THE SMITH FAMILY: California Sunshine and a Baby

I got to sneak away for 10 days to go to California and help my little sister Debby with her new baby. 10 days!!! That's a long time and probably a little crazy, but somehow we made it work. I made a very detailed schedule and all the arrangements so that my family would be okay while I was gone. Basically, Dave had to get Paige ready for school every morning then take her to a neighbor's house (Riley's) on his way to work. Paige would hang out there until it was time to take the bus to school. Fortunately, Ashley was all finished with after-school activities, so she would ride the bus home and babysit Paige after school until Dave got home later in the evening. I also left a house full of food and notes about everyone's schedule. Both girls have lots of extra-curricular activities and fortunately, I was able to ask a variety of their friends to give them rides to the places they need to be. I tell you, the girls didn't need a babysitter as much as they needed a driver!!

Overall everyone did great. It wasn't always easy but I think it gave everyone appreciation for how much "magically" gets done everyday in our home. I'm very, very grateful for all of Ashley and Dave's hard work. I could never have been gone without both of them stepping up and making some sacrifices. Some of my favorite memories will be my phone conversations with Ashley after school while she was waiting for Paige to get home. She was really cute about being responsible and I think she missed having me around to talk to. There was really only one day where she got a little stressed out. She was invited to an awards evening at school, at the last minute and because I didn't know about it before I left, I didn't make any plans for how she was going to get there, who would take care of Paige during that time, etc. It all ended working out but I did order a pizza and have it delivered because she was a little too stressed that evening to make dinner!

Looking back, by day 10 I was definitely ready to come home and Dave, Ashley and Paige were more than ready to have me back. I kind of felt like everyone was nearing the end of their rope. It's good to know your needed.

As for my time in California, it was very special and I'm so glad that I could be there for Debby and Sam. I flew in to LA on Thursday and Debby had a c-section the next day. It's been over 10 years since my last baby, so it was very sweet to witness these two new parents go through all the firsts.

Kolie Neha Kumar was born on May 9th, 2014. She was the tiniest little thing at 6 lbs. 4 oz. but was completely full-term so even though she was small, she was strong and smart from the get-go. Debby and Sam live in Hollywood but chose to deliver Kolie at a hospital in Pasadena (Sam's dad, sister and brother-in-law are all doctors at the hospital) which was only about 20 minutes away. Because of the c-section Debby, Sam and Kolie stayed 4 days in the hospital, so I would drive to and from Hollywood and Pasadena each day. I got pretty good at finding my around and managing the LA freeway system.

During these first few days, while I was at Debby's condo, I did some grocery shopping and made freezer meals that they could use later after I had gone home. I also came to the hospital each day to relieve Sam for a while so he could run some errands, get out of the hospital, etc. Debby needed some extra help during this time because she really couldn't get up and down easily, so I was happy to hold the baby, change diapers, etc. Kolie was so little that I could easily hold her in one arm and take pictures of her and drink Diet Coke with the other!

After they came home, the first couple days with the c-section were pretty painful for Debby. The prescription pain meds would make her faint so she pretty much just took ibuprofen and tylenol. I was glad to be there to help with the baby, especially when Sam was busy helping Debby. Fortunately, Debby is very fit and healthy so that she really started feeling better very quickly and by the end of the first week was very in good shape. Debby and Sam are going to be such great parents. Kolie is very lucky to have them as parents. What a wonderful loving family.

Here are some pictures: