Wednesday flight cancelled

We received an email this morning that our flight for tomorrow was cancelled. Long story short...after hours on hold and a short spat with a Continental rep, we are now going to be flying either Monday with British Airways or Tuesday with Continental.

I have to say that today was probably the lowest day. We had to work really hard to keep each other focused on the end product, which is a flight home. We took turns making each other laugh and of course, there was a little wine involved.

Yesterday, we took the opportunity to take Lucas into London and get his photo snapped in front of some major landmarks. We had wanted to do that before we left, but never found the time. On Sunday, we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine with friends in Richmond by having a picnic on the Green and mint tea to end the day.

We're Stuck...

This really does seem like something from a really bad movie:

Fun, free-spirited couple goes on a three year adventure in Europe. They close their adventure with the birth of their first son. Chaos ensues when a volcano erupts in Iceland, sending volcanic ash across the UK and Europe, shutting all airports and stranding them with no way home.

What timing...we are currently rebooked for Wednesday, but it all depends on which way the wind blows.

Our Stuff

See you in 5-6 weeks!

The wheels are turning

Today we moved into the Richmond Inn Hotel. We were able to get the largest room in the place, thank goodness, and it has two bathrooms, which means Lucas gets his own bathtub! In our flat, we had him bathing in his little baby bathtub that was really too small for him. He doesn't know how to act having the whole bathtub to splash around in! They also provided a pack and play for him to sleep in. He was really busting out of his little crib that our friends let us borrow, and I think he is very happy to have some room to stretch. I was a little concerned about his bedtime tonight since things are so different right now, but he is such a champ. Went right to sleep as soon as I put him down.

This morning, he had his last set of immunizations, so he is officially ready to be a jet-setter! Afterwards, we met up with some friends and their very cute kids for lunch, and then we headed to the flat for a packing spree. We are pretty much finished with everything. Tomorrow we will go back and do a walk through to make sure everything is separated into air and sea cargo piles and that we haven't missed anything crucial.

Catalina and Sebastian met us at the hotel this evening to say goodbye. Oh the tears that flowed. Cata has been such a blessing to have here in London. We have had so many good times together and I really can't say enough how much her friendship has meant to me. What a small world that she went to college with Edgar back in Colombia and wound up here all these years later after falling in love and marrying an Englishman!

Off to bed now...another busy day tomorrow!

HI!

I have been away from the blogging world for quite a while now. Sorry to all my fans out there (I think there may be about 5 of you...hehe). Things in the Castro household are ticking along. Lucas is growing like a weed and we are busy preparing for the big move back to Texas.
If anyone has any advice on long haul flights with a baby, please send them my way. I've already packed his little carry on suitcase, which is actually a big carry on suitcase. I am probably way over packing on the formula and diapers, but my worst fear is running out of either at any point between Heathrow and IAH.

Edgar has had a 4 day weekend! Friday and tomorrow are Bank Holidays, so Lucas and I have really enjoyed having him around so much! I don't know what I'll do when Tuesday rolls around and I'm back to single duty again. Edgar is the greatest, most supportive and understanding man in the world! I have slept until at least 9:30am for 2 days in a row, haven't changed one dirty diaper, and my back is finally feeling a bit recovered. My doctor gave strict orders at my 6 week check-up that I was to do nothing that would stress me out (had a bit of a traumatic birth experience), and Edgar took him very seriously. I can say without a doubt that my smooth recovery, both physically and emotionally, has been due to the overwhelmingly amazing support I have at home. He always knows just exactly when I need a break.

So, these next two weeks are going to be spent winding things down here...returning the cable box, switching the utilities out of our names, cancelling the cell phone, etc. The hardest part will be saying goodbye to our friends. I won't talk about that right now, because I am in a very happy mood and that topic will just be a downer.

Hope everyone has had a great Easter. Next year, Lucas will be searching for the golden egg!

Happy 4 Months!

Four months already! Lucas is the light of our lives and brings endless smiles and laughter to our days. At last check (about a week ago), he weighed in at 15.74 pounds! Yes, he is a giant and thank goodness Edgar takes over on the weekends to give my back and arms a break. Speaking of Edgar, I just can't say enough how much I appreciate him. He is a most excellent father and husband and makes being a new mommy so much easier. Thank goodness he has taken the lead in all the logistical planning for our move back to Texas. If I were in charge we probably would be on a slow boat to China.

12 Week Birthday

I took a few photos of Lucas today while he was doing tummy time on the boppy pillow.

He is 12 weeks old today!

Sleep Through the Night!!!

That's right...he slept through the night!!!
This one is for Auntie Shaila

SMILES!!!

Two months ago today....

...I was eagerly anticipating what the next few hours would bring...my new, beautiful baby! Happy 2 Months, Lucas!

Happy 8 Weeks, Lucas!

How does a little baby celebrate his 8-week birthday?

By taking a mid-day nap on a sheepskin rug, of course!

6 Weeks

The Birth Story-the quick and nice version

I love reading other people's birth stories and watching all those baby shows on TV. Now that I have experienced it myself, I thought I would share with you a short and nice version of what happened to me. I say short and nice because some details are a little too personal to put out there on the www and I don't want to scare off any readers who have not yet had a baby and plan to have one in the future :).

For a week or so before I went into labor, I just felt different. Lucas was moving differently, I was having aches and pains that I had not had previously, and I thought my bump looked different. Mom and Dad arrived on Tuesday morning, December 1st, I went to a coffee meet up and yoga on Wednesday and then on Thursday morning (the 3rd) at 6:38am, I felt a little cramp and thought "OK, now THAT feels different!" I thought it might be a contraction so I noted the time and went back to sleep. Twelve minutes later, another pain...and again twelve more minutes later. I decided to wake up Edgar and say those two words we've been waiting for for the past nine months... "It's time!" He called the hospital, who told us to come on in. I showered, and of course did my hair and make up...have to look good in all those photographs that are bound to happen! Our taxi driver manuevered through London's rush hour traffic and we arrived at The Portland around 9am. I got settled into my delivery suite, had a little monitoring done to ensure I was indeed in labor, and then I began the long, long process of waiting for things to change and progress.

All the normal things happened throughout the day. I managed to breath through my contractions until around 2pm, when I decided it was time for the epidural. My doctor had been in to check on me an hour before and said I would have the epidural within the next hour. I still felt I was coping fine at that time, but he was right! I don't know why I question this man...he is never wrong about anything with me. I had a mobile epidural which meant I could still walk around, bounce on my fitball, and basically be active enough to help the labor progress instead of being completely numb and confined to bed.

Around 7pm the doctor reappeared and decided to break my water, and wow, it was like a raging river! 11pm was go time. Mr. Spence-Jones came into the room in proper scrubs instead of his usual dress shirt and tie and said it was time to push! I gave Mom and Dad a kiss goodbye and sent them to my postnatal room to wait for the good news. This is where things got interesting and where I will make it short and sweet. Thirty minutes in, it was decided I would need the help of forceps and, and WOOWWEE...so glad I had the epidural is all I can say...he arrived a few minutes later at 11:48pm, twelve minutes shy of Edgar's birthday on December 4th! Some complications developed with me while he was being delivered that involved a trip to the operating room, a subsequent blood transfusion and 3 1/2 day hospital stay. But the end result was that Lucas was healthy, I would heal, and now we are a happy family of three...EdVon+1.

I loved pregnancy. Despite 20 weeks of morning sickness and all the unglamorous things that go along with it, I enjoyed experiencing this miracle. Labor was also great and I would do it again in a heartbeat, provided an epidural was available. I hope for a better delivery and postpartum period next time and my doctor has promised me it will not be as traumatic the second time around. I trust him...remember, he's never been wrong about me before. Although, I am not anxious for a repeat performance any time soon, so we will all just have to enjoy and spoil Lucas in the meantime.