On January 24, 2010, we welcomed Dakota Tobey Saenz into our lives! She came very quickly at 7:07am after just 2 intense hours of labor. We arrived at the hospital at 6:35am, so we threw the nurses and midwife for a loop as they tried to check us in while Dakota was rapidly trying to meet the outside world! Though her cord was wrapped once around her neck and she was a little blue when she first arrived, she "pinked up" quickly and we heard her shrill cry after some quick work by the nursing staff at Kaiser.
Dakota weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz, 20 inches long. She has been a very mellow baby -- we have hardly heard her cry! The name Dakota is a tribute to my (Kirsten's) maternal grandparents, Andrew and Ruth Foley, who both grew up in North Dakota. Being from North Dakota was one of the main factors that drew them together when they met at a skating rink in San Francisco in 1941, and they lived a long and happy life together. Nana (Ruth Foley) passed away during my pregnancy with Dakota, so we wanted to recognize her strong spirit and generous nature in naming our second daughter. In Cherokee language, Dakota means "friend".
Aunt Becca arrived from San Diego just a few hours after Dakota's birth, so Dakota met all her grandparents plus one aunt within her first day of life. She met Aunt Rachel, Uncle Wow, and Cousin Carina via Skype when we arrived home from the hospital.
Alita preparing for Dakota
Alita was very excited for her baby sister to arrive. As mommy's tummy grew larger and larger, Alita always wanted to feel mommy's tummy, and she would look up in wonder and say "baby sister's moving!" when she felt a kick. When I put a pair of pants on her a few weeks ago, and said, "whoops! these pants are too small for you now!," Alita's immediate reaction was, "They're for baby sister!" So she was ready to welcome her new sister into the world... or so she thought.The arrival of Baby Sister
When we first arrived home with Dakota, Alita was quite fascinated with the fact that Baby Sister had somehow gotten out of mommy's tummy. She has been incredibly sweet and gentle with the baby. Although seeing mommy nurse Dakota for the first time was tough, Alita has quickly picked up the habit of picking up her dolls (she now has three: Baby Arrow, Baby Moji, and Baby Bubba) and "nursing" them, wrapping them in blankets, or just carrying them around saying "shhhh".
It's worth mentioning the genesis of Baby Moji's name -- Alita was playing with the magnet letters on our refrigerator, and she "spelled" a word and pointed to it and said "that's your baby's name!" (She refers to herself in the second person): PRMOJI. We call her Baby Moji for short.
After meeting her baby sister, Alita took off on her tike bike, zooming down the sidewalk with the amazingly fast foot-paddling motion she has perfected despite the fact that the bike is way too small for her. She took a spill into the bushes, cried for a quick moment, then looked up and said gleefully, "Now it's Baby Sister's turn!" We're still not sure if she was trying to be nice or if there was some malicious intent in her voice...The First Few Days
Dakota spent most of her first few days sleeping during the day and being more awake at night. One night she decided to stay awake from 10pm until 4am; we're still trying to recover from that! At the same time, she has been a very agreeable baby, and has done a fantastic job of her three main responsibilities in life:
sleeping, pooping, and eating. She even pooped in her first bath!Despite her initially averse reaction to seeing Dakota nursing, Alita now thinks of all kinds of ways to help her out when she is upset. Every time she hears Dakota whimper, she either insists, "Baby Sister needs to eat!" or "sing a song for Baby Sister!" to "make her feel better".
Ama and Boppa h
ave been here since Dakota's birth to help around the house, help Alita to adjust to her new big-sister role, and to generally ease the burden on all of us. One evening, Ama and Alita baked cookies - a special treat for Alita - and while I was nursing Dakota, Alita explained to Daddy, "Baby Sister's eating cookies from mommy's boobs!"
