dos anos

It was two years ago that David broke the glass... and they have flown by.
I love you David. You hold my heart.

my first mother's day

I was woken today by Isaac and David with a wonderful surprise for my first mother's day! It definitely made me smile. I have to say that mother's day has more meaning now that I am a mother. After the morning at home, we spent the rest of the day at Bub's house with Bubie Y and family for brunch. Bub also gave me a charm bracelet that belonged to my Dad's mother, Magda. I love my new keepsake as it every charm gives me some insight into where she may have traveled, and what types of things she found appealing.
I had a wonderful first mother's day, and feel so lucky to be a part of this new group of worriers. As the book my mom bought me for mothers day says, "motherhood is not for sissies"... and amen to that sisters.

Stephen S. Wise

David and I have been looking to join a synagogue for quite a while and we finally have found on that feels like home. Lat week we took a tour of the campus, and yesterday we joined Stephen S. Wise Synagogue. They have a BEAUTIFUL facility with lots of family activities. They also have elementary, junior high, and high school if we choose to go that route. In addition, I am going to be doing a mommy and me class with Isaac starting in July. We are really excited to be members of this new community.

4 month checkup

Here are Isaac's stats from his four month checkup:
Weight: 13lb.8oz. (25 percentile)
Height: 24" (35 percentile)

The doc was very pleased and thought he looked terrific.
Little Izzy woke up with a low grade fever ( a reaction to his vaccinations), but seems to be doing much better now. The doc also thought we could start "sleep training" isaac to sleep through the night (which means dropping his once a night feeding). The past two nights he has slept through the night on his own, so I am hoping there wont need to be a lot of crying in the near future.

happy 4 month B.day

Today is Isaac's 4 month birthday. I cant believe how quickly the time has passed, but how long I feel like I have known him. What was life like B.I. ... can barely remember. Just a quick shout out to izzy, one of the two loves of my life. Happy Birthday Baby.

uncle andrew visits

Uncle Andrew arrived last Thursday for David's birthday. It has been so great to have him here. The three of us went for an adult only dinner to Pizzeria Mozza for David's b-day, and indulged in wonderful pizza and the best butterscotch pudding in the world. Andrew has been spending quality time with Isaac. We went to Malibu yesterday, we have made (or I should say Andrew has made) some amazing meals, and we have been doing a lot of relaxing as well. Its been great having him here.

he turns !!!

Isaac has successfully turned from his back to his stomach at only 3 1/2 months. He has been incredibly determined to do so for the past couple days, and finally learned how to push and kick himself over. Unfortunately once he gets there, he is stuck and begins to get very frustrated with his head buried in the floor below.If you try to flip him back over he gets very upset as well. Its really a no win situation until he figures out how to get back on his own... but we are proud of him, and its incredible to watch.

a weekend with bubie and papu

Friday we traveled up the coast to Santa Barbara to spend a night on the boat with Bubie and Papu. We stopped at Summerland cafe for brunch, spent some time on the boat, walked around State St., and had a delicious dinner at Olio e Limone. We also brought our netflix rental of Jesus Camp which we watched after Isaac went to bed. For those who haven't seen it... its nuts. Other than Isaacs poor nights sleep, it was lots of fun.
Saturday, David headed up the coast to SLO to meet his friends from northern cal. I spent the evening with mom and dad and Isaac at their house. Today Isaac and I visited the CPI company picnic (which Isaac slept through). Also visited with great Bubie and Papa before david picked Isaac and I up to head home.
Had a great weekend, but happy to have Izzy in his own bed. Hoping he sleeps a bit better tonight.

guitar time with papa paul

passover with gramma and papa

Our Sunday night (early) passover celebration was the largest our family had in a long time. EVERYONE was able to make it which was both wonderful and overwhelming for little Isaac who met all of his cousins and aunts and uncles. We spent the whole day at Bubie's with Gramma preparing for the feast while Isaac napped and played. Just after the appetizers, Isaac began to have a melt down, so I left and took him home for shluf time. Amazingly enough, he slept from 7:30-5:00, and then to 8 (with a breif 20 minute cry around 12:30). He has followed a similar pattern the last few nights.

Barb (gramma) and Paul (papa) have been here visiting with Isaac for the past couple days. They have been amazed at how much he has changes since they last visited. He is playful and responsive. Much more a baby than a fetus. Papa has been playing the guitar and reading Isaac stories. Gramma has been getting lots of smiles out of our little guys who is so pleased with all of the new faces around the house.

out of the 4th trimester... into the rest of his life

Yesterday was Isaac's 3 month birthday. The 4th trimester is officially over! Everyone keeps telling us that this is the magical age where he will start sleeping better, becoming more social, etc. I do have to admit that his sleeping is much better. He is now sleeping from 7-2 pretty consistently, and he is smiling all the time (that is of course, when it is not between the hours of 6-7pm). Isaac now weighs 12 lbs and is over 23 inches long.
To celebrate, we took Isaac to the beach for some fresh air and had a great time. Isaac played on a blanket in the sand, and was very aware of the sound of the ocean.

p.s. i love you

I'm just returning from a very relaxing couple days in Palm Springs. Bubie Yetta, Bubie Sherri, Aliie, Isaac and I enjoyed some r&r at the La Quinta Resort. We lucked out with a Spa Villa which had three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a pool outside the door. Little Izzy got his first dip in the pool (at least we dipped his toes), and he sported his first bathing suit in style. We had a couple nice lunches, did a little shopping, had a great Italian dinner at Sirocco, and of course there was lots of ladies (+iz) bonding.

the cousins meet

This week Mom, Bubie, Isaac, and I took a road trip to San Diego to visit Auntie Caryn, Marni, and Koehn. We all met at Auntie Caryn's house for the get together. It was so cool seeing Koehn and Isaac together. Even though they are only 5 weeks apart, it was amazing how different they were developmentally. I made me realize how far we have come in only 10 weeks, and how quickly we are going to speed through these next few months. Definately have to concentrate on slowing down and enjoying every minute.

a mothers gathering

This week was my first time attending "a mother's gathering". A local store called a mothers haven hosts a gathering where 12 women and their babies get to gether every week to discuss issues pertaining to new mothers. All of the mothers have babies born within a month of eachother, and most live nearby in the valley. This week we introduced ourselves and our babies, and then we discussed how different the reality of motherhood is compared to our perception of what motherhood would be. All of the women seemed very nice, and I am really looking forward to getting to know them better. It was great hearing other women's stories, and feeling like I was not the only one experincing some of the thoughts and feeling I have had in the past couple months. What it amounted to is... motherhood is the hardest thing any of us had every done... and most of us felt that we were ill-prepared. With that being said, we all thought it was the most wonderful, miraculous thing we had every experienced. In the next months I will share the highlights some of our discussions.

tummy time

A quick peek at Izzy on his tummy. His neck is getting stronger each day, and he can now hold his upper body away from the floor for a while. He also uses his legs to push up his bum. Check our little guy out...

big boy bathtime

We have been meaning to tape Isaac's bath in his big boy tub for some time. This is just a little bit of his bathtime that we thought we would share.

diaper change with a smile

Isaac LOVES diaper change time... which is funny becuase he HATED it as a newborn. It is where we got our first smiles, and where we are still rewarded with his happy face every few hours. Here is the latest video we took of Isaac who is about to have a diaper change...

singing with the sorens

This is an oldie, but worth putting on. It is from the Sorens first visit...

testing... testing...

I have been trying to figure out how to get our home videos onto our blog... and I think I got it! This is an older video, its pretty dark because we are still trying to figure the camera out... but I promise good ones to come.

isaac sleeps in his own room

Last night David and I moved Isaac's moses basket into his crib, and let him spend his first night in his own room. He seemed to sleep very well (that is for an 8 week old), and Mom and Dad slept better too.

first big smiles

Up until now, Isaac has been giving us little smiles...but we always wondered... is it gas?
Well, its official, Isaac has given us his first real social smiles. He seems to be happiest (and therefore smile most) right after he is fed, and while he is being changed. He can sp end a half hour on his change table smiling and interacting with us. He has started to use his hands to reach for things, mostly our faces. He also seems to be getting the hang of the diaper change routine, and will often offer his feet when it is time to put them in his pants. Needless to say all of these wonderful developments are huge payback for all of the sleepless nights and hardwork. It is so wonderful to watch him become a little expressive person.

issac's two month checkup

Today was Isaac's two month checkup. We decided to try a new doctor, at a new practice, because we just weren't feeling the love from Dr. Waldstein. Today's appointment was with Dr. Peter Shulman, who was a far better match for our needs. He spent a long time talking with us about our family, Isaac, and any questions we may have. Isaac weighed in at 10lb 2oz., and "looked perfect". He got four shots and an oral vaccine, which seemed to be more traumatic for mom than for Isaac. It was great having david there for support, and to comfort our little one. Isaac seems to be sleepy from the shots, but other than that, I haven't noticed any side effects.

love bug

oh, our love bug. he isn't a quiet bug these days (his crying surely bugs), but each day his smiles become a little more frequent, and his eyes more expressive. we have been struggling to find a way to get isaac to sleep more than 3 hours at a time, but then we have to remind ourselves, he is only 7 weeks old. each night seems to bring with it its own pattern of sleep/awake cycles so it is difficult to figure out what to change to make things better for mom and dad. then again, nothing is better for mom and dad than those smiles. keep them coming...
as for valentines day, its one of those holidays that david and i rarely celebrate, but this year i actually enjoyed v-day more than before. isaac and i went to dreamworks for lunch to visit daddy. they were having their "family day"(i cant believe we are a 'family'), so there was lots of kids and special treats. it is always nice to see what david is working on. in addition david suprised me with a gift certificate for a massage (with babysitting services included!) nothing sounds better right now. david came home and made a yummy salmon dinner, and isaac slept so mom and dad could enjoy it with candle light.
all in all a wonderfud day, and one that reminded me how lucky i am to have such a thoughtful husband, beautiful son, and amazing supportive family. this valentines day i truly feel loved. i guess thats what its all about.

february 4th: 78 degrees

Today was Isaac's first visit to the beach. We packed up the car and headed to Zuma beach. David and I both thought it was one of the most beautiful days we have ever seen at the ocean. The water was perfectly calm, there was a subtle breeze, and it was so clear that you could see Channel Islands across the way. Isaac seemed to enjoy the fresh ocean air, and ambient wave sounds. He even ate lunch right on the sand. David and I cant wait for him to feel the sand in his toes, and run around in the water. I am sure it will be here before we know it.

isaac's first trip to nordstroms

Since I can remember, Bubie Mom and I have been meeting at "Nordies" for lunch and shopping. It is one of those bonding activities that all generations enjoyed, so it was crucial that isaac 's first trip was a positive one. He got dressed in his finest this morning, and met his bubies at the new nordies at topanga. The four of us had a great time shopping, eating lunch (isaac ate too) and walking around. Nordstroms has great bathrooms for mothers with lounges to breast feed, and changing tables a plenty. Yet one more reason to love nordstroms.

Koehn Jospeh Kavanewsky

Exciting News... Marni (and Kory) gave birth to their son, Koehn, January 31st at 11:45pm. He weighed 6 lb 14oz. Marni's labor sounded much like my own. Her water broke one month early, she was induced with pitocin, and she delivered around the same time of night. Isaac cant wait to meet his little cousin as I am sure they will be buddies for the rest of their lives.

its official

Isaac is a full blown citizen of the United States of America. Who would have thunk it. We are in the process of applying for his Canadian citizenship so that the little guy will have duel citizenship.

isaac (minor) visits dremworks

Today Isaac visited Dreamworks for the first time. We took a tour of daddy's new office, went for some lunch (at least mom and dad did). Isaac was a bit fussy in dad's office, but once we started moving, he was very cooperative. Lots of dad's coworkers got a chance to meet isaac, and all thought he was adorable.

isaac's 1 month checkup

Today we visited Dr. Waldsteins office for Isaac's one month checkup. He did amazingly well, weighing in at 8 pounds. Aparently mommy's milk is doing the trick. Everything else looked great. We were given the go ahead to go out in public, and to give isaac his first bath (which he adored). Bub, Isaac, and I went for lunch at Fred Segal's on melrose after the appointment. Isaac slept like and angel, even letting us pick him up his first adidas jogging suit in their kiddie department.

sleep, or lack there of

Isaac's night time sleep schedule (or lack there of) has been pretty tough this week. He originally was going three hours from feeding to feeding, but he seems to have switched to an hour and a half stretches. This means that by the time he feeds, gets his diaper changed, and settles back into sleep, it gives us 45 minutes of sleep. Last night dad joined isaac and i at each wake up, and I believe referred to it as "hell". I would tend to agree with him. Isaac went to bed at 10:30 and was up at 11:45, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30, 8:00, 9:45. The strange thing is, the night before last night Isaac's wake up schedule was 1:30, 5:30, 9:30...
Oh well, for now he is calling the shots. Hopefully once he gains some weight, and is a little older, it will only get better.

isaac is 3 weeks old...

In celebration of Isaac's three week birthday, we decided to shoot some photos during his playtime. He is becoming more expressive every day, and his gassy smiles are starting to turn into little grins. He seemed very fond of the camera time.
This morning the three of us took a little road trip to Dr. Rabin's office for mom's 3 week postpartum checkup. Everything was fine, and it was really nice to show Dr. Rabin little Isaac.
Mom and Isaac are starting to prepare themselves for some alone time as dad is going back to work tomorrow. We will definately miss him!

isaac finds his thumb...

Isaac has been sucking on his hands since he was born (actually we saw him sucking during one of the ultrasouds), but today he ditched sucking his whole hand for just his thumb. It is an incredibly uncoordinated atempt, but dad and mom have given him credit for finding the little guy and knowing where to put it. Next step is to remove his other fingers from his eye and face... but hey... baby steps.

january 9th has arrived

Today is Isaac's official due date, so we thought we would dress him in something festive for the occasion. I have personally thanked him for sparing me from the last two and half weeks of pregnancy. I really cant imagine still being pregnant right now. To celebrate bubie and I took Isaac for a nice walk at Franklin Canyon.

isaac's first doctors visit...

Today Isaac had his two week checkup with Dr. Waldstein. To our delight he weighed in at 6lb 5oz, which is 6 oz. above his birth weight. Dr. Waldstein also removed Isaac's umbilical cord stump which was hanging by a thread (Isaac wasn't pleased with this). Isaac did great staying very quiet for most of the visit. We are scheduled to see Dr. Waldstein again in two weeks for Isaac's one month checkup.

two weeks ago tonight...

isaac and i were working together to bring him into this world. the past two weeks have both seemed like an eternity, and have blown by. its hard to remember what life was like before the arrival of our son. in many ways it seems like he has always been here. this weekend we have enjoyed a couple beautiful walks together, and a lot of quality time with the sorens. we will be sad to see them go tomorrow, but look forwrad to a visit in the near future.

he who laughs...

Today was Isaac's baby hebrew naming ceremony. We had our immediate family over with Rabbi Johnson/Weisman. The Rabbi said a few prayers, and spoke about our name choice for Isaac. The Hebrew translation of his name is : he who laughs (an intentional choice on David and my part). He also spoke of David and my grandfather who Isaac Louis was named for.

the sorens have arrived

Today Papa Paul, Gramma Barb, and Uncle Andrew arrived from Toronto to meet the latest Soren. Isaac seemed delighted as he was serenaded to Andrew's guitar tunes and Paul's singing. The sorens are visitng until Monday, and looking forward to spending quality time with Isaac.

isaac's favorite blanket

Isaac just finished some playtime on his favorite blanket that Bubie Y made for him. He spent some time on his back, and on his tummy, and seemed to really enjoy squirming around on top of his giraffe. He is about to hang out with Bubie Sherri and Auntie Iris who have offered to watch his so mommy can have lunch with Auntie Leila.

isaac's first new year / isaac's first birthday

We can officially say that our son was born last year... and last week. As we celebrated new years with isaac, diggie and leila, we also celebrated isaac's one week birthday. I cant believe how much we have acomplished in this first week of isaac's life. With each day his needs become more clear, and our routine more solid. 2007 is looking very bright.

my first sushi in 10 months

Tonight Leila, Diggy, David and I enjoyed takeout from Katsu-ya. Isaac was well worth worth the sacrifice, but im thrilled to be back on the sushi bandwagon. We ordered enough for 8 people... but the leftovers will make wonderful appetizers for New Years eve.

uncle jamie and auntie allie's first visit

Today uncle jamie and auntie allie came to visit their new nephew. Auntie allie brought over two beautiful orchids for mom, and they spent some time getting to know Isaac. The were both a little tenative at first to hold him, but after a few minutes, they seemed really comfortable. They were joined by Carol and Gary who are in from Montreal.

our first hike as 3

Today was our first hike as a family of 3. We decied to test out the bugaboo, and take a stroll down avenida del sol. I was pleasantly surprised at how great it felt to get the exercise, and home much easier it was than during my last weeks of pregnancy. I am sure that hiking throughout my pregnancy allowed me to feel this great 5 days post delivery. Isaac loved the fresh air, as did mom and dad... and hopefully every day we will go just a little bit farther.

there's no place like home

It has been so wonderful to be home with Isaac, in the comforts of our home. For the most part he has been a delightful baby, and has been feeding and sleeping with ease.
With that being said... he has absolutely no interest in sleeping on his own between 11-2am. David and I have been trying to figure out methods to put him down, but all he wants is to be held. After two, he seems to sleep well, and is very content.
I am still waiting for my milk to come in which I am hoping it happens today. Hopefully once Isaac has a full belly, he will be more content.
We have had lots of help and visits from friends and family, and a lot of nice time to relax as a family.

Our Family Has Grown

Isaac Louis Soren was born two and a half weeks earlier than we expected at 11:49pm on December 24th, 2006. He weighed 5 lbs 15oz.

Doctor Rabin predicted I would deliver later than my due date (January 9th), taking after my mom, but someone had different plans. My water broke at 8pm on the eve of the 23rd,and slowly trickled until David and I though... hmmm... maybe my water broke. We called Dr. Banooni, because of course this is the one week Dr. Rabin is on vacation... and he instructed us to head into the hospital. So in we went at 5am the next morning, and sure enough my water broke. They induced my labor with pitocin, I recieved an epidural, and I spend the next 10 hours in labor - the most amazing expreience of my life. Isaac was easy on me, the labor and delivery nurses were a dream, and Dr. Banooni was god. I truly can say I enjoyed every minute of my labor, and delivery. Thank you to every person who sat in the waiting room - FOR HOURS - waiting for the news. You too made my experience very special.

We are all home from the hospital, and getting to know eachother. For all of the pictures of little isaac, take a look at our Flickr site.

thank god for MOZZA

David and I ate at Mozza tonight. Its Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton (of La Brea Bakery's) new project. For those, like myself, who have never found good pizza in Los Angeles, you too will thank god for Mozza. Hands down: best pizza in LA, and both David and I thought, best pizza anywhere. Their antipasti were unbelievable, the salad wonderful, and dont leave without tasting the butterscotch pudding. To make weekend reservations you will need to call about a month before... but they seem to be more open during weekdays. To read more, check out the LA Magazine article: http://www.mozza-la.com/press_articles.pdf

36 weeks

David and I thought we would visit mom today, and bring over some bagels. Because of the blood thinners she is on, she cant use a knife incase she were to cut herself. SO... David offered to cut her bagel, and CUT HIMESELF.
We just got home from urgent care where my brave patient got three stitches. Luckily it was quick and pretty painless, and we are home relaxing. I am hoping to stay out of the hospital until it is my turn, but it seems every week we are there for a different reason.
Today we are exactly 23 days away from my due date. This week we visited Dr. Rabin (we are now on weekly visits) and he did an ultrasound of the baby. He thought based on the measurements that he did that I would deliver right around my due date, and that the baby would be between 7 and 7 1/2 pounds. He thought everything looked great. We will see him again next week.
The baby has been super active. I have been feely pretty good considering. Im not too tired, just dealing with the same rib and indigestion discomfort. Looking forward to the holidays, and to seeing the Kohns next week.

35 weeks

This posting is coming a little late. Last week was a tough one as mom was in the hospital from complications from her oblation heart surgery. I spent a lot of time at the hospital with her and dad, and dad shacked up on our air mattress so that he could be close to the hospital.
Mom is now home and doing much better. Her leg is definatley sore, but every day seems to be a little bit better.
As for me this week, I noticed that my feet started to swell more than they have been. My yoga instructor showed me a pose that is supposed to lessen the swelling, and I didn't believe it until I tried it. The pose is called virasana (picture above) and has reduced the swelling in my feet and legs significantly. http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/490_1.cfm

baby poll

Yesterday at the not so shower baby shower, I took a baby poll. We would love everyone to participate, so please email your answers to the above questions to: haileysoren@gmail.com
There will be a very special prize for the winner!

34 weeks

Well the belly is definitely getting bigger, and the movement stronger. All of the maternity clothes I bought at the beginning are snug as a bug. I am also starting to see some real changes in my face. Breathing has become a little more challenging this week, especially in the morning, but sleeping has gotten much better as the weather has cooled down. My "floating rib pain" continues to be the worst of all my bothers. There is apparently no way to get relief, so I am just trying to get through and create my own ways of sitting and lying down that seem to help. Yoga is also especially helpful. I cant believe how quickly the weeks are flying by. David and I can finally say, we will have a baby next month!

my not so shower baby shower

Today was my not so shower baby shower hosted by Alexis (and the Royce/Rappaport family). It was so nice to have all of my girlfriends in one place to celebrate my journey over the past nine months. Some highlights... alexis' wonderful lunch, sprinkles cupcakes, erin's homemade mobile and ball, and catching up with people I hadn't seen in a little while. I was so happy that I had this special time to spend with my ladies prior to having the baby.