Welcome Baby...

Matthew, Hailey and Baby Braiden
Braiden peeking with right eye

Braiden peeking with left eye

Braiden Makoa Yamamoto Trang
April 22, 2009
11:43 a.m.
7 pounds 5 ounces
19 1/2 inches long

Sorry... post-pregnancy brain...
Here is the meaning of his name:
Braiden - Celtic for Brave
Makoa - Hawaiian for Fearless

~8 days to go!~

looks comfy!
Ta Dah! Who needs instructions

maybe daddy should read instructions

~8 days to go!~
It is 4:00 in the morning right now. Around my semi-normal time that I haven't been able to sleep for awhile. What better time to type my next email and be able to time my contractions. I have been having contractions throughout the night and it's becoming MORE painful. Before Michael left to work on the new house yesterday, he was able to put together baby's new car seat/stroller. I on the other hand was beached on the couch and took pictures! He also got Hailey's bassinet out of the back and we cleaned it up and got it ready.....
.....House update:
Our carpeting came in today! All we need to do is schedule the date for the contractors to install it. (tentatively thinking of installing carpet May 1st or 2nd) All the whole pieces of tile are laid out in the kitchen, family/dining room. Michael now has to cut tiles to fit around those rooms and then grout. Painting trims, moldings and windows are also on the list so that we can put up the blinds. (these things are very time consuming) The other major thing is to wipe down the baby's room and paint it so that we can install the carpet. He will then work on the baby's and kids bathroom.
This morning as I was getting Hailey ready for school.... she was playing with my tummy talking to the baby as usual. She was saying that she couldn't wait for it to come now and wanted to know if it was a boy or girl and was also trying to think of names. She couldn't wait for me to "be back to normal" right after baby comes. I tried to explain to her that it takes time for mommy's body/brain to somewhat get back to normal, almost the same way as it takes awhile for baby to get bigger and stronger. Hopefully their sibling class/tour tomorrow will shed some light and help to answer some of the kids curiosity. I DO PLAN ON MAKING IT TO THAT CLASS AND MY DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT IN THE AFTERNOON!
Wish us luck! OH! and enjoy the pictures!
Lots of love,
Stacey~
BTW: Michael has tomorrow off to take me to my doctor's appointment and be with us for the sibling class/tour. Looking forward to updating all of us with any news!

~9 days to go!~

~9 days to go!~
There is something to be said when there is a moment in a parents life when your child says or does something that takes you away....
Yesterday evening before Michael and Matthew came home, I was restless and was trying to get some things around the house done amist the heat we were having and trying to keep my mind off of feeling contractions and watching myself swell up. I was folding laundry, working on Matthew's BIG BRO shirt and filling up a pitcher of water on the refrigerator -all at the same time. Hailey then calls me to check out what her room looks like since she was trying to clean it up when "LIGHT BULB" "AHHH" I said while waddling back to the kitchen, "the water!?!?" hearing water flowing down onto the floor. Hailey and I grabbed towels and stopped the water. She dried the floor as I could not bend down and I dried the frig and everything else I could reach.
My moment was when Hailey said "Mommy, Don't worry. Just hang in there a few more days and HOPEFULLY when baby comes your memory would come back good." "Now go sit down, rest and I'll clean this up." That for some reason pulled on my heartstrings.
Hailey has been the one to stay at home with me from birth...no preschool for her -It was me, Mommy that took care of her. Now almost 9 years later, she is the one staying home with me while Daddy and Matthew are working on the new house, only
to visit them on the weekends for lunch and then she goes home with me to TAKE CARE OF ME.
So here I am at 4:45 in the morning jotting down what my brain is thinking since I'm not able to sleep well (been spotting w/more mucus and having more contractions). Looking back to yesterday's email remembering what we were going through a year ago with Matthew and having this eye balling waterfall of a moment with Hailey, I realize that I will soon have another child that will take my breathe away...allowing me share the moments that take my breathe away.

email to be continued throughout the day.....

This morning Hailey once again reminded me that I could call her anytime at school if I need to go to the hospital. She has her own emergency plan! While I was taking her to the bus stop, Matthew called me in a panic cause he heard an ambulance close by. I wasn't home at my normal time cause the school bus was 30 minutes late so he was worried.
Me working has officially stopped today. My part-timers pulled the plug and Miwa has aggreed as well. I can't be on my feet for very long as they are swelling and I have alot of pain since my mucus plug is coming out steadily.
I guess this explains my long email (Hopefully not the last-Hoping I will have a few more to write!) . I am bored!!!! Did 3 loads of laundry this morning and tried to dust. Washed dishes and am now cooking dinner. I have been trying to do all of this in intervals so that I can rest in between. I did snooze off for 1/2 hour or so and then woke up HOT! So around 3:00 I turned the air conditioner on and it is helping a little with this yucky heat.
OH YAY! SINGLE DIGIT COUNTDOWN BEGINS! Both Matthew and Hailey were born 4 days before their due dates (39+ weeks). Knowing that is kinda good to know yet painfully scary for me to think about. I look forward to writting my next email titled ~8 days to go!~
Lots of love,
Stacey~

~10 days to go!~

~10 days to go!~
Glad to say that I got somewhat of a decents nights sleep but woke up to KAOS.... my mucus plug is starting to come out and now I am really feeling the pressure when standing. To top that off it's nearly 100 degrees here today. My brain AND body can't function right. Not to mention that I am swelling by the minute -feet, legs, arms, hands, etc. bummer! Now I look like one of those blow up clowns! lol :)
Michael's parents brought lunch today so Hailey and I met everyone up at the new house this afternoon. Richard came down to help Michael out with some aggression busting down the baby's bathroom.
*Forgot to mention yesterday that it was 1 year for Matthew's head concussion accident. We were thinking about that yesterday. He is glad to have that date all for himself and not have to share the date with the birth of his new sibling.
A look ahead to tomorrow.... Yippie! countdown in the single digits! I am counting my blessings each and every day that I carry baby closer to my due date.... but soon we will count by the hours!
Lots of love,
Stacey~
Now I am going to sit at the computer a little while longer and design a BIG BROTHER shirt for Matthew! We bought a BIG SISTER shirt for Hailey but never found one for Matthew. Wish me luck!

~11 days to go!~

~11 days to go!~
phewww! baby alert avoided!
Last night I didn't sleep again. I was having contractions from midnight till about 7:00 in the morning. I got up about three times and that was even more painful trying to manuever myself out of bed. I managed to sit up for awhile and take a few steps to the bathroom. Sometimes changing positions helps with the pain of contractions. Also taking a few sips of water. I had to take the dreaded TUMS before laying down last night cause my heartburn/indigestion was just horrible. I think it helped a little bit.
I was able to get up and cook a pancake breakfast for everyone as they all ran out the door. Hailey has girl scouts today. (she is trying to complete some requires that will allow her to advance to the next level of girl scouts - being a "Junior Girl Scout".) Michael and Matthew are hard at work with the new house. I am hoping to bring them lunch this afternoon and see the progress of this past weeks work...
Lots of love,
Stacey~

~12 days to go !~

~12 days to go !~
We are so excited and grateful to have made it through another week! Hopefully we are still counting down this time next week!
I can tell that with each passing day, my energy/exhaustion level is getting lower and lower. I can also tell by my expanding belly that the baby is growing very well!
I was just plopped out on the couch, sucking on ice cubes. That pretty much has made me exhausted. Just standing from the couch over to the computer desk was a task all in itself!
The coordinator of the sibling class/tour at the hospital called me today and was very nice in preparing a few books to personally deliver to Matthew and Hailey at the hospital if I deliver before their class/tour Wednesday. She didn't want them to miss out.
Michael found out that his work will be throwing him a surprise baby party this coming Monday. He will of course act surprised as if he didn't know!
Meanwhile....he and Matthew are at the new house continuing to paint the trims/moldings and ceilings. They are going to get an early start tomorrow with the start of tiling! We will let you know how that progresses at the end of the weekend.
Lots of love,
Stacey~

~13 days to go!~

~13 days to go!~
I just found the most comfortable loosest fitting pj's! I am wearing a t-shirt that dad gave me a LONG time ago when he went to Chicago (SIZE L) and a pj pant that Shirley gave to me for Christmas last year -I think (SIZE X-SMALL w/drawstrings!) I'm convinced that I look like I belong in a circus but I am comfy! Baby is not bulging out of my pj's and the kids aren't poking at my belly button!
Today was my last day of watching the twins. As for Miwa's kids.... I am watching Lucas and Takeru and #3-Yukito is going to a daycare/preschool down the street as of yesterday to take the bulk off of my shoulders. My part timers are still here as well but that is only a couple times a week for a couple hours in the morning.
We just came home from hula which I was able to dance the first 15 minutes and then had to sit down. I managed to squeeze in one more dance before class was done. Hailey was so excited to come home cause our friend gave a present for the baby. She opened it up and it was a baby bath tub filled with all the bath accessories! -towel, washcloths, toys, baby tolietries- she can't wait to use all the real baby things!
Last night was a better night for us. I was able to sleep for a couple hours without feeling pain. My indigestion and heartburn is what was keeping me up though. This morning and throughout today I have been feeling like throwing up still and at times am dizzy. My blood pressure has been really low. Hoping that I can get some rest tonight!
Lots of love,
Stacey~

~15 days to go!~

~15 days to go!~

Today I decided to take the day off to try to rest. Impossible.... between phone calls and trying to get some cleaning in I only managed to lay down for about an hour to read. Better than nothing.
I am really feeling exhausted and am feeling more pain. I can tell that the baby has moved lower. I haven't had any consistent contractions today but alot of Braxton Hicks.
Matthew & Hailey's class/tour tomorrow could possibly be postponed till next week Wednesday. I will find out tomorrow morning if a private one can be scheduled before that just in cause we don't make it till next week Wednesday. We don't want Matthew & Hailey to lose out on something good!
I'll let everyone know how my doctor's appointment goes tomorrow and hopefully the kids get in on their class/tour.
Lots of love,
Stacey~

~16 days to go!~

~16 days to go!~

I've been meaning to add a ticker to my email for the longest time and now we're down to the home stretch with only 16 days to go and I've finally added it on! YAY! better late than ever -check that one off my list!
-talking to myself out loud :)

Well, I started off this morning finishing up some of the baby's laundry (found stuff in Matthew & Hailey's keepsake box that I can use!).
I'd say that in late morning I started to feel contractions on and off but as the day has progressed, I have run out of gas and since about 1:00 I noticed that I have been contracting more often.
Now 4:45 in the afternoon I have timed contractions 6 minutes apart -I THINK...can't remember cause the brain isn't functioning well.

Please keep your fingers crossed that this is just the baby playing tricks on us already!
Lots of love,
Stacey~

~17 days to go!~

~17 days to go!~

Pregnancy brain alert! Opps! I forgot to mention in my email yesterday that I did manage to pack all of our emergency/hospital bags. All 5 of us! The bags are not quite complete but are pretty much ready to go. I sort of have a few of the kids information jotted down (school, bus, extra curricular activity, etc.) but really need to get that organized cause we don't know exactly when baby will make it's arrival and where Matthew & Hailey will be.
I also need to make sure that Michael has everyone's phone numbers and email addresses so that he can hopefully-somehow stay in touch with everyone while we are in the hospital.
Oh! another thing...very important...I need to make my list of names for baby. Still waiting for HELP!
Hoppy Easter!
Lots of love,
Stacey~

~18 days to go!~

~18 days to go!~

In preparation for baby's arrival, we are trying to keep Matthew & Hailey involved as much as possible. Yesterday I signed up for a sibling class & tour with the hospital for all of us to attend next week Wednesday, April 15th, after my doctor's appointment.
We haven't told them about it yet but are sure that they will be out of this world excited! They are very curious and anxious so hopefully this class & tour helps us out. We'll be sure to take lots of mental notes and pictures to share with everyone.

This morning when I woke up, I felt kinda funny. Trying to stay off my feet today, I didn't accomplish sorting through the kids clothes like I wanted to. Instead, I sat at the new house and supervised the work being done.
Michael's parents came to help with preping for paint tomorrow and they also finshed laying wonderboard down so that Michael can tile. The hardwood floors are getting their 2nd coat of polyurethane and hopefully that will complete that job.
YAY! Visible progress being made with our new home!

Lots of Love,
Stacey~

~19 days to go!~

~19 days to go!~

Hello Family!
I really wanted to email yesterday but had no energy after a long day. Hopefully I'll be able to write a little something every day until "D-Day" to keep everyone updated.
I am still working as much as I can and plan to take it day by day. The parents understand that at ANY given time I will just have to drop everything. So I hope to continue working through next week.
Yesterday early morning I had consistant contractions from about 3-6 something in the morning. Standing up was horrible but then throughout the day there was nothing happening. THANK GOODNESS! We didn't have our hula classes last night due to spring break so we decided to get some house stuff done. We went to order our carpet and tiles!
Here is whats happening with our new house:
Today and tomorrow, Michael is going to finish up working on the hardwood floors.
Our tiles and floor supplies are being delivered tomorrow-Saturday sometime in the morning...
Starting this weekend, he plans on laying the wonderboard down in the kitchen, dining & family rooms in preparation for tiles. In between that he is going to start color painting the bedrooms!
Our carpet will come in the last week of April (4/27) and we can install anytime after it arrives. We anticipate the house being somewhat move in condition as early as the beginning of May. As for packing... that has been put on hold as Michael has been working hard in preparing our new house. I haven't been able to pack much myself but have managed to stuff a few boxes. We will probably end up moving room by room as moving day/s approaches.
In the meantime, I have started to somewhat prepare for baby's arrival. Thanks to all of you who are sending gifts and helping us as much as you can....we have a good supply of necessities for baby to get us started. IT MEANS SO MUCH TO THE 5 OF US FOR ALL YOUR HELP & SUPPORT! -THANK YOU-
Hopefully I can keep in touch with the whole family by this means of emailing. It's really hard when family is so close to my heart but you all are miles away. Sharing my thoughts and activities hopefully keeps us a little more connected.
Lots of Love,
Stacey~

LET THE COUNT DOWN BEGIN! ~21 days to go~

Hi Everyone~
Well.... Dr. Chan threw a curve ball today and decided not to do a cervix check this time cause she didn't want to mess with anything down there quite yet. I'm at a critical time where she wants me to hold on at least 1 full or perferrably 2 more weeks before delivering baby. I HOPE so too!!!
My blood pressure has been REALLY LOW which is causing me to have BAD headaches and dizzy/nausea spells. I gained another pound since last week.
Baby looks BIG she says -which explains why people have been stopping me lately asking if I'm expecting twins :) and depending on when I deliver....baby could be a little over 7 pounds. -YIKES! So right now it's in the 6 pound weight category.
Let the count down begin ~ 21 days to go ~ I'm determined to hang on as long as I can as I am the only one that can do this for our baby. Before we know it, baby will be here waiting to meet everyone -finally!!!
My next appointment is next week Wednesday, April 15 in the afternoon. At that appointment, Dr. Chan will be able to narrow down "D-day" for us.
Lots of Love,
Stacey~