Winter Alice

Aunt Rose with Veronica & Alice

My Great Aunt Rose passed away this past week. She was a classy, spunky, no-nonsense woman with an almost flawless memory at age 97. Rose was a one of a kind New York City Dame. I have so many fond memories of Aunt Rose. She will be greatly missed.

Daddy's little girl

Andrew is such a doting dad. Alice adores him!

Sister-Cousins Veronica Rose & Alice Juliet

Chillin' together during tummy time.

Alice & Veronica are only two weeks apart. It was amazing and strange to be pregnant at the same time as my sister.

New Pix!

Out in Rockaway for the day.

Classic Birthday!

Bay Ridge Pier

Catching Up!

Where do I begin? Alice is doing great. She is a hungry little girl and I can barely keep up with her. We hoped to breast feed exclusively but I can’t seem to satisfy her increasing demand. I have been working with a lactation consultant, eating properly and I know I could use more sleep. We have another appointment with the pediatrician on Monday, my birthday, and I hope to discuss these matters with Dr. Gabriel.

The lack of sleep is taking its toll. Both Andrew and I are more edgy than usual and things are getting passed over like shopping for food and organizing the apartment. Oh, we moved back to Bay Ridge. It’s a little far from the train and parking is difficult at night - so what else is new. We were spoiled in Rockaway.

The birth was an incredible experience. I started to have intense labor pains on Sunday, by Tuesday night they were consistent, between 5 to 15/20 minutes apart. Unfortunately I was only dilated one centimeter and I was not progressing. I met with the midwife on Wednesday and took a stress test at the Madonna center across the street from the hospital. They sent me home but it was getting to be unbearable. I was crying at every contraction and had not slept in 48 hours. By Thursday the midwife, Andrew and myself all agreed that we needed to induce. I received an epidural and pitocin, which helped me relax, as well as made me incredibly itchy and violently sick almost immediately. After about an hour the midwife came back checked me, I was 4 centimeters, she broke my water and within an hour I was at 10 and ready to give birth. Well, that is the abridged version. The epidural wore off and I was able to have a successful vaginal birth after pushing for about 45 minutes. Andrew was a great help and very supportive. He helped hold my legs during the birth and cut Alice’s umbilical cord.

The Methodist staff was amazing. Alice roomed with us at the hospital and I immediately attempted to breastfeed. This also meant that we didn’t get any sleep those two nights.

Welcome Alice Juliet Koppel!

Alice Juliet Koppel was born September 13, 2007, at 10:36pm.
She was 7 pounds, 18 1/4 inches long, with a 9 Apgar rating.
Alice was delivered at Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
She is amazing, alert, strong and beautiful!

Midwife or OB/GYN, that is the question...

Our meeting with Dr. R didn't go as well as we planned. We both felt rushed and there were some key points in our birth plan (birth preferences) that she did not agree upon. One example, I would prefer if the umbilical cord was not cut immediately, she was definitely opposed to that. My simple research online and through reading books on the subject indicates that it is better not to cut the cord for up to three minutes or until it becomes flaccid. Also, the hospital our doctors are associated with does not have a 24-hour room in policy. I called to confirm with the maternity ward head nurse, she told me that mother have not requested it. After we left the meeting and had time to digest the conversation we agreed that she is not on the same birthing vibe as us. Taking the Bradley classes has really opened our eyes to our options and the advantages of a natural childbirth.

We have another meeting with the other doctor in the team, Dr. S, this evening. If he is not open to our ideas, our birthing preferences, we will move to a different birthing team and hospital.

To backtrack a bit, the meeting of the parents went well. Construction in the house feels like it is taking forever and a day. I really do not believe it will be completed by the first or second week in September. I'm due in six weeks! Stir-crazy would best describe my mood these days. Next week I have a shoot for Written By Magazine, writer and director Tony Gilroy for the October cover, very exciting!

Birth Plan 101

We have a doctors appointment tomorrow with the GYN. We want to go over our Birth Plan, which is more like birth suggestions. Andrew feels strongly about being able to keep her with us after the birth, unless there are complications, and I agree. I am very comfortable with our OB-GYN team and hope they are open to our active birth desires. Depending on how this meeting goes, we may need to find a doctor or midwife who is more pro-active birthing and affiliated with a respectable hospital.

Taking the Bradley birth classes have really opened our eyes about all the advantages and possibilities associated with a natural childbirth. Of course, our goal is to have a safe, healthy and uncomplicated birthing experience, and we both understand that sometime life throws you a curve ball and you need to react. We both want to be informed and are prepared to make those decisions if and when they arise.


Ilona and Andrew's Birth Plan

ATTENDANTS AND AMENITIES

I'd also like:
• To bring music
• To dim the lights
• To take pictures and/or film during labor and delivery

LABOR

I'd like the option of returning home if I'm not in active labor.

Once I'm admitted, I'd like:
• My partner to be allowed to stay with me at all times
• Only my practitioner, nurse, and guests present (i.e., no residents, medical students, or other hospital personnel)
• To eat if I wish to
• To stay hydrated by drinking clear fluids instead of having an IV
• To walk and move around as I choose

As long as the baby and I are doing fine, I'd like:
• To have intermittent rather than continuous electronic fetal monitoring.
• To be allowed to progress free of stringent time limits.

If they're available, I'd like to try:
• A birthing stool
• A birthing chair
• A squatting bar

When it's time to push, I'd like to:
• Do so instinctively

I'd like to try the following positions for pushing (and birth):
• Semi-reclining
• Side-lying position
• Whatever feels right at the time

As long as my baby and I are doing fine, I'd like the pushing stage to be allowed to progress free of stringent time limits

PAIN RELIEF

I'd like to try the following pain-management techniques:
• Bath/shower
• Breathing techniques/distraction
• Massage

Please don't offer me pain medication. I'll request it if I need it.

VAGINAL BIRTH

I'd like:
• To view the birth using a mirror
• To touch my baby's head as it crowns
• The room to be as quiet as possible
• To risk a tear rather than have an episiotomy

After birth, I'd like:
• To hold my baby right away, putting off any procedures that aren't urgent
• To breastfeed as soon as possible
• To wait until the umbilical cord stops pulsating before it's clamped and cut
• Not to get routine oxytocin (Pitocin) after I deliver the placenta

POSTPARTUM

After delivery, I'd like:
• All newborn procedures to take place in my presence
• My partner to stay with the baby at all times if I can't be there
• To stay in a private room
• To have a cot provided for my partner

I plan to:
• Breastfeed exclusively

The following can be offered to my baby:
• Please don't offer anything to my baby at any point

I'd like my baby fed:
• On demand

I'd like:
• 24-hour rooming-in with my baby

32 1/2 Weeks

I’m now 32 ½ weeks along. At the last doctors visit our little one was 3 pounds 1 ounce. This third trimester has been tough besides the weight gain, adjusting to my new proportions, swollen feet and ankles; I’m just plain tired. It didn’t help that before I became pregnant I allowed myself to indulge in the holiday spirit and had been at one of my highest weights. Who knew that we would get pregnant on our first attempt?

Our parents are meeting for the first time this weekend!

Yesterday I took the A train into the city to meet Andrew and my friend Frank at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where he works as Manager of the Peacock Bar. I definitely look pregnant these days and when I walked onto a packed car people just ignored me. It wasn’t until I made my way through the crowd to look at a subway map that an older woman offered me her seat. The last time I rode the NYC Metro, just last month, a man dressed in business attire, mid-40, healthy and strong in appearance, nearly knocked me over to grab a seat. I stood over him as he played video games on his cell phone; taking up two seats with his legs spread wide open, he refused to even glance up. It’s really a horrible shift from when I was younger, in High School, and rode the trains in the mid 1980’s. Back in those days men would frequently give their seats without hesitation to the elderly, handicapped and pregnant women. There are a few good souls who continue this tradition, but it seems that women are often the only ones who follow this practice of social etiquette.

The summer is in full effect and the heat and humidity are making me feel a bit queasy. The basement is damp and is starting to have that fresh aroma of mold. I opened one of my file cabinets where I keep some video and film archives and found the beginning stages of mold growth on a couple of cardboard boxes. That was disturbing, since I am now keeping all my negatives and chromes in the back room of the basement. So yesterday I jumped in the car and rode out to Sears in Kings Plaza, Mill Basin Brooklyn, to pick up a 50 pint Kenmore dehumidifier. This morning I emptied it for the third time and am happy to report that the backroom feels dry and smells right. My sniffer is on overdrive since I became pregnant.

The renovations are in full force. The kitchen and bathroom have been gutted, which is a trip and very dusty I might add. We covered most of the artwork with a combination of plastic and old sheets, very fancy. Andrew and I are living upstairs while my sister is out of town. W e have been talking about moving after this winter, it would be too crazy to move right now, besides the fact and we don’t have any money saved. I’m worried that the construction will not be completed before the babies are born. I'm starting to go a little nuts.

The results came back from dad’s doctor. There was no stroke. He has hardening of the arteries. Add atherosclerosis to his already diagnosed heart condition, diabetes, lack of proper diet (or shall I call it - the anything I want to eat diet) and practically no physical activity, is a cocktail for disaster. Sadly, he has no will or desire to change. I’m concerned for my mom who in recent years has started to develop her own, and at this stage manageable, set of health issues. I intellectualize that there is nothing I can do to change their minds towards following a healthy lifestyle. It is just too frustrating for me to be around it. I have a hard time keeping my opinions to myself.

We sold the “Jimmy” Jeep the other day to Tim, a dealer who flew in from Minnesota. I know Jim would understand, he wasn’t very attached to material things. I'll be able to pay off a bit of my student loan from Parsons. Our monthly expenses, and stress, has been reduced.

June 6, 2007

I'm keeping busy throwing away old stuff and slowly making room for baby. I'm growing in all directions and due to my lack of real sleep get tired in the middle of the day. Work is up and down as usual. I did shoot actor Steve Buscemi, he was very sweet, for Fade In Magazine, and I have revised my website. I've got a couple of jobs this week that I am excited about, a two part job for USA Weekend Magazine and two jobs for the DCA.

Mom has decided to go ahead with renovating the kitchen and bathroom before my sister and I both give birth. This means cramped quarters, lots of noise, dust and cranky family members. My dad had some type of episode recently we are waiting for the doctor’s report. They believe he had a small stroke and as a result has permanently lost hearing in one ear, which throws off his balance. The summer is definitely here, it's hot, muggy and I sometimes feel like I can't seem to get enough air to breath. I hear it's normal for this stage of my pregnancy. Oh joy...

May 11, 2007

All is well. Sleeping through the night is a thing of the past. I'm up every couple of hours and I toss and turn all night. Not much fun.

Andrew & Me 2007

Second Trimester Sonogram

She is perfect!!! My due date is September 6th 2007.

Amniocentesis

Overall the experience was more strange that painful. I couldn't look at the needle. When I spotted it on the table while the doctor was cleaning the point of entry, I covered my eyes with my hands and arms. Andrew was there, thankfully, but because of the position of the equipment and doctor I couldn't hold his hand.

The doctor was sweet and attentive, he joked with Andrew and I then asked me what kind of wine I liked. “Burgundy”, I said, it was the first thing to pop into my head, the color was more on my mind more than an actual type of wine. “Well have a glass of wine tonight”, the doctor replied as he walked back and forth around the ultrasound equipment to the supplies laid out on the counter. “I can’t, my mother won’t let me!” I said quickly with a smile. She was just back in town for Passover and sitting in the waiting room. Andrew took his motorcycle to work and left early to meet us at the facility in Bay Ridge. Both my mother and sister insisted that I be driven, so who was I to argue.

“Well I’m your doctor and I say it's ok”. I felt a pinch and pressure, argh, “that feels weird”, I moaned. Needles freak me out a bit, so I prefer not to look at them go into my skin. Usually with a blood test I have no problem checking them out while they are doing their extracting job. This time it was different, I didn’t want to move and I could feel the suction as he removed the fluid. “All done”, and that was that, quick and relatively painless.

We have another appointment on April 20th for the second trimester ultrasound. I’m really excited about that. The amniocentesis test results will be ready for my next GYN on Friday the 13th.

March 21, 2007

Lieberman-Koppel

February 22, 2007

Lieberman-Koppel

January 22, 2007

Lieberman-Koppel

New Year's Day

On January 4th, 2007, Andrew and I went to City Hall and signed Domestic Partnership papers. We are legal! After that we went out to a nice lunch at a downtown Italian restaurant. Then it was back to work for Andrew while I took the A train home to Rockaway.


New Year Moon 2007

Andrew & I, Self-Portrait on New Year's Day 2007

Rose & Seth, Demascus PA, New Year's Day 2007

Rose & Seth's backyard, Damascus PA