Our Greatest Acomplishment

Early evening Monday 5/17 at dinner at 6pm, I started having contractions. Nine hours later, at 3am early Tuesday morning, we were on our way to the hospital. After being admitted I went from being dilated 4cm to 6cm in less than 2 hours, and finally recieved my epidural.... which i have to say is the best medical invention EVER! I felt so relaxed, happy, and pain-free throughout the entire labor and delivery, allowing me to really savor the moment our son was born! I was then given Pitocin to speed up my contractions, dilated to 10cm, and I was ready to push! They gave me oxygen so that Baby Taj would get enough oxygen while in the birth canal. Then with my awesome coach Brad's counting, in 2 hours, we watched the birth (via a mirror..... yes that was also a spontanous decision) of our beautiful baby boy. The second he popped out and let out a cry, Brad and I lost it and bawled like babies ourselves! It was the most incredibly emotional experience either of us has had. Truly amazing!!!

Our greatest acomplishment, our baby boy TAJ LEON GROVER, was born on May 18th, 2010 (on his exact ultrasound due date!) at 3:28pm, 7lbs 5ounces and 21 inches of pure love..... and takes our breath away every second of the day......

after getting the epidural, ready to meet our baby!:


Proud daddy cutting the umbilical cord:


the first moment he was placed in my arms and instantly turned his head to look at his mommy..... my heart melted:


Taji reaching out for his mommy as she wept tears of joy:


our beautiful son, he is our angel!:


Looks like daddy!


our first family portrait:


going home, in his very special and traditional bonnet and Czech swaddle duvet:


we were tired, but relieved, happy, and excited to be going home....


first time in his carseat, ready to see his home for the first time!

DRUMROLL please......

With his amazing arrival into the world on Tuesday, May 18th 2010, Baby Grover is now officially.....


Our delicious little baby boy has been named TAJ LEON GROVER!

TAJ:
Brad gets credit for the first name TAJ, and I loved it the second I heard it. It is a sanskrit name, meaning "crown." Taj is pronounced "tAj" (yes people, like the Taj Mahal!) :) The only other Taj we know of is a famous Australian Pro-surfer Taj Burrow. Throughout our pregnancy we have created a nickname that has stuck, Taji! He will also be referred to as "Tajik or Tajinek or Tajicek"..... these are the cutsy czech nicknames! ha ha! If you are wondering, mine just so happens to be Janicka!

LEON:
The middle name LEON means "brave like a lion", and it is derivative of the combination of our fathers' names: Lee (Brad's dad) and Jan (my dad, pronounced "Yan"... like my name!). I also love that there is a "lion" connection there because both Brad's and mine astrological sign is Leo, and we love cats! It just so happens that the lion theme is intertwined within the nursery!

and now for the nursery reveal.............. or Taji's Mahal as we like to call it!

the before BEFORE pic when Taji's nursery used to be a second guestroom:



then, after selling the bedroom furniture..... it was ready to be decorated!



Our nursery colors and wall design influence... Brad's Ripcurl surf shirt:



and now presenting..... the AFTER pic!




We decided on a very modern yet retro and vibrant style, incorporating the bright primary colors babies see first. With the earth tone that carries throughout our home, we went GREEN (using earth-friendly, organic, and recycled materials.) Only the cleanest and most natural for our baby!! The espresso-white furniture is Babyletto, Amy Coe lion bedding, organic Pixel "Lions, Tigers, and Kitties Oh my!" sheets.




We also used our recycled living room white linen curtains, and made a rug out of the scraps of our livingroom shag rug. I threw in some of my old stuffed animals for a retro touch (seen in the lower right shelf). And some final personalized touches: a custom "Taj Saves the Planet" book we made through Frecklebox.com, and Brad made & painted the wooden initials picture frames seen on the wall! (the first pic at the top)

The Belly Movie!

In celebration of Baby Grover making it to full term, and with less than one week to go until the 40 wk. mark due date........

My FABULOUS Baby Shower!

My sister always amazes me with her extraordinary creative style and attention to detail! How lucky am I to have had her host my baby shower?!! My intimate baby shower was the perfect initiation into motherhood, surrounded by close friends and our special guest.... my mom! My mom flew in from the Czech Republic a week before my shower and it was so wonderful to have her there!


Everything, from the invitations to the games, was customized and color coordinated by my sister (the colors were based on our nursery color theme), not to mention the vibrant balloons (41 to be exact, one for each week of pregnancy, and then an adorable baby boy balloon!).




The daddy-to-be stuck around at the beginning to greet our friends, then he had his own "man" shower on the duffy boat with his buddies!!

I felt so spoiled with love and gifts from my friends...... friends from each phase of my life (grade school, high school, college, grad school, work, and, my recent local CDM friends!) It was the best shower I could have asked for! Thank you Peti for being such a loving sister to me and already the coolest aunt, and of course the BEST party planner ever!

*check out the slideshow below!*

38 week update!

At our weekly doctors appointment this morning, I found out my cervix was effaced and 1cm dilated! My body is beginning the process of labor and I'm so happy things are moving along. Can't wait to meet our sweet little miracle!

Cankle ALERT!

So this 3rd trimester (thank goodness its the last!), I have endured pre-term labor, heartburn, acid reflux, 3-week painful sciatic back pain, and now CANKLES! yes, i couldn't believe it until I saw them myself. Lots of water retention these last couple weeks of pregnancy, my hands and feet are unrecognizable!

stay tuned..... i have lots of new posts on the way! xo

Maternity Leave Here I Come.....

I can't believe this is my last week at work, and next time I step foot at El Rancho I will be a mom! A couple weeks ago, my school threw Brad & I a baby shower, complete with a Baby Grover cake, balloons, gifts, and a generous monetary gift! They have been so kind to us, and I truly feel fortunate to work with such a great group of people that looks out for one another :)


Then I had the pleasure of attending my "twin" Michelle's baby shower, another good time was had with my work friends! Michelle and her hubby are math teachers, and they are due in July. They are also expecting a baby boy and what's really awesome is that they live in Newport, just up PCH from us, so we will have lots of playdates!


With our work ladies, including sweet Rhonda (who had her little darling Ryan this past January), whose mom will be taking care of our little guy starting next school year, and joining us on regular playdates!:

Welcome Regan Brandt!!

Our friends Jamie and Greg's baby Regan arrived in the world early this morning, 4/14/2010 at 12:30am, weighing at 6lbs. 11oz, and measuring 20 inches long. I had the pleasure of visiting the Brandts and seeing less than a day old baby Regan today at the hospital. He is so precious and beautiful, and looks like his daddy! Jamie was fortunate to have had an easy and quick labor as we had wished her, and I can only hope the same happens for me! Congratulations to the Brandt family! Now its my turn in the California preggo lady pool..... i have less than 5 weeks to go and simply can't wait to give birth to our little miracle!

Work Shower

Had a wonderful time with the work ladies today, celebrating the anticipated arrival of Baby Grover. They came over for lunch and to see the nursery, which is finally done and I'm excited to post photos soon! We had a lovely time catching up, and they were so generous with their gifts and baby advice :) It was nice to get together before heading back to work tomorrow..... sadly our 2-week Spring Break is over :(
Some photos from the shower:







the gift opening: We received some much-needed items from our registry, fuzzy soft blankets, books, dvds, and adorable little outfits!





Thank you to my favorite work ladies for taking such good care of me at work!

Love from Spain

We received a package the other day from our family in Spain! Baby Grover was showered with presents from his Spanish aunties, uncles, and little cousins! Thank you so much to my wonderful spanish sister Sandra and family for the outfits, teddy bear, blanket, shoes, baby book, cd, and the summer sleepwear for me!

We miss you all so much and look forward to visiting you again when we travel out to Europe. Our little guy can't wait to meet his Spanish family, learn to speak Spanish, and play with his three boy cousins! We love you, muchos besitos para nuestra familia preciosa!

The Garrido-Guindos family pictured above: Sandra, Daniel, and their three handsome boys Alejandro, Adrian, and Jaime

Morning Belly Dancing (34 wks)

I could watch and be entertained by my belly all day long....... focus on the right side of this video, you will see our little guy either throwing some punches to the right or kicking up a storm!


this next one is funny, if you listen carefully you can hear the street sweeper go by.... and so can Baby Grover! He responds to the noise right away! You can also see some elbow and knee pokes!

Waiting on Baby Brandt

Jamie and Greg's baby boy will be here any day now!! We celebrated the anticipated arrival of Baby Brandt Friday night at the Salt Creek Grille, Laguna Beach. We love our double dates with the Brandts, and hope to keep this up even with our little ones! Our little boy is so excited to hang out with his buddy that he got him a personalized book! :)


We wish Jamie a healthy, smooth, and quick delivery, and right now all we can do is anxiously wait for that thrilling phone call that she is in labor!

Hello Good Lookin'!!

Brad and I had another big ultrasound yesterday through Radiology, and we not only got to see our little guy's "peepee" (finally!!! LOL last time he had his legs crossed and wouldn't let us see) but we also got a good glimpse at his sweet little face! We were told he already has a lot of hair on his head (hmmm, just like his mom and dad when we were born!)

Our due date was also moved up to May 18th!!! woohoo, I'm so excited for him to get here so we can love him to pieces!

On a side note, its SPRING BREAK! I'm off of work for 2 WEEKS, and when I get back i will have a new office and literally only 4 weeks left before my maternity leave! Brad and I are traveling to Fallbrook tomorrow for our maternity photo shoot; I will be sure to post the pics when we get them! Then starting next week, we begin our prenatal classes which will last all month long through the 2nd week of May. Brad has daddy bootcamp next saturday too! We are also 90% complete with our nursery..... such excitement!

What will Baby Grover Look Like?

Less than 2 months to go until we meet the little soccer player in my tummy! The suspense is incredible as I often ponder what will he look like, what will be his personality, and who will he most resemble? I thought it would be fun to post Brad's and mine newborn pictures. From what we can see on the ultrasounds, when the camera zooms in on his face, I have this feeling we are in store for a Bradley Jr! Brad's newborn pic is on the right, mine is on the left. With mom's spiky dark hair and dad's mohawk, I bet our little guy will be born with a full set of dark hair :)




More pics of us as babies below (Jana: left and Brad: right)





Couldn't find a pic of Brad's dad as a baby, but i did find one of my Dad! What an adorable baby...... will our baby have Grover genes or Dlab genes?


Either way, our precious little guy is going to be his own person, with his own unique personality. One thing is for sure, he will be the cutest baby we have ever laid eyes on, because he's our special creation and miracle! :) Based on his personality in the womb, I can already make some assumptions: 1) I think he's going to be an active baby because he loves to roll and kick around in my tummy! 2) He might be shy, or atleast camera shy! On the ultrasounds he likes to cross his legs and not let us see his boy privates, and he freezes up whenever I try to record his movements or show daddy how he rolls from one side to the next, 3) he may be a gentleman that prefers blondes! This cracks me up, he gets excited and shows off whenever I am talking to my blond friends at work! We are definitely in store for the BEST surprise life has to offer, the older I get the more I realize how amazing life is!

Baby's got a Bonnet!

And what a special bonnet it is! Thank you to Brad's dad LeeRoy and Nancy who are passing on this tradition to us! Our Baby Boy will wear this traditional bonnet home from the hospital, then it will be passed on to his future bride to use as a handkerchief at their wedding! What a thoughtful gift, we appreciate their kindness and wonderful support they have given us throughout our pregnancy! Even though they are in New York, we enjoy getting to chat with them over Skype! I gotta say, Skype has made New York and Czech Republic feel like its next door, what would we do without it?

3rd Trimester Scare

Instead of enjoying our first day of our 3rd Trimester (28 wks), Brad and I spent half of Saturday at the hospital and we had quite the scare. Earlier that morning i began experiencing what felt like cramps, but as the day went on they turned into instense waves of cramping (which i later learned were contractions.) I called the hospital advice nurse and they instructed us to come into Labor & Delivery for an evaluation. Our baby's heartbeat and my contractions were monitored for the next 5 hours, and we came to find that i had gone into Preterm Labor, averaging 6 contractions/hour. They gave me a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions. A full exam and ultrasound did not (thankfully) reveal any complications, the lab work did however suggest i had a bladder infection that set off the contractions. We were relieved our little boy was safe and sound, and his hearbeat continues to be strong. Later in the evening, we were released with antibiotics, and a doctor's order to rest and hydrate plenty. This experience rattled us to say the least, and we are so thankful baby is healthy. Now I have an enormous responsibility to do everything in my power to ensure he makes it to full-term. Our little guy is restless, moving and kicking around throughout each day, and I imagine he is excited to make his debut; however, he needs to stay put and keep growing a bit longer. Our Preterm Labor scare made me realize i need to listen to my body more, cut back on work and activities in general, to take more time to rest and drink LOTS of water. Because I have had the energy and feeling good physically, I made the mistake of taking on too many things and running around too much. Gone are the days of weekly pilates, long walks on the beach, and running errands after work. I decided i will be using up all of my sick days and taking more days off of work prior to my maternity leave in mid May. We are grateful to those friends that offered to bring us food when we were at the hospital, and have continued to offer their help and support. Please keep our sweet baby boy in your thoughts and prayers during this last and final trimester.