a bit. We headed over to the science fiction museum at the Space Needle and then toured the EMP (experience music project). As a science fiction fan I really enjoyed touring the SciFi museum with T. The EMP seemed like a glorified shrine to grunge which was incredibly lame but understandable considering where the building is located. The upper level was fun, however, with sound-proof boxes featuring instruments and computer-based tutorials on how to use them. We took some shots of T’s 5-month pregnant belly outside of the museum. Its reddish-brown riveted paneling made a perfect background to compliment my wife’s beautiful hair. Before heading home we dined at Benihana, and sipped delicious mango piña colada smoothies. It was a good night and we got to check off a few more items on our adventure to-do list.

We just had the week 21 ultrasound and learned our baby’s gender. If she looks anything like her mom then I’m not looking forward to when she turns sixteen! LOL – several friends asked me if I’m going to buy the shotgun now or wait until she’s of dating age.

T had her friend Corine do the ultrasound. They met during her first year as a special ed preschool teacher when Corine worked as a paraeducator. Now shes an ultrasound tech. Worked out quite well – and she was very thorough. It looks like we have a healthy little girl. It was amazing hearing her heart beat during the follow-up appointment with the OB a day later.

Today I discovered a new rite of passage in a modern mother’s life – sitting in a waiting room with an extremely full bladder, waiting for the ultrasound. I was supposed to drink 36 ounces of water between 2 and 2:30, and not go to the bathroom until after the 3:30 appointment. Really uncomfortable, but amazingly as soon as baby was on the screen I didn’t notice my bladder anymore.

This wasn’t the 20 week ultrasound where we find out the gender – this was part of a routine screening to check that the spinal column is forming as it should.

It took about 30 minutes to get a clear image of baby’s neck to be sure the spinal column had formed correctly. Our little punkin’ seems to be an acrobat, preferring to stand on its head most of the time. The sonographer needed just the right angle, without the chin being tucked in, but our baby seems to hang out on its neck/head an awful lot. Several times, the sonographer pushed the wand firmly onto my stomach and jiggled it, supposedly to shake up baby to encourage it to get in a new position. The cool thing is that, with all the angles she tried, I got to see my baby for quite a while, and from lots of perspectives. I saw it suck its thumb, move its head back and forth, move its arm up and down, do a little arching its back sort of stretching motion, and I got to count five fingers and five toes. The images on the computer were sharper than the screen shots show. It was such a cool experience!

The sonographer was finally satisfied with the measurements she was able to take, and left the room to show the images to the doctor while I got to use the restroom and wipe the ultrasound goo off my tummy. The doctor said the images are good, and baby looks healthy. I did a few more blood tests to add to the handful of vials they took last week, and in a couple weeks we’ll know with a bit more certainty that I’m growing a healthy baby.

We found out on Valentines Day but we decided to wait a few weeks to tell you. My beautiful redhead is pregnant. Yes, we are going to find out its gender but we have to wait until week 20 for that. Right now its week 11. I’ll attach the week 8 ultrasound to this blog. It was so moving to see the baby on the screen and hear its heartbeat. Even at week 8, the baby is the size of a peanut yet its heartbeat is strong.