Anna Helena

Beach Weekend

2012-02-02T20:51:00.002+01:00

In about two hours we're off to Vallarta for the weekend.
I can't wait to be in the car. I will sleep - I hope.
Bags are packed, I just finished my breakfast that I started at 9.30 (it's almost 2) - life is beautiful.

Enjoy your weekends.

Puss

Made over

2012-02-02T02:07:00.002+01:00

I gave the blog header a bit of a make-over.

I figured since the blog nowadays consists of a lot of info about little miss sunshine (her new nickname), it was only appropriate to add her to the header.

Life is busy with baby. Yikes.
The little "free" time I have (i.e. when she sleeps) I try to clean up the place a bit, try to get a bite to eat, or just relax. Not much time for the computer at all.

Today we went downtown to try to make me legal here in Mexico. It didn't go to well since they had closed when we got there. So tomorrow we're leaving 2h earlier, hopefully we make it.

In the afternoon we're leaving to go to Vallarta. We will be back on Monday.
I am trying to pack the bag, while also hand wash some clothes, and write this.
Life is about multitasking.

I might have time to write something tomorrow - or not, we will see.

Life is fun

Puss

Friday fever

2012-01-29T06:22:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was spent in bed, with probably the highest fever I have ever had.

OMG

I felt almost the same about 2 weeks ago, but then it was probably boob engorgement (or however it is in english), whereas now boobs were not hurting, not my back.

Nothing except for the right side (same as last time)

Anywho, almost exactly 24h of super high fever, but a pack of tempra (the pain killers allowed for breastfeeding and pregnant women) I felt better - not good.

Now I feel good - except for the 3 day headache I've had.

So, today we went out and bought a breast pump. Making sure that I will not get the breast problem again (which could be due to too much milk that is not eaten or cold boobs).

I haven't had time to answer any of the messages that I've been sent, nor the comments. But maybe when I get into the routine this week or next I will be able to.

Sophia and I are slowly and steadily agreeing on how the day should look.

Waking up at 7-8, then take a quick nap until 11, when I get up and start my day, she plays in her baby gym or sleeps in her bed (she's a big girl now!)

Now we're gonna try to watch a movie, although I guess we will fall asleep to it!

Puss

Quick

2012-01-26T23:43:00.003+01:00

A quick update in between taking care of Sophia and the duties of the house.
I started that sentence about 2h ago, and only now got to finish it.

Anywho, the quick update was just two pictures of me, Sophia and the stroller today.

The little lady is right now in a food coma in my arms, not asleep, but not awake.

She's awesome.

Puss

Before

3 weeks later

On our way out... closed eyes, but good try

Birth Story

2012-01-25T20:03:00.001+01:00

Here's the story of the day Sophia arrived.

I had felt regular but very weak contractions for a few hours the night of January 4th. Since I had felt that a few days earlier without any result I didn't make a big deal out of it. So when Memo left for the gym at 6 am (January 5th) I didn't think twice about it.

But only a few minutes after I heard the door close, much stronger contractions started with a 5-6 min frequency.
I got super stressed and scared, especially since Memo was at the gym and did not pick up when I called - 24 times in 2h.
He finally came home, I met him at the door, I guess he was more stressed than I was, because I ran passed me and started taking the things down to the car. He had called the doctor in the car, and we were gonna meet him to check how far gone it was.

Somewhere between 8-9 we met him at "our hospital". At this point I was only 3 cm dilated, but something was completely soft or disappeared. The doctor said there would be a baby before the day was over, or around that time. We decided to meet up again around noon to check how things progressed.
Contractions got a bit stronger, but not that much more frequent.
We got to the hospital and decided to go out to the garden. There we could get fresh air and I could walk around on the grass - it was very nice.
I think we started going inside again around 3-4. I got a room, and laid down to get some rest. This resulted in the contractions almost stopping.
When the doctor came to check how dilated I was, it only was 4 cm. I started loosing faith, since he had told me it should increase by 1cm every 1-2h.
I started walking around like crazy for the contractions to come back, which they did. And around 6 he checked again - 5 cm.
The contractions got stronger, and around 8 we went upstairs to the delivery room.
I was still 5 cm, and my water had not broken, so he made that happen. The contractions got crazy here (which later was explained by her nose pointing down instead of up - not good). I have never felt that pain in my life. I couldn't take it and begged for some anesthesia, and after what felt like hours (but probably was around 30 min) the lady came. She put it in, and the pain got more bearable.
But when the doctor checked a bit later how it progressed I was still at 5 cm, but with MUCH stronger contractions.
After that the time passed faster - probably cus I got to rest.
The pain came back at times, and I got some more epidural.
At 8 cm I had to start pushing, and had to continue doing so for about 2-3h.
It was long, long, long.
Usually you shouldn't push for maybe 30-45 min.
I was exhausted, and had no more force. The doctor kept saying she was almost there, Memo said she was there, but she never came out.
At some point her head was stuck "there" in between contractions, and I think it took around two more for her to come out.
Both the pediatrician and my doctor said they were about to take me away for a c-section.
Luckily not too much damage was done, and both Sophia and I were feeling good (considering) directly after.
It's weird how fast the pain disappears, and also how fast you forget about it.
Sophia was born at 00.15 on January 6th 2012.

We're all happy, and love her so much now. But that was a bad delivery.
Thank you Dr. Mora, the Doula and whoever else was there - and of course Memo, who was there the entire time.

Note: This is how I remember it - it might not be true at all!!! (0:

Empty

2012-01-25T01:29:00.000+01:00

After two crazy weeks - I got some rest today.
I haven't been able to rest a single day since the delivery, which resulted in a few days extra of pain, an infection and a two day (super high) fever.
I am pretty much "healed" now, and just need to recuperate - sleep wise.

As you might have realized my family left. I am super sad, and miss them already. I can't believe they all left. Just 3 days ago we were ALL together in Vallarta - my mom, AK, Fredrik, Vincent, my dad, Bettina, Sophia, Memo and I - now we're all alone.

I will write a proper update tomorrow. Today Sophia, Memo and I are trying to just spend time as a family - for the first time in 2½ weeks (since she was born).

Here are a few pictures of our experiences:

Just chilling

Vallarta, Family Picture

In Zapopan

Cousins

Chapala

Oh yes, I fit into my old jeans already - actually as soon as my family arrived 4 days after the delivery they fit, maybe not as before, but hey - I am happy.

Puss

Secrecy

2012-01-20T15:10:00.000+01:00

I took away the previous post, not because it was not true, but because there was no purpose for it. I believe 3 maximum 4 persons knows what and who it´s about.

I hope that no one ever says something that nasty about that person or their future child - or anyone else for that matter.

Action - Reaction

Everything we say and do have consequences - that´s why I always try to keep it clean, however angry I am, cus the consequence usually suck.

My previous post was maybe not the nicest reaction, but what was written was solely based on whether the person insulted Sophia and I - again, maybe not the nicest - but not personal about someone

D day

2012-01-10T17:33:00.001+01:00

Today my family arrives.
Things seemed to have gone well when checking in in Sweden, now the second crucial moment is coming up - changing in Mexico City.

While waiting Sophia and I are practicing for next years poop marathon. I think our chances of winning are pretty high - her pooing capabilities are quite impressive.

After two good nights of sleep, it would have been too much to ask for another one.
She was up, awake and happy most of the night.
NOW she fell asleep, but now I have things to do. Bummer

Puss

Overwhelming

2012-01-09T05:40:00.001+01:00

Wow... I am a mom.
Feels weird to say it, and I don't think I still have realized she's our daughter.

Her first two nights at the house have been very different. The first one no sleep, the second one she almost didn't wake up at all - except to go to the bathroom at 6 am and the few dinner times.

Btw, how come the post delivery pains are never talked about.
Soar boobs, burning pain when pipi, soar "down there" in general (try standing up, sitting down, walking, coughing)! Pain!

Tomorrow Memo's back at work, and I am alone with Sophia in the morning. It will be very interesting to see how it will go - I am not too nervous, I've spent the past 5 months reading up on this in 4 different languages.

Sophia, Memo and I wish you a good night!

She likes the grumpy look while sleeping

Better late...

2012-01-07T09:50:00.001+01:00

At 00.15 on January 6th Baby Sophia finally was born.
The delivery was long and a bit complicated, but more about that some other day.

First night at home... it's going good.

puss

False alarm!?

2012-01-05T08:44:00.002+01:00

Sitting here with contractions again.
But since I've had contractions for the past 4½ months, I don't know if this is it.
Right now they come every 3 min and last for 1 min - but the pain is bearable. So I guess this is a false alarm again.
We'll see I guess.

Anywho, today's my mom's 60th birthday.

Happy Birthday to her!!!
Can't wait to see her in a week!

Puss

Really?

2012-01-04T20:34:00.002+01:00

Again?

I am disappointed, sad, angry...
I don't get it, is it really that difficult respecting someone's feelings?
Your priorities are not what I would have wanted them to be.
You treat people the way you want to be treated.
This is not how I want it.

Disappointed.

Close

2012-01-03T22:58:00.000+01:00

So little Sophia likes to mess with her parents heads.
During 5h last night I had contractions every 5min more or less... we thought - this might be it.
I managed to fall asleep at 5 am and when I woke up at 9 they were mysteriously gone.
Today I feel better than ever - this sucks!

Anywho, Memo is taking a well deserved nap at the moment, after that we're gonna go out grocery shopping. Hopefully, miraculously, it could maybe help make the contractions start again.

I will keep you posted.

Anyways, in a week my Mamma, AK, Fredrik and Vincent arrive!!! Yay.
Tomorrow, Memo's brother and wife arrive.

Hopefully Sophia arrives first.

Puss

The Waiting Game

2012-01-03T03:28:00.002+01:00

As you can see to your left, Sophia was supposed to have come today.
She did not - and I doubt she will (only 3½h left now).
I have taken two long walks today, and done other things that should help speed up her arrival - who knows if it has worked.

I am usually a bit patient, but after 9 months of waiting I ran out.

Anywho, we'll see if anything starts during the night.

Waiting for the bathroom to be free so that I can go take a shower - again.

Puss

Done!

2012-01-02T22:45:00.001+01:00

With some help, all the way from Sweden, I managed to put it together.
What was wrong?
- I would like to blame the instructions, but I guess I have to admit step 1 was actually step 2, and the real step 1 could only be done first, not second - childproof shit.
Oh well, end result:

Muy bien - gold star for me.

Tack Anna.

Project

2012-01-02T20:04:00.001+01:00

The years first project - I would have hoped to be pushing Sophia out - will be trying to put the travel crib together.
I thought it would be easy because - it's a travel crib = you should be able to put it together easily and quickly.
This does not seem to be the deal... I am unable to get passed step 2 (out of 10). The freaking edges refuse to click - and they need to click.

I am all red and sweaty, and have taken a break - trying to figure out if the best solution is to start over with step 1 (the only step actually completed) and see if maybe I did it wrong (so sad), or just to continue trying to make the edges click (which seems pretty stupid, because I won't become any stronger).

I will keep you posted.

Current state:

Puss

1st

2012-01-02T06:39:00.001+01:00

Happy 2012 from me and Sophia

Still no baby... no real signs yet

Enjoy

The year 2011

2011-12-31T15:30:00.000+01:00

The year started with my mom and I having new years dinner and wine at her house - accompanied by the cats and Memo on skype.
It was nice, relaxing - a perfect way to start the most emotionally charged year ever.

January:

We all came back to Jönköping for our last semester at JIBS.

We had no clue how exhausting the semester would be - mentally. But we all got through (although, that's for later).

February:

Baby Vincent got a new outfit from his favorite aunt (only actually) and we also celebrated Nastia's 21st birthday and Carlos' 23d.

It went - well, I was out at 11 (maybe even 10), and then the rest followed by the hour.

Lesson learnt - do not drink red wine if it tastes and smells funny!

March - April:

Baby Vincent continued with his swim classes in Västerås, while down in Jönköping we were working on the thesis, finishing classes and dreaming about graduation.

By the end of the month it was time for some vacation. Turkey time. Memo came on his Euro trip and joined me in Ankara (which actually is Asia).

The Euro trip continued - to Europe! Istanbul - Västerås - Stockholm - Jönköping - Copenhagen.

We enjoyed and discovered good and not so good things about each other. Sophia was created and I spent my whole months student loan in about a week and a half.

May:

Back to reality - we more or less finished the thesis and everything else that had to be done in order for us to graduate.

May was not the most exciting month of the year - not only was I feeling super nauseous and tired but we also had to keep up working in order for the semester to be finished successfully.

We celebrated Valborg

June:

We finished.

My mom, AK and Vincent came to pick me up for the final and last time in Jönköping. The goodbye's were difficult and tearful.

These were my friends - family - for 3 years, and although it was amazing going to an international school like JIBS, it kinda sucks when you realize that each of you (friends) will end up in different parts of the world.

Nastia : Russia

Julie : Estonia

Carlos: Miami

Yulia : Sweden

Me: Mexico

Cassia : Sweden/Brasil

I miss them more than words can describe. I hope I will see them again some day!

Spring 2009

Another big event of June : Kahn got stuck in the engine of the car.

July/August:

Travel time again. I headed over the Atlantic to visit my dad and Bettina in Panama. A nice little vacation.

It was a well needed rest. We went to Chiriqui and I finally got to see the Caribbean side of Panama (not bad 10 years after I first went).

Fun Fact: A doctor said that Sophia could be a boy.

Back in Sweden my mom, AK, Vincent and I decided to head over to Estonia on a cruise.

It was amazing - a mini vacation for the three Björk women. We met up with Julie who showed us around, and Vincent charmed most people we met.

After Estonia it was time to head back over the Atlantic, this time Mexico.

It was difficult leaving my family behind. Being pregnant you want to be close to family and friends - none of which I had in Mexico, so I have to admit I was scared. And spent most days crying (hormonal!?)

We also found out Sophia was a girl around this time.

September:

Not only did Vincent turn one, but he also started walking and we bought the tickets for my family to come over and visit.

I also started giving French classes and we waited for the couch.

October:

Nothing too exciting except for: GRADUATION!
I passed the last exam (*Business Statistics 1) on Oct 15th and the ceremony was the last weekend of October. Now, I could not attend, but I pretend a little bit I did.

Novemeber/December:

These last few months of the year passed by super fast. There were 2 babyshowers for Sophia. The Crib arrived. Classes ended because of the vacations. Problems with tickets. Problems with hairdressers. Change of doctors. Due date coming very close. Memo and I getting our acts together and finished preparations. The waiting game started.

Not only do I expect the chubby face to disappear in 2012, but also to become blond again!

That was my 2011.

I got the biggest news one can ever get - pregnant.

Making it through the pregnancy. Making the relationship with Memo work.

Graduating.

Those are probably the main events of my 2011.

In difference to other people, Memo and I can be sure that our 2012 will be NOTHING like previous years - but that's exciting, and scary.

Happy New Year everyone.

Puss

Año Nuevo

2011-12-31T06:32:00.003+01:00

It's been a long, exciting and eventful year, 2011.

Many things have happened - one of which is not the arrival of Sophia (:
I will post something later on today on the main events of the year - maybe accompanied with pictures (not bad eh!)

Today we went to the "funeral" of the friends father - horrible, horrible - and then just relaxed the rest of the day - taking advantage of one of the last days we have only the two of us.
We watched 50/50 - good movie, I truly recommend it!

I will now continue to eat my chocolate cake (enjoy being able to eat "shit" while I can) and drink chocolate milk (cravings!?)

Vincent doesn't need toys - he's happy in the tube!

Puss

A day

2011-12-30T13:59:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I didn't write because a friends dad just passed away and we went to support him.

I hope all of you are fine, and that your preparations for new years are going as planned. I think I will be staying in, mostly because I get very tired around midnight, and it's complicated to go out and then for me to go home by myself.
I would have hoped Memo wanted to spend new years with me, but it seems like he will be heading out.
Oh well, a lot of small things lately adding up - we will see how things go.

LOVE

I can't wait for my family to come. To finally be around people that care about me and love me - priceless. It will be good for me to see them - hopefully Sophia and I will be heading over to the old continent soon for a longer visit.

Have a great day - mine will be spent mostly alone, after that trying to be more interesting than NFL and MMA news, without being "demanding" - it usually doesn't go very well - the news usually win.

Also, I get that this is a public blog, but what you read here does not need to be told to whoever doesn't read it, like a 5 year old taddle-tale. Whoever reads it, reads it - if they don't - too bad. I've heard of quite a few misunderstandings and had unnecessary discussions because of that.

Enjoy

Fatiguée

2011-12-28T20:57:00.001+01:00

Today hasn't been much of an exciting day.
I've stayed in bed.... resting - have been exhausted, and still am for that matter.

Last night some friends passed by - it was really nice. More diapers were given, and we also got cream and soap - Gracias!
I think we're all set for diapers for newborns and probably got a long way on etapa 1! Yay

We tried to go order the mattress but no... so hopefully today.
I think Memo might be heading out for dinner tonight - quite honestly I think I will stay in.
I am not in the mood... or maybe I will be.

Tomorrow I have a skype date with Mamma and baby Vincent! Yay, and Memo doesn't have to go to work!
Conclusion - the baby should come today in the afternoon (an hour or so) like that we would have 4 days together as a family before he has to be back at work (to all those Swedes out there - no, in Mexico the man is not entitled to ANY free time when the baby comes - not even a day - fantastic!)

Anywho, here's the shirt my mom knitted for Sophia!

Muy pretty! Gracias!

Puss

Blääää

2011-12-27T18:23:00.000+01:00

This pregnancy thing is getting really old now.
Who invented that the woman should be pregnant for 9 months?
AND worse even: the baby comes whenever. That's a bit vague no?
I mean, we can go to the moon, we can make ice cream, we can even cure cancer (almost) - but we can't figure out the exact date the baby comes? Wth

No, I am over being pregnant.
I want the baby here now.
So... whoever it is that decides about these matters... I put my foot down.

While we all wait impatiently for Sophia's arrival - which btw BETTER be a nice, smooth, painfree event - here are some pictures of the last few weeks' skype conversations.

Vincent Petting Kahn

Eating all by himself

Amazed by the Christmas tree

Prefers the box than the actual gifts

Panamanian Christmas

PUSS

Christmas

2011-12-26T18:54:00.001+01:00

The Christmas weekend was nice.

On Friday we went to the Andares to buy the last few gifts for Christmas eve, it took a while and it was packed!
We managed to get out, and went for dinner - pizza! Finally home Gabriel, Esperanza and Humberto came buy with surprises!
Christmas gifts and diapers!!!! So many diapers! and a diaper bag, wet napkins and glasses. All very needed and very appreciated! Thank you!

Saturday we didn't do much. I talked with my family and we went out for lunch and stuff... at night we went to church - big fail - and then christmas dinner, nice.
I was tired and sent home early!

Yesterday we relaxed, took it easy, went to the movies - New Years Eve - and went to bed early!

Today it's cleaning day - I just need to get enough energy to get out of bed!!!

Puss

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T08:24:00.003+01:00

Merry Christmas (again)

Wish I was with family today, although I am happy to at least be with Memo.
No christmas feeling what so ever, but hopefully there will be next year.

Puss

Love

2011-12-23T21:26:00.004+01:00

Merry Christmas to Everyone