going on 5 weeks

its been a while since my last post, things here have been moving quickly so an update is overdue. chico seems to get hungry every time we get to the internet cafe and typing while breast feeding is something that requires a bit of finesse to keep from getting milk all over the keys and or an indecent exposure citation.

the labor and delivery all went as well as we ever could have hopped for. after a day swimming and cannon balls in the pool we spent the evening at home eating cake and watching Scarface (of all things!). around 1:30am i woke up feeling a slight tummy ache, took a bath, and we started to realize i was maybe in labor. Pollo and i had been practicing hypnobirthing, a kind of self hypnosis and natural birthing method, which stresses that labor doesn't need to be a pain-full experience (amongst other things) and it really worked for us. we had planned to wait the labor out at home until the contractions were close together, which we figured would take at least 6 or 8 hours. around 2:30, after an hour of noticing something was going on, they we recoming so close together we decided it was time to call our trusty cab driver and make our way to san jose to the clinic. Pollo threw our snacks and baby clothes into our backpack, and always the comedian put on his snorkel and got into the still full bath tub, submerging his head and paddling around. They say laughter is the best medicine and i would have to agree, the entire scene was so silly! iwish we had it on camera. He than went down the mountain that was our driveway to let the cab in the gate. A neighbors guard dog stopped him mid way resulting in a mexican stand off of sorts, but after all he made it to the gate and back up the hill. on our way out the door we tipped over a big jar or pickled jalapenos all over the kitchen floor but that was no time for cleaning we left it for the friendly ants we love so much. I jumped,or rather eased, into the back seat of the cab with pollo and away we went.

laying with my head in pollos lap, the cab made its way down the pothole filled road, over speed bumps, through the winding mountains and into the capital city where the driver became completely lost in the seemingly endless shanty suburban sprawl. while he called friends and asked for directions, i was becoming increasingly aware that chico was about to arrive and Pollo understanding the urgency of the situation (and my hair pulling) repeatedly asked the driver "poco mass rapido por faavor?!" Although one might expect things to have been rather...frantic in this moment of near automotive delivery,we were all in surprisingly good humor.

moments latter i saw the the bright lights of the Hospital and Hotel Catholic and the driver opened my door revealing the waiting wheelchair and my underwear and spread legs to the world. oh well, these are not times for modesty. I finished my contraction, and we made our way inside. chico was ready to arrive!

Pollo was there with me the entire time, my support, my comedian, my translator. Our dr arrived in his pajamas just in time and moments later Pollo announced 'Its a girl!" She cried, we held her slippery little self, and pollo cut the cord. It was love at first sight.

We all climbed into bed (the three of us that is, the nurses and dr left) and broke out the breakfast. It was a great morning. She was born an hour after we arrived at the hospital, exactly at dawn, and we named her Saule meaning sun in Lithuanian.

A nun and a priest came and blessed her, hey the more blessings the better when you're an hour old. We watched the closing ceremony of the Olympics, they told us we could go home after just a few hours but with air conditioning and a bed that goes up and down, why rush (or endure another taxi ride so soon)? we all spent the night in bed together watching each other and pollo and i had our first attempts at changing diapers and clothes, which saule was very patient for (we have since perfected the art and are more like a race car pit mechanics).

A few days later it was time to move houses,to a place near the beach where we would be staying the next few weeks.Pollo rented a car and we loaded up , the ride was all to silly with pollo going the wrong way up one ways all over the country.

mom and dad came for a visit last week and we had a great time, and we are expeciting pollos family this week. ok shes up and im sleepy. more to come soon.