in delivery room & NICU

Aunt Lala took these photos. I love 'em!


this is right when Fila was born. I was, unfortunately, not there because I was still getting my c-section.

1 week pictures

These are Fila's 1 week old photos. My favorite is with Kimi holding him and Fila's lips are all poochy.
At this time, Fila now weighs 9 lbs 5 oz!!! What a growing, big boy he is!

October 16, 2009 @ 5:10 p.m. Fila is 1 minute old and Kimi is so happy to finally have his son here.Fila is 2 days old. This is the first time I was able to see him. I thought he was so cute!
Fila sleeping in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). He was receiving antibiotics because I had a fever right before he was born so they gave him antibiotics to prevent any infections I may have had that was causing my fever.

Fila has finally arrived!!
full name: Penisimani Hofila Tuipulotu
Born on: October 16, 2009 @ 5:10 p.m.
weighing 8 lbs 12 oz
length: 22 inches long
head diameter: 38 centimeters

Kimi and I are so happy to have Fila here. Although I'm very tired, I am feeling better each day and enjoy getting to know my son. The full effect (of being a mom) hasn't really hit me, yet.

A brief look

My friend hooked me up with some 3D pics of the baby. It will be interesting to see if he even looks like these pictures. The ultrasonographer said that sometimes things look bigger than they really are. We got clear confirmation that our baby is a boy. The genitals were in 3D and quite clear. Kimi keeps mentioning how he just wants the baby to be here already. A couple of weeks ago we received a lot of cool baby items from my friend, Blaire. We set up the playpen, basinette thingy and now time seems to be going so much slower. At least 3-4 times a week, Kimi & I are telling each other we should just take that stuff down because it's making things go so much slower. I'm 27 weeks and only have a couple more months, but it's going pretty slow, now.

Today we found out our baby is going to be a boy. Nothing could explain how excited we were about this, as it's all we wanted, no offense to people who want girls. So, now we are thinking of names for this boy. What's in a name? In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet talks about if a rose had another other name, would it still smell as sweet. Does a name place a sort of list of expectations for that person to fulfill in their lifetime? Some cultures name their children after dead loved ones, in which to be like that loved person and obtain some of their characteristics. Other cultures name their children after what they want them to be (i.e. peaceful leader, strong, heavenly). I guess, you could say, we combined both of these traditions. We have chosen the following names for our son. I'm not quite sure of the order these names will have, but here they are. Penisimani - "Benjamin", Kimi's dad's name & Ilaisia -"Elijiah"- Lala, Kimi's sister, chose this name. We're still unsure as to the first name. Both Penisimani and Ilaisia will be the middle names.
Toni

Kimi & I were finally able to hear the baby's heart beat (12 weeks). In 6 more weeks we get to find out the sex as long as the baby is in a good position. Kimi was very excited to hear the heart beat. I was worried b/c it took the Dr. a long time to find it, w/ much repositioning on my part.
Hearing the heart beat definitely confirms that there's actually a baby coming! I haven't been too sick, at all...comparatively speaking.
Toni

Great news

Today I wasn't feeling well during my abnormal psychology class. It seemed like one of the longest lectures because of my hot flashes & flashes of nausea. Each minute of class felt like 10minutes. After getting out of class, I went home and took a nap. My anxious husband bought a pregnancy test. To our amazement and joy, the pregnancy test didn't take long to indicate plans for the next 20 years! I started crying... and so did Kimi (shh, he doesn't like to admit he was crying). Kimi has talked about wanting kids before we were even married. I wasn't so eager to become a parent, but now feel like it will be the most fulfilling calling of my life. One in which I can help raise an amazing person who will contribute to our society, along with other things I hope this little person becomes. I hope that s/he has Kimi's good nature, and not my stubborn one. Though I do hope that they are a go-getter like me and one that loves to learn and becomes educated in whatever courses inspires them.
Kimi told his family (Lala, mom, & dad). All of which were very excited about the news. One of my hopes for this child is that they know and love the deep culture that Kimi's family encompasses and know that he comes from a heritage rich in love, family, affection, and hard-working individuals.
Right now, because this is the first day I've been aware of my pregnancy, I still feel like it could be taken from me at any moment. I've had several dreams where I thought I was pregnant, only to find out later in my dream that I wasn't. After waking up after these dreams, I felt a bit of sadness and discouragement. I'm scared this will just be another experience like that. I've also had a couple of dreams where I had a baby boy. I cling to those dreams now hoping those are the outcome of this circumstance.
After telling Kimi's family about our news, I told my mom. I was crying the whole time I told her. She hugged me and seemed so happy. I kept telling her how happy I was. She said, "well, you don't look very happy". I laughed and thought, "I probably don't considering I'm a blubbering mess right now." I think for me, this has evoked so much joy in me that I'm not quite sure how to approach it other than crying.
I will hopefully keep this journal up. This is more for me and Kimi than anyone else. I tend to be long-winded and I'm not expecting anyone to spend hours reading what I've written.
Toni