Mateo. Singing & Chatting. Cantando y hablando.

A Mateo le encanta las canciones de Maria Elena Walsh y tambien hablar con su papa. Este es un video con su vocecita dulce y algunas de las miles de fotos que tenemos.

Mateo. The (unabridged) Birth Story.

This is a long post, but I don't want to forget any more details about the wonderful arrival of our first son.

Mateo Jacob was supposed to arrive on October 23rd. Almost a whole week had gone by and there was no sign of him desiring to meet his parents. On Oct. 28th I went to the doctor and was 1 cm. dilated (the same as the week before). I was convinced that baby would not come on his/her own, and I would have to wait until Nov. 5th to see if baby was boy or girl. But baby had other plans...

Dave and I went to sleep around 10 pm, after doing our Bradley exercises and hoping we'd get to meet our baby soon. At 1:15 am I woke up wanting to go to the bathroom, only to find out that my water had broken. When you read the books they say you may confuse the breaking of water with other bodily function... I had no doubts that it was my water breaking. I yelled at Dave from the bathroom: "My water broke!" To which he responded: "Hmm?" (and back to sleep he went). "Dave! The baby is coming!" I said. To which he responded by jumping out of the bed and calling the on-call doctor. The doctor told us to go to the hospital, but not to rush since it'd be a while before we'd get to see baby. We changed (I had to do it twice), got our things ready, got in the van, and to Holy Cross we drove. We arrived at 2:30 am.

By the time they took all my information I had no water left in me and my belly was half the size it had been for the last few weeks! Once the admission nurse saw my (wet) outfit she told me they'd get me a room right away. When all was set and done, it was 4:30 am before I was in my (lovely and fashionable) delivery gown in my own room. Our "plan" was to avoid drugs at all possible and work together to bring baby into this world. I had the best coach (Dave) and the best assistant coach (Jess Marc). Dave and I walked around the hospital aisles in hopes that gravity would do its job and push baby down. Unfortunately we couldn't do that much because baby's heart rate decreased after a 20 minute walk. Although I was having some light contractions, there was still no progress or signs of the doctor rushing in to see me. In fact the doctor (not the one I'd seen during the pregnancy) came in at 9:30 am to see me.

After checking me, Dr. Kator told me that I was (ta-da!) 1 cm. dilated! Yes. That's right. I had not progressed at all after 8 hours of my water being broken! So, the dreaded words came: We'll give you Pitocin. Things moved along and I started to have stronger contractions. Dave and Jess were amazing in getting me through them. At one point my mom said: "I thought those classes (Bradley) were a waste of time, but it does seem to help!" It sure did. By 11:30 I was at 2 cm. Yup. Pretty slow. But it was (some) progress.

And now for the part that my husband and mother absolutely hated. I got two strong contractions that caused me to get sick to my stomach. Puaj. After that, Dr. K. told me that the baby's heart rate went from 152 to 80-something. If that were to happen again I'd have to get a C-section with full anesthesia. So, given the choice (not really a choice actually) I got the epidural. I was a bit dissapointed about having to go against "my plans." But I knew that this was not about my plans but what was best for baby S. I have to admit that it was nice not having to suffer through every contraction, even sleeping for a little while since my labor continued to be long. It was not until 9 pm that I was ready to push. I told the doctor that I was ready to push, and she told me to "practice" a few times. I did and she commended me on my pushes abilities, but told me I would not push "for real" for a while. Mmm, thanks Doc! Here is the ONE thing you can do to stop the discomfort (aka pain) and she tells me not to do it!? So, I labored for the next two hours or so (I don't know what happened to the epi by that time) and called (read screamed) for the doctor, nurse, anyone! They both came a few times and told me "No, not yet." Are you kidding me? By then I could feel pretty much everything (I think, though I don't have anything to compare it to) and I knew I HAD to push! Sooo, by 11:30pm the doctor came and started to get ready for baby's arrival. Yay!! Well, not really yay, since Baby S. did not make his appearance until 1:05 am. I pushed A LOT. At some point they were very much ready to take me into the OR for a C-section and I got energy from I-don't-know-where (read God's grace) and pushed some more. Finally, Baby S. (a boy!) made his entrance.

Since he had been in the birth canal for a long time and with no water for almost 24 hours, there was a team of doctors waiting on the side to care for him. He did need the help since his cord was wrapped around his neck twice and had swallowed mecomiun (yuk!). Since I had just been pushing for almost two hours and was extremely relieved not to be in pain any longer, I did not know much of what was going on. I did know that they had not placed Mateo on my chest (like on the TV shows) and that Dr. K. was very quick in handing him over to the doctors on the side of the room. That and the fact that Dave started to pray "Lord, You are good, please help our child!" over and over again. As it turns out Mateo's first APGAR score was a 1 and he needed to be resuscitated. By God's grace, he was fine after the doctors put some tubes down his little throat and his 5 minute APGAR was 8. All this was harder on Dave than on me since he was the one who saw Mateo come out with the cord around his neck and not showing any "newborn signs." It was not until later on that morning that I realized all that had taken place. I am so grateful that God protected our little baby and that he is doing great, growing, and developing.

So, that was the story of Mateo's birth. I'm glad I got around to putting into writing before he turns 18! He is almost 3 months now and is such a blessing in our lives! Here are also some pictures from the day he was born. I looked REALLY rough before and after he was born (no glowing, new mom look here), but hey, that is part of the deal!

Jess and I smiling (I think before the epi!)

Dave and I. He was the BEST coach!

Mateo out! He was so tiny!

Like I've said I looked ROUGH! But, oh so happy!

One of my favorite pics.

Mateo getting acquainted with his dad.

Ready to go home.

Baby's Nursery + 3rd Shower!

I was supposed to continue with the Summer 2010 update, but I will probably move on...

Dave and I are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby S. (scheduled for October 23). We are ready (as ready as we can be)! Here are some pictures of Baby S.'s nursery. I guess if you want to find a "theme," it'd have to be "Dots, Letters, Numbers and Fun Colors." Is that a theme? I don't know. But we like it. We hope Baby S. likes it too since that is where he/she will be moving after upgrading from the tiny studio he/she has been living for the past nine months!

My sister Tere (Tia Tere) painted this cute bear for the room.

My mom made the curtain valance and the matching pillow cases.

The wall decorations were made by yours truly (found the idea online, since I'm not very creative).

Changing table + shelves.

I love the little picture friends!

On another Baby S.-related note, we were blessed by yet another Baby Shower! The first one was back in late July, given by wonderful friends and family. Then, in early September, Dave's friends from University Park Elementary, gave us another one and showered us with tons of gifts! Yesterday, came Shower # 3! Dave's friends at Hyattsville Elementary, gave us more gifts, love, and an amazing cake! Here is a picture of my mom (who arrived here last Friday) and me opening their generous gifts! We are extremely blessed to have so many people who love us and our baby!

Summer 2010 Recap - Part I

It is confirmed... I'm a horrible blogger! Oh, well. Here is my attempt at giving a little review of our summer.

In late June my friends threw me a wonderful Baby Shower. It was earlier than usual (8th month I guess), but I wanted my mom to be a part of it so we had to do before July, 4th when she left. Many wonderful ladies came and they truly showered me and our little one with tons of gifts and love!

Naajie, Becca & Janet holding baby Charlotte

Jane (fellow Towson graduate), Maggie (my wonderful mentor) & Sheila (adopted mentor)

My sweet friend Jan (another Towson casualty, I mean graduate)

Jane together with Lauren and Lori, who are both expecting too!

Bobbi y mi mama :0

There are way too many gift pictures. Here is one representing the rest.


In late July we had a blast spending a weekend with some very cool friends in Massanutten, VA. The Wilcox and Marcantonio families spent a week at this gorgeous resort and decided to have a little more company (in case they were getting bored with all five kiddos) and invited us and the Averills. We were blessed with very nice weather, a refreshing pool and ice cream. What else could you ask for? Their cool company, of course!

Annie and Cara holding baby Nate and Esme

The dads at the ice cream place

Emma and I reading a story

Not many people probably remember, but this summer was the Soccer World Cup. Remember? South Africa? Argentina NOT winning? There you go, now you remember! In any event, we did have fun watching games with the Campins and the last sad game against Germany with my bro-in-law and his sweet baby girl Lulu.



Lulu waving the Argentina flag.

This concludes the first installment of Summer 2010 Recap. Who knows, I may write the next one before Thanksgiving!

Auto Nuevo

Despues de pasar cuatro meses compartiendo un auto, Dios nos dio la oportunidad de comprar una hermosa van al estar anticipando la llegada de Baby Spitzberg. Vivir en las suburbias de Washington, DC hacen casi imposible vivir sin auto, asi que estamos mas que agradecidos por el nuevo (para nosotros ya que es usado) auto. Aca estan un par de fotos en la puerta de la concesionaria.

Reviving the Blog

In an effort to inform friends and family of what we are up to, I'm reviving this blog. Our first child will be arriving in October (yeah!!) and I have a hunch we will be taking many pictures of him/her. I hope this will be a media to share about our lives and our small, but growing family. As way of review, this is what we've been up to:

* Back in September 2009, we moved into our very own first home!



* Dave, his mom, and I went to Argentina for one week (in March) to celebrate my niece, Jimena's, 15th birthday.



* My mom came back with us to stay for 3 months (we miss her so)



* I graduated from Towson with an Elementary / Special Education Degree (very grateful to God for having accomplished this goal)





* Dave is getting in touch with his inner Hispanic man and joined a Latin band (The Mauricio Valerde Band) - Mama Carmen is in the picture because she is an honorary member.



* Our niece Lulu is growing and getting even more incredibly sweet, smiley, and just too darn cute! - Here she is showing off her hula skirt to celebrate her dada's birthday.



* Our baby is growing...



As you can see we are living a full, blessed life.

We are here and are moving...

Sorry for the long post hiatus (thanks Janet for the shoutout). The reason for the lack of posting is two-fold. The main contributor (aka Dave) has his own blog and abandoned me. If you want to catch up with his own adventures, here is the link. As far as me, I've been working on our new Mac blog and have taken too long to figure things out. But, I'm glad to announce that the new blog is up! So from now on, you can read about our lives here.
Amigos y familia, hemos cambiado nuestro blog y desde hoy van a tener que visitarnos aca: http://web.mac.com/daspitz/Site/Blog/Blog.html. Esperamos que les guste el nuevo estilo de blogear!!

The Lady of Song

If you have never heard of Ella Fitzgerald you are missing out on an amazing jazz singer!! Talk about scat! Dave and I had the privilege of going to see Ella at Arena Stage. Unfortunately, tomorrow is the last show and they are sold out, so if you hadn't seen it you've missed out :(

But, we had a wonderful time. The woman who played Ella is extremely talented. I had goosebumps during most of the show.
I am so grateful for all the opportunities we get to experience art in this area: museums, theaters, free events... DC (well, Virginia in this case since Arena's temporary home is in Crytal City) has a lot to offer and you can make some cool memories! So, go ahead go to DC and have fun!








El viernes, Dave y yo fuimos a ver el espectaculo Ella en un teatro en DC. Ella es un show basado en la cantante de jazz Ella Fitzgerald, que es increible! La actriz/cantante que interpretaba a Ella es impresionante, se me ponia la piel de gallina cuando cantaba!
Vivir tan cerquita de DC es buenisimo porque siempre hay shows para ver y sin tener que gastar mucha plata. Por empezar los museos son gratis, despues siempre hay eventos a bajos precios o gratis. Como Dave trabaja en el verano en la colonia de vacaciones artisticas en Arena Stage, nos dieron dos entradas gratarola!! Bueno, si nunca escucharon a Ella Fitzgerald, no pierdan mas tiempo y bajense una cancion o comprense todo un CD! Vale la pena!

Dia de San Valentin & Eclipse Lunar Total

Simple, sencillo, sin mucha fanfarra. Asi fue nuestro primer Dia de San Valentin como casados. Y es la mejor manera que lo podriamos haber pasado! La noche anterior yo decore nuestro depto. con un poco de guirnaldas con corazones y diferentes notas para Dave diciendole como lo quiero, lo agradecida que estoy que Dios nos trajo juntos, etc. Todo muy sweet (casi empalagozo, pero esa es la naturaleza del dia, vio?). Despues me fui a trabajar como todos los jueves, y cuando volvi del trabajo, Dave me estaba esperando como un gran asador, haciendo vacio y chorizos! Que genio! Lo mejor de todo esto es que Dave tuvo que comprar la carne en un almacen latino con un chico que no habla ni j de Ingles. Parece que se arreglaron bien. Dave me conto que le dijo a Jose: "Um, yo mira" (indicando que queria ver la nerca antes de comprar!). Despues yo prepare una "mixta" y a festejar! Ah, tambien me regalo unas hermosas flores, y una tarjeta de I-tunes para bajarnos buenas canciones! Yo le regale un libro sobre el "otro" Steve (Wozniak) que creo el imperio Mac! Obviamente, Dave estuvo muy agradecido. Como veran, si no fuera porque nosotros creemos en Jesucristo, mi maridito tendria un altar con una manzana y la foto de Steve Jobs!

Zoom en el asadito

En otras noticias, ayer (miercoles 20/2) hubo un eclipse lunar total a eso de las 10 y algo de la noche. Supuestamente se podia ver desde los dos hemisferios, asi que ustedes alla en el Sur me cuentan si lo vieron, OK? Nosotros tratamos de sacar fotos y obvio no salieron muy bien. Pero estuvo bueno ver el eclipse. Yo nunca habia visto uno.

Aca es cuando empezo...

Cuando estaba por terminar ...

Una vez que toda la Luna estaba cubierta por la sombra (o penumbra, no me acuerdo cual es cual), ya no podiamos sacar fotos. La Luna se volvio como rojiza o violetiza (existe esa palabra?).

Bueno, voy a tratar de postear mas seguido, despues de que cierta persona, amiga mia que no quiero nombrar (ejem, Ceci) me escracho como a de la Rua en el 2001! Asi que ya estare posteando en que andamos.

Generosity, wii on the Road, Birthday, Mari, & Brew Crew

Right now I (Dave) have a heavy heart ... whatever that means. I am just aware of friends who are experiencing pain and loss that I can't comprehend. Below is a recap of our weekend ... it is a little random and brief. I guess I'm writing this intro more for me, but for all the things that are written below, I think it's important to remember who God is and what He has done. I want to remind myself that God exists, He sent His Son to die for my sins, and that He rewards those who seek Him. God has been very good to Mari and me this week, and I need to remember that His goodness is not dependent on cool gifts or fun weekends.

Due to the generosity of my Mom, Mari and I were able to avoid transferring to windows vista. We purchased a new apple iMac. Thank you Mom for this great gift!!!! We also used gift certificates that we received from my Dad's friends. Back in July my Dad threw a party for Mari &myself. The people who attended also contributed to our new iMac. So, thank you Dad and V also for throwing the party!

Here's my cute Mom w/ a great smile. We had lunch together at Panera after Church.

Here it is ... Mari likes the screen savers.

On Friday Mari and I headed over to Gene's house to hang out and play the wii.

Here are two of God's great creations ... the wii and fire.

February 9th was my Dad's birthday, but Mari and I drove up to see him on Sunday. We had a great time.

My Dad plays the saxophone and I teach trumpet, so we played "Old Joe Clark," a song my students performed at a recent concert.

Mari and Cleo pose for the camera.

One of the cool things about my wife is that she irons our sheets ... and pillow cases.

One of the women in our Care Group has a niece who has cancer. Just wanted to solicit your prayers for the Brewer family.