Natacha & Jack & Max

L'accouchement...

2007-11-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

Apres avoir fini de regarder une serie tele (vers 22h30)… Je sens le bebe bouger et soudain j’entends un “pop” et du liquide (qq gouttes) qui sortent…Je me suis dit “mince maintenant je deviens incontinente”, rapidement je realise que j’ai perdu les eaux. Le medecin nous dit de venir de suite a l’hopital…On prends notre temps et puis ils me font attendre dans le couloirs avec une autre femme enceinte ou je me cramponne a la chaise de la sale d’attente…Vers 12h30 on a enfin une chambre et la on me demande si je veux une epidurale et je dis “non” en pensant que j’avais mal mais quand meme pas trop. A 1h, ils me disent que je suis a 3 centimetres…

A 1h25 j’envoie mon mari chercher un anesthesiste car j’avais TROP mal…Ils nous disent qu’il est occupe…Et puis mon mari voit notre sage femme partir en chaise roulante et qui avait pas l air bien…Du coup plus personne a l horizon…Je fais les 100 pas dans la chambre en me tortillant dans tous les sens et hurlant “je veux mourir” a mon mari…

A 2h30, l’anesthesiste arrive enfin…Il me pose l’epidurale, c etait une avec une pompe comme ca je pouvais regler la quantite necessaire…Il me dit dans 15 minutes je vais plus rien sentir et puis se tourne vers un infirmiere et dis “vous etes surs qu’elle vient de commencer ? on dirait qu’elle a de fortes contractions”…A 3h un medecin vient enfin et nous dit qu’on est a 9 centimetres…A 3h10 j ai envie de pousser…Tout commence…Je pousse (l’anesthesie marche enfin !!) et je pousse encore dans toutes les positions…a 5h ils decident d’utiliser les forceps car le bebe semble “coince” et m’augmentent les doses d’anesthesie, me font une episiotomie…A 6 heures 26, toujours en train de pousser, j’hurle “ca brule, c’est normal ? (l’anesthesie n’avait pas encore marche)et la ils sortent Max avec les forceps car il etait coince la tete vers le haut…Il regarde tout de suite son papa qui s’en souviendra toute sa vie et je pousse une derniere fois et son corps tout entier sort…

Le papa coupe le cordon, le pediatre l’examine, j’ai droit a 45 minutes de reparations et puis on nous laisse savourer nos premiers moments de vie a 3…

Technical details / Details techniques

2007-11-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Max was born on November 6th at 6.26PM
He weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and measured 18 1/2 inches.

Max est ne le 6 Novembre a 6h26.
Il mesurait 47 centimetres et pesait 3115 grammes.

photos de l'hôpital

2007-11-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

supermaman lived up to her name on max's birthday! with natacha doing all the work, jack was able to take a few photos of max's first day in the world:

Max la menace...

2007-11-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

Max is doing great and so is his mom...We love our little monster ! He has soo much personality and makes us laugh all the time...
Picture at 32 minutes of life :
Picture taken today, his first day at home :

hello, my name is...

2007-11-06T22:48:00.000-08:00

D-1 turned out to be D-0! max was born happy and healthy at 6:26am on 11/6/07, weighing in at 6lbs 14oz. he has 10 fingers, 10 toes, and a ginormous... personality. mother and baby are doing well. cute pictures to follow.

D-2

2007-11-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Still no baby...

Tomorrow I have a busy day, i m going to work in the morning then at 1pm i have a doctor's appointment and at 5pm I made an appointment with an acupuncturist...Apparently they have some success into inducing natural labor...we'll see if that works....

D-4

2007-11-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

This morning, I had 2 very strong contractions 5 minutes apart and then I got up to walk and it stopped...If this is how real contractions feel like, it will be TOUGH/exhausting going through several hours of those without an epidural (we're trying to have an "all natural" birth)...

We did spend the next 4 hours walking, hoping to "activate" things...

D-5

2007-11-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

Still no baby and now I realize that our cats are wayyy too comfortable when they "think" we're not there....They even stole my spot on the couch !

D-6

2007-11-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Those days are the LONGEST days of my life !!!
People from work called me yesterday and I was so eager to come to the the office...it's pathetic...but at least it made the day fly by even though i was very achy when I got back !

Then my husband took me on a nice date and we had a great meal...probably one of the last fancy dinner for a while...

D-8

2007-10-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

I saw my doctor today and no progress has been made....She even planned on seeing me Nov 6th and Nov 9th - How frustrating !! :-(

D-10 False alarm...

2007-10-28T07:24:00.001-07:00

We had 3 contractions in one hour and then....nothing...Our baby already likes to joke around !

Natacha to Jack : "I'm having contractions, can you time them ?"
Jack's answer : "NOOOOO you would hurt much more than that..."

I think someone watched WAY too many movies with fake births....

Baby shower

2007-10-23T13:05:00.002-07:00

This weekend Stephen and Meghan threw us an "unconventional" baby shower and we had an awesome time ! It was the best baby shower we've ever been to !
There was "tarte flambee", french cheeses and wine (and Perrier for me !)...
Jack Jr got spoilt one more time - THANKS EVERYBODY !!!There was some wii action, followed by a poker game where Jack won most of the money...No worries, the mom-to-be was in bed by 4 AM ! :-)

38th week picture

2007-10-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

I just saw my doctor and she says : "it's not for the next couple days"...
I am not cleaning...yet...but I'm baking pies...my latest creation "pumpkin pie with cinnamon walnut streusel"...Is that a sign ??

Jack Jr's room

2007-10-17T16:23:00.001-07:00

Before :
After :

His bed is ready !!! (even though he'll be using the cosleeper for a while)...Also this is a loaner crib, not his long-term crib !

This is where his diapers will be changed :

Jack Jr is officially full term today !!!!
Now he can come anytime...We just took a 3 hour walk hoping to speed up things. :-)

NYC taxicab driver...

2007-10-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

Last night, our cab driver said :
"it's a boy and he'll be born on a Friday"

We'll see if he's right...Oh and Full moon is on Friday, October 26th...

Gifts

2007-10-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

Jack Jr got a cute sweetpea outfit from Cristina, Richard & Zahara and some cool jeans/top/shoes from Olivier, Delphine & Erin...I'll try to post pictures when Jack Jr will be able to "model"...

Today was the day of my C-section...I'm glad it did not happen but we're definitely looking forward to meeting little Jack Jr !!! Jack Jr already taught me something...patience...

Happy mom to be :-)

2007-10-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from my doctor's office and after :
-suspected ectopic pregnancy
-2 days in the hospital for appendicitis
-1 hemorrhage, some bedrest
-a placenta previa up to 34 weeks
-eventual lead poisoning (our apartment will need decontamination but my levels came back OK)

I CAN FINALLY ENJOY THE REST OF MY PREGNANCY !!!! This is PRICELESS !!!!

On a lighter note it might be the beginning of the end since I am now 1cm dilated (last week my cervix was shut)....My body is getting ready for labor ! It's good news, we are "progressing"...

Next update next Tuesday...

Retournement de situation

2007-10-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

So everything changed at the last minute ! The irony of life...Now that we had accepted the c-section, having a preemie....our baby played a trick on us....One week before the c section we learn that it has been canceled ! We are now going back to a "normal" pregnancy and will attempt a natural delivery.
My belly "popped" in the last month and it dragged the placenta up a little.
I am happy for baby but knowing that I have a month or so of pregnancy to do doesn't sound too appealing to me...And yes i am still working and taking the subway...

All he bets are on - when do you predict baby will arrive ? Email us at jn@troud.com, the winner gets a bottle of French wine !

Good news !

2007-09-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Looks like we had good surprises at our latest ultrasound :
-Our baby has his eyes opened in the womb and his head is engaged and down !
-He weighs 5 pounds 9 ounces already !! Jack Senior does NOT make small babies :-)
-Looks like our placenta has moved a little

Now we're anxiously waiting for our doctor's appointment on Tuesday to find out if the c-section will be postponed or canceled !

It's decided - this week we are preparing our suitcases for the hospital !

let's talk gear

2007-09-25T20:59:00.001-07:00

looks like the store is having a bit of trouble getting us our new crib in time for jack jr's arrival - apparently now they are talking about sending us a "loaner crib" until the real one arrives, if you can believe that. but eventually this is the crib and matching "combo" we will be putting jack jr. to sleep in (we picked white, so you'll have to use your imagination):

the intense debate on our first stroller has also finally been resolved, and this will be jack jr's first strolling vehicle:

we like it because it is small and light, which should help in maneuvering around the city. it also fits our maxicosi car seat, which we thought was the cosiest one we out there. and once jack jr outgrows his car seat, he can still use the main stroller seat:

... but so far, our other baby-making friends guarantee us that no matter how hard we try we will end up buying multiple strollers - so we'll see how that one goes!

State of mind

2007-09-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

Week 34

2007-09-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

This week is yet another busy week for us :
-Tuesday : maternity ward tour and doctor's appointment
-Wednesday : breastfeeding class
-Thursday : visit with the new pediatrician and learning how to care for a preemie
-Friday : Last chance for the placenta to move (last ultrasound to check on the previa) and check for the fetal weight.

Luckily we now have most of the stuff for baby's arrival ! We took a big trip to babies'r'us this weekend and got all the essentials...

Gifts for baby or Jack ?

2007-09-18T08:55:00.001-07:00

We got this carrier and this cute dino plush from Aunt Val and Uncle Ron...Jack loves the way he looks with the carrier on :-)
The carrier will be very useful in NYC's subway!

supermaman the superpregomodel

2007-09-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

it's been a while since we've posted some pictures of supermaman - and she's looking good:

and let's not forget jack jr!

building out the nest

2007-09-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

jack jr. had a big shopping day - today we picked out his crib and changing table, and a glider for his supermaman. unfortunately this new furniture might take as long as 6 weeks to arrive - it's a good thing we have aunt vickie's cosleeper...

Gifts for baby

2007-09-06T17:12:00.001-07:00

Jack Jr got spoiled this month !
Aunt Susie got him this super cute bouncer (we love the color and the softness of the material).
It will allow baby to be comfy while his mom cooks, take a shower...etc..while keeping an eye on him !

Aunt Vicki got him his bed ! :-)

It looks like this but she got us one in sage color. It will be VERY practical when mom will want to breastfeed in the middle of the night and will still be recovering from her c-section...

Then it will be converted into a pack & play or as toy storage or changing table (YES it really does it all !!)...

Jack Jr also got some fancy French clothes from "mamie Cathy" and now he should be all dressed for the first couple months !! (it is tough to find "smaller" sizes in the US :(

My friend Alexandra got him a swaddle blanket, a sling (sooo cool, looks like a purse!) and some nail cutters (Jack's job).
This is the sling :

Cheryl got him a baby bonkie and a cute little toy made of organic cotton.
It looks like a baby cocoon !

Thanks everyone !!

News...

2007-08-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

So we had our ultrasound and they announced us that Jack Jr was very eager to come out and meet his wonderful parents...
So they scheduled us for an amniocentesis (to check for lung maturity) and a C-section on October 10th (he'll be 1 month early).
We're moving this weekend and then we will be focusing on Jack Jr's arrival !

Busy parents !

2007-08-16T06:59:00.001-07:00

Jack Jr's parents are quite busy "being pregnant" this month :
-Today : daycare tour
-August 17th : Prenatal check
-August 22nd : Ultrasound at the hospital
-August 28th : First "Childbirth Class" at NYU Hospital (out of 5 - 3hour sessions)

We're moving !

2007-08-14T07:48:00.001-07:00

On August 30th we will be moving to Brooklyn Heights.
We finally found our nest !

We will be living on Montague Street, one subway stop from the city.

Our baby boy's registry

2007-08-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked us and "yes we are registered"...
Here's the link to our registry.

Don't hesitate to email us for all useful items we may have forgotten ! :-)

No crib yet...

2007-08-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Just a small clarification : we bought the sheet set + bumper NOT the crib ...

State of mind...

2007-07-31T16:36:00.001-07:00

Baby nest

2007-07-27T07:11:00.001-07:00

Here's the little nest that goes into the stroller so that newborns can fit snuggly in it! We did buy that too !

We found his crib bedding set...

2007-07-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

And even got a great price on it !!!
Jack Jr will pass out surrounded by monkeys, birds and elephants !

"THE" stroller

2007-07-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

Today Jack Jr's mom is becoming an "AQUAMOM".
http://www.aquamom.com/fitness.html

Also we have finally ordered our Bugaboo bee since they were starting to sell out without even being officially released yet ! We should get ours in September and we are VERY excited about it.
The bee is a stroller specially designed with NYC parents in mind...
You can see a movie about it on : http://www.bugaboo.com/us/us

Last month of second trimester

2007-07-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

We're starting our sixth month !!!

Kicks

2007-06-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Baby started kicking me every morning to let me know it's time to wake up !
He's quite an early bird unlike his dad....

the belly photo: 20 weeks

2007-06-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

now that's a belly!

on my awesomeness

2007-06-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

"pregnancy is awesome for me!"
- natacha, tonight

i must be doing something right...

2007-06-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

Mom's log :
He was sooo cuute sucking on his thumb !!!
He's 11 ounces which is average weight.

it's a man, baby

2007-06-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

anatomy scan, june 20th, 2007... father's log...

two legs: check
two arms: check
2 eyes, 10 fingers, 10 toes: check
full spinal cord: check
big baby brain: check
p---- and s------: check!

we are happy to learn today that we will soon be welcoming a baby boy into the family. <insert large anatomy joke here>

jack jr? definitely.

Fille ou Garcon ?

2007-06-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

On June 20th we should find out if :
-everything is OK with baby
-if baby is a boy or a girl !!!

The clock is ticking....

Travels

2007-05-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

Baby is just coming back from France, Seychelles and Canada, he's already an international traveler !

More wedding pics !

2007-05-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Wedding fever...

2007-05-23T09:19:00.001-07:00

The baby's parents are now married and VERY much in love !

the belly photo: 13 weeks

2007-05-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

jack jr gets bigger every day...

First test results

2007-05-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

We got our results for trisomy 21 and 18...And our chances of having a baby with Down Syndrome are 1 out of 7200....Which is a very good result ! :-)
We're happy and now we can leave for our wedding and honeymoon in peace !

Nous avons recu nos resultats pour la trisomie 21 et 18, et nous avons 1 chance sur 7200 d'avoir un bebe trisomique, ce qui est bien sur "negatif" ! Nous sommes tres heureux et nous allons pouvoir partir pour notre lune de miel et notre mariage en paix !

ultrasounds, ultrasounds, ultrasounds...

2007-05-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

we must be lucky to get so many ultrasounds. after natacha's unfortunate encounter with a rogue plate of moules, it was back to the doctor for another checkup. jack jr was getting his stephen-hawking-does-zero-g groove on, hanging out upset down with a solid case of the hiccups. no picture today -- all i can say is, his head is huge. and you know what they say about people with huge heads.

(no, we don't know if it's actually a "he" yet...)

soon it's off to seychelles, where jack makes natacha jealous by enjoying a variety of raw delicacies. :)

Weight issue /Poids...

2007-05-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

So far 12 weeks of pregnancy and i lost 2 pounds :-(
It is really the first time in my life that i'm frustrated about losing weight !!
And the worst part : I REALLY lost my sweet tooth...so sad !

12 semaines de grossesse et j ai perdu 1 kilo, c'est bien la premiere fois de ma vie ou je suis frustree d'avoir perdu du poids !!
Et le pire : je n'aime plus les trucs sucres...c'est bien une premiere !

More ultrasounds...

2007-04-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

So we had our "end of the first trimester" ultrasound to measure nuchal translucency (for down syndrome risk). Our baby was moving and had is legs crossed, it was very funny to see that !
On the picture you can see his foot... Also they advanced our due date to November 6th, we made a Valentine's day baby !!! :-)

Nous avons eue notre echographie de fin de premier trimestre afin d'evaluer les risques de trisomie 21, resulats prevus pour vendredi 4 mai !
Le bebe bougeait et avait les jambes croisees, c'etait amusant de voir ca ! Sur la photo vous pouvez admirer son pied...
Ah et aussi le medecin nous a avance la date d'eccouchement au 6 Novembre !!! C'est un bebe de la Saint Valentin !

Ultrasound/Echographie

2007-04-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Notre bebe a 10 semaines et 2 jours :
Our baby at 10 weeks 2 days :

Elles sont pas mimi ces petites cuisses ?? Et ses petites oreilles ?
Aren't his/her thighs soo cute ? And his/her little ears ?

Notre bebe mesure maintenant 4.06 centimetres !
Our baby measures 4.06 centimeters long !!

Il est deja en avance pour son age ! :-)
A 10 semaines et 2 jours, il est aussi grand qu'un bebe de 11 semaines...Ca commence bien !

He's already ahead...He measures like a baby of 11 weeks !

Sa maman va bien, les nausees ont commence a s'estomper, maintenant il faut essayer de manger equilibrer et prendre un peu de poids !
His mommy is feeling better since the nauseas are fading away, now it s time to try to eat healthy-er and gain a little weight !

Parents in training

2007-04-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Our current baby... :-)

Notre gros bebe (en ce moment)

State of mind...

2007-04-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mon Etat d'esprit en ce moment...Je peux enfin manger tout ce que je veux mais rien ne me fait envie.... :-(

Petit bidou deviendra grand...(2mois)

2007-04-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Belly at 10 weeks...starting the third month !

Le schmilblick du jour

2007-04-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

Le premier mec qui me dit ce que c'est a gagne une bouteille de rouge...(email jn@troud.com)

The first guy to email me and tell me what this is wins a bottle of french red wine ! (email jn@troud.com)

The big announcement...

2007-04-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend we are going to make the trek to Jersey to announce the news to the future grand parents. It's Jack's dad birthday so we are planning on giving him a card that says "For your birthday - make three wishes and then open your present"...
Here's the present :

It should be more than obvious - don't you think ?

Technology world

2007-04-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Premiere echo a 5 semaines et 2 jours :
Notre bebe a une grande chambre et il ne fait que 2,8 mm !
First ultrasound at 5 weeks 2 days :
Our baby has a nice and spacious nursery and is only
2,8mm long !

Deuxieme echo a 7 semaines et 2 jours :
Notre bebe mesure 1,11 cm.
Papa etait present et nous etions tres emus d'entendre son coeur battre a 150 battements par minutes.
Second ultrasound at 7 weeks
2 days :
Our baby is 1,11cm long. Daddy was there and we were very moved when we heard his little heart beat at 150 bpm.

Tic...tac...tic...tac...

2007-04-09T15:13:00.001-07:00

How it all started...

2007-04-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

Apres avoir pleure comme une madeleine pensant que Jack m'avait oubliee sur une plateforme de metro j'ai commence a me demander ce qu'il m'arrivait...Le lendemain, un samedi matin, j'en ai eu le coeur net : le test etait positif !

After crying all the tears of my body thinking that Jack "lost" me on a subway plateform i started asking myself "what's wrong with me ??"
The next day, I got the answer to my question : the pregnancy test I had just taken was positive !