Sitting UP!

Kylie's latest project is learning how to sit up. She's made a lot of progress in just the past few days. We had an unfortunate accident last week where she bumped her head pretty hard, and cried without consolation for about 5 minutes. I imagine we have many more incidents ahead over the next few years. The other night I decided to sit her up inside one of her Boppy pillows and it worked wonderfully, offering her a bit of support, but also insuring that she won't smack her head on the ground if she really loses her balance. Now in addition to tummy time, we have several "sitting up" sessions each day. It's so exciting to watch this little girl learn, grow & develop each and every day!

Neck-Less Giraffes

A few months ago I got a few little giraffes for Kylie's room at our work apartment. I've tried to make it cute and kid-friendly with little stuffed animals & pictures of a Noah's Ark type theme. Anyway, when I showed the giraffes to Bryan he was quite put-out about the fact that the giraffes had no neck. He argued that since that was the one distinguishing feature of a giraffe that it didn't make any sense to have these little toys around - maybe he was worried that Kylie would become greatly confused about giraffes? I don't know. Anyway, fast forward to December when I found Kylie her "big" Christmas gift - a set of little stuffed toys and rattles at Costco. I was with my friend Victoria and we both thought the little orange cows were cute. When I got them home and showed them to Bryan, he took one look at the box and set it down, saying, "You bought neckless giraffes!"

On closer inspection, the back of the box did specify that the gift set was made up of giraffes, a detail I hadn't noticed in the store. Anyway, Kylie got the set for Christmas and has seemed to have fun playing with all the little toys. Her favorite however, is a little stuffed giraffe that plays music if you pull it's tail. She smiles this huge smile whenever you give it to her, especially if it's playing the music. She's swinging in her swing right now with it tucked under her arm. I snapped this picture of her last week - I think in spite of the missing neck, Kylie's happy with her Christmas gift!

Isn't that the cutest little grin, ever??

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe it's 2012. I've been reminded lately that I haven't blogged in quite sometime, and it's probably true. I think Kylie, (who will be six months next week) was two weeks old the last time I posted anything...so I guess it has been awhile. Our family has been happily busy with the extraordinary and mundane tasks of daily life over these past six months. We absolutely love being parents and have settled into a really great routine with baby Kylie. I think she is a really good baby, and that we've been lucky with sleeping habits and colic, etc. Things couldn't be better. She is into such a phase of discovery and development that new things are happening almost everyday and Mom & Dad are having a hard time keeping her challenged. She wants to be standing up almost constantly when she is awake, and really hates having to lie down (even on her floor gym) for more than a few minutes at a time. Thank goodness for all the cool developmental toys out there!

Kylie playing in her Bumbo chair

As for Mommy and Daddy, we're doing great and moving forward with our lives. New Year's is always a great time for introspection and self-inventory, so we've been doing that lately. We realized the other day how far we had come together when we took a look at our financial picture and how it has improved since we got married. Turns out two-and-a-half years can make quite a difference when you've got goals and you're busy working towards them. I'm grateful that Bryan is such a hard worker, too. He's been working two full-time jobs almost the entire time we've been married, but we've always tried to keep our goals as a couple at the forefront and we realize that with the sacrifices we've been making individually and as a couple, we've made significant progress. We're so excited about this new year and the opportunity it holds!

I Try to Avoid Corny Food

Actually, I love corn -- especially popcorn, corn chips, tacos, and the like. Unfortunately while on Lyme treatment about a year and a half ago, I began to develop a corn allergy that has progressed to the point where I have to avoid it all in it's entirety. Sad, sad tale! Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who loves to cook, and he has taken to developing all sorts of recipes substituting other ingredients in place of corn syrup, corn starch or corn meal. It's been an adventure, but we've discovered that I can eat almost anything, as long as we make it ourselves. Aren't I such a lucky girl to have a husband like that?

The breaded sweet & sour Bryan made me for New Year's Eve

Bryan's Latest Home Project

Bryan has had a couple weeks off so that he could be around to help me after having the baby. It's been great since I have had a bit of a rough time with getting over post-partum pre-eclampsia. He has been wonderful doing almost 100% of nighttime baby duty, (and there has been ample amount to go around.) In spite of taking care of the baby and I, he decided that while he was home he needed a project to keep from getting bored.

While wandering the aisles at our local Lowe's, he came upon some tile that was on clearance, and decided that would make the perfect project to provide him with a baby duty distraction during the day. Yes...you heard that right. We have a two-week-old baby and my husband is currently tearing up the kitchen floor to replace it. Last night as he moved our refrigerator into our living room, I was momentarily thinking that perhaps I was crazy to have agreed to let him start this. But he has done a fantastic (finished) job on all our other projects, and I trust him. So have at it, my dear!

Here are some of the BEFORE pictures:

He's just finished up the trim this evening, and I'm glad since he's barely slept or ate for the past two days. He tends to have tunnel vision when he's working on a project. It looks so great, though. As you can probably tell from the "before" pictures, our little kitchen really needed the face lift. The floor was pretty bad. Now it looks FANTASTIC! Great job, honey!! You are amazing.

Here's the FINISHED PRODUCT:

Welcome to the World, Baby Kylie!

Disclaimer: if you have never had a baby, or are squeamish about such things, you may want to skip the following post and just browse the pictures.

As we waited at the hospital Wednesday evening, we ordered dinner and brought out the Canasta cards to pass some time. We had registered for the cards for our wedding but hadn't ever pulled them out until I was put on bed rest a few weeks before Kylie was born. Then suddenly Bryan and I had lots of fun competition with them. We reintroduced his mom to the game also, so while we were at the hospital waiting we decided it was a great way to focus on something other than the clock.

I was supposed to have my third & final dose of cytotec at 7pm, but because I was having a lot more cramping than contractions, they decided to wait one additional hour and gave it to me at 8pm instead. This was in the hope of calming things down a bit and hopefully getting some actual contractions started. Unfortunately waiting the extra hour seemed to do the opposite, and on the monitor we could see that everything had slowed down to almost nothing. Around 9pm the nurse came in and explained that they had scheduled for an obstetrician to come and break my water at midnight, which would hopefully get things going. She said that I would probably start on pitocin after that, and that we would probably be having a baby later on the next morning.

We settled back into our very serious game of Canasta, and I was enjoying the competition and feeling really comfortable. While we played, we kept our eyes on the StorkBytes monitor, which monitors both the baby's heartbeat and also mama's contractions. As we periodically kept our eyes on the monitor, everything still seemed pretty quiet and uneventful. Around 9:45, just as Bryan was about to "go out" and win the hand of Canasta, (remember his winning hand?) I happened to sneeze. Bryan remarked that we should check out the monitor to see if it picked up the sneeze, and it had. Just as we were looking at the monitor I felt a gush of fluid and blurted out that I thought my water had just broken. Halfway through that sentence, I felt another huge gush and told Bryan to call the nurse.

He did call the nurse, who answered the call button saying something like, "I'll bet you're wondering where your baby is...I'll be right in." Bryan didn't even get a chance to tell her that my water had broken. It just so happened that when I sneezed the monitor must have moved off the baby, so it couldn't pick up the heartbeat anymore. In the midst of everything going on, we hadn't noticed that but the nurse had and thought that was why we were calling. When she came in Bryan told her that my water had broken, and I think at first she didn't believe it, telling us that a lot of women think their water has broken but they are disappointed to discover that it's actually still intact. As I climbed out of bed and she saw the puddle I had left behind she was surprised. This was about the point that I started getting really nervous, since I had always heard that breaking the water is generally what really gets labor going.

Turns out that was what really got my labor going, since by 10pm I was having pretty serious contractions that were coming very quickly. The card game was forgotten about, and as I tried to get comfortable Bryan put on my Pride & Prejudice DVD, which I had packed thinking that the 5-hour A & E version of the movie would take up a lot of time and give me something else to focus on. But within 20 minutes of my water breaking I was uncomfortable enough that the nurse asked me if I was ready for an epidural, and I said YES PLEASE! Turns out the anesthesiologist was really quick, and in what seemed to me another 10 minutes he was in the room placing it for me. Incidentally, Pride & Prejudice never made it past the main menu...in fact the music was really getting on my nerves as I tried to sit still while the anesthesiologist placed my epidural. After it was in, I had Bryan turn the movie off, since I just really had no desire to pay any kind of attention to a movie at that point. I think placing the epidural was the hardest part of my labor (besides the pushing) but not because of the needles. I don't have any problem with needles. It was just very difficult to sit still through the intense contractions while he got everything placed. Once it was over, I was thinking what a wonderful thing pain meds are! I know there are a lot of women out there who have done natural childbirth -- but I have always maintained that it's 2011, and I have nothing to prove to anyone! It was really wonderful to be able to just lay in bed and be comfortable. I felt pressure with the contractions, but not one bit of pain...it was fantastic.

Right after I had the epidural, the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 4. My body was making progress, but still had a ways to go. By midnight Bryan and I had decided that perhaps I should try to get some rest right now, since it was going to be a long morning. We told his mom to head home and try to get some sleep, and that we would call her if anything happened. We turned the lights down, and tried to settle in for a little nap. No sooner had Bryan laid down, than I felt the sensation of something leaving my body. I told him he needed to check and see what had just happened, since because of the epidural I had no real sensation from the waist down. He jokingly asked me if I thought it was the baby. Hahaha. He called the nurse immediately when he realized it was a huge blood clot. When the nurse came in she said, "Oh my heavens!" She checked me again and said I was dilated to an 8. None of us could believe it. When she disappeared into a closet and reemerged with a cart full of tools and dressings, Bryan asked her if I was going to have the baby soon. Um, yeah. She explained that she was going to call the midwife, because I was just about ready to go. As soon as the nurse left, I asked Bryan to call his mom to come back. It had been less than 45 minutes since she had left the hospital, and we felt bad that we had sent her home but we had no idea that things would progress so quickly.

My midwife Gretchen arrived around 1:30am and I started pushing. This phase of labor was a bit of a blur and remembering it makes it seem a little like a dream. The lights of the room were turned down, and since it was the middle of the night it was dark outside, so all of this contrasted with the bright lights they had set up at the end of the bed. After the first few pushes, I was exhausted. Bryan and I had talked previously with the midwife about our concerns with my ongoing fatigue and how that might affect labor. Bryan was particularly concerned about it, and his concerns turned out to be valid, as I had a really hard time with pushing. As each contraction would finish up and I was finished with pushing for a minute, I was totally exhausted. All I could do was lay my head back with my eyes closed and try to breathe the oxygen slowly. It was really hard for me and got really scary as Kylie started to have trouble. Each time I would have a contraction, her heart rate began to drop dramatically and she was in distress. They kept telling me that we needed to get the baby out, and that I needed to try as hard as I could. This of course scared me and I was praying for the strength to keep going. When we weren't making significant progress, and OB was called in so that if they needed to use suction they could. When the doctor got there, she had some suggestions that seemed to help make the baby more comfortable and luckily within a short time she was able to be delivered at 3:03am on July 21st, 2011. I've always heard people talk about what a spiritual experience the birth of a baby is, but I'll be honest. I was so exhausted all I remember feeling was relief that she was out and that she was OK. I heard the doctor ask Bryan if he was ready to cut the cord, but I was too tired to lift my head up and watch. I was just really glad that she was out now and would get the help she needed.

As soon as Kylie was born, the NICU team started working on her at the little station in our room. I'm really glad that Bryan was there and was able to stay with her the whole time. He also got some amazing pictures of the baby and some of her first expressions as her sweet little face looks shocked, confused, and just plain mad. Bryan and I were talking about what a baby must think of the entire labor & delivery process after spending months and months in a warm, comfortable bath of amniotic fluid. Kylie looked like she was pretty ticked.

While the NICU team was working on her, I was trying to listen to what was being said, but I couldn't hear very well. There were a total of seven medical personnel in our room at this point, so there was a lot going on. I was worried, but I think the fact that I was so tired took some of the edge off. After they had worked on her for awhile, Bryan asked them if they could bring the baby over to me before they took her to the NICU. Good job, daddy! I was glad he asked about that, because I was anxious to see her!

I had no idea what was happening, but after they had been gone for about an hour, Bryan called me from the NICU saying that everything had gone really well, and that they had cleared the baby to come back and spend the night with us in our room. I was really excited because I wanted to see the little munchkin and of course, finally be able to hold her! I had really hoped to be able to do skin to skin right after she was born, but it didn't work out with the trouble that she had breathing. Obviously, I'm glad that the team was there to take care of her - I had just imagined things happening differently and so I was a bit disappointed about that side of things. But not to worry! I got to have my moment as soon as Bryan brought Kylie back...then we were finally able to snuggle and snap our first pictures together as a family.

Welcome to the world, Kylie LaRee! Life holds so much happiness, so many wonderful experiences and so much love for you...we are overjoyed that you came to our family, and that we get to be your parents. We can't wait for all the amazing experiences we will be able to share together! We love you, baby Kylie, you have made our family feel complete!

A Place for Friends & Family

We finally finished our guest bedroom this weekend. We painted, hung curtains & bought a queen-size bed. It's all ready to go...so who's coming to visit??

Father's Day 2011

This year Bryan got to celebrate his very first Father's Day! We began the day with German pancakes, Bryan's favorite breakfast. Then he got to open his presents. I tried to do good with his gifts, since he always does great things for me, but he's not the most forthcoming about what he might need/want/enjoy. I think I did pretty well, since he seemed pretty excited.

He got a large toolbox, a tool bag, a couple of specialty attachments for his power drill, a new pair of flip-flops and a wok (he loves to make stir-fry, and he's really good at it!) Afterward he said he was pretty happy at the opportunity of adding a new holiday to his yearly schedule...especially one with presents! We took a couple of pictures together after church, since we wanted to show off the baby bump (we were 32 weeks today.) Bryan is going to make the best dad, and it was so fun to celebrate his first Father's Day!

Baby Shower!

My baby shower was on Saturday, and we had so much fun! My friend Victoria had offered to throw it for me, (thanks so much Victoria!!) and Kristen and Mary helped out with activities and refreshments. We had the shower at our house, which was nice because it gave us an opportunity to show off our little nursery...though still not finished, it's coming together!

Victoria & I pose with the balloon bouquet

There were lots of yummy treats, and we also had a lunch of taco soup, clam chowder & salads. In keeping with our fairytale nursery theme, there were plenty of frogs there that day! Mary made here famous cake balls, the chocolate confections drizzled with white chocolate, and we also served yummy cupcakes topped with chocolate frogs that Victoria had made.

The refreshment spread in the diningroom

The gourmet-looking cake balls compliments of Mary

Victoria found this little porcelain frog...perfect!

Most of the festivities were held out in the yard on the beautiful, sunny day

Bryan's mom and sisters Jenaye & Lacey joined us via skype

Showing off the baby bumps with cousin Ali

Bryan's favorite baby gift so far

 

 

 

The Chair Project

So this last week my Grandma and I were shopping at Ross, and I saw some really cute upholstered chairs for kids. I've always thought they were cute, and since I'm working on a nursery, it was fun to see that they had some that would go perfectly in the nursery. At least that's what I thought until I saw the price -- $60. Obviously, more than I would be willing to spend on a kid's chair...so I enjoyed looking at them, but had no further thought of actually getting one.

The next day, Grandma and I were doing one of our favorite things, visiting the local DI (a thrift store) when I noticed that they had an upholstered kid's chair! It was not much to look at, covered in stained and worn out denim, but I could see the potential. It's actually a cute little rocking chair. It was only $5, much more in my willing-to-spend price range. After a visit to the fabric store, (that happened to be having a mega sale,) I was able to come home with a couple yards of upholstery fabric (usually $21.99 a yard) for only $3.50 a yard! All-in-all the chair wound up costing a cool $12.00.

I considered reupholstering it, but then decided to go with a slip cover, which will be much easier to throw in the wash when things inevitably are spilled on it. I love how it turned out, and even though the baby won't be using it for a couple years, it was totally worth it!! Here are the before and after pictures:

Mother's Day 2011

I was excited about this Mother's Day, because it's the first that I actually officially get to celebrate as a mother (or mom-to-be!) Bryan got me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a wonderful card. I'm not going to share the card, because it's personal, but I will say that I'm one of the luckiest girls in the world when it comes to having a husband that writes the sweetest notes and always picks out cards that make me cry! Ok, I'll admit, making me cry right now is really not that hard! But it was a wonderfully sweet card and I loved every word of the card and his hand-written message.

I also got a card from the dogs, which basically talked all about how I meet their needs when they're hungry, in need of affection, etc. Inside it basically said that we make a great team. It was really cute, and also included a hand-written message reading something like, "arf, bark bark, woof grrrr, woof woof." It was signed Tailor & Quincy. It was really fun.

Here are my beautiful Mother's Day flowers, which included the same gorgeous orange lilies we had at our wedding, two beautiful red roses and some other wonderful spring flowers. Ahhh, I love my husband!!

Candy's 37th Birthday!

This year's birthday was one of my best birthdays EVER! The day started at around 5am, when I woke up and tossed a bit in bed trying to get comfortable. Bryan woke to my stirring and pulled me in close, whispering "Happy Birthday!" I was impressed that he had the presence of mind that early in the morning to remember my birthday. After a couple more hours of sleep, the day continued with spa pedicures, lunch with my friend Victoria, then an afternoon of shopping.

When he was done with work, Bryan brought home my favorite takeout and flowers, as well as some other goodies. We ate dinner (complete with sparkling cider and stemware, of course!) out on the porch and enjoyed the perfect evening. We also took some pictures of the baby bump to mark the occasion...even though I feel fat, swollen and generally deformed, we do need pictures for posterity. :) After dinner, he surprised me with a little cake complete with some improvised tea-light candles since we didn't have birthday candles. I'm sure the wish is still good, right?

When I opened my presents, I loved that one of them was a little 12" wooden mirror that came from a thrift store. I was a little confused at first, but then Bryan told me to open the card. Inside, he had written a poem that I won't share here, but the jist of it was about how this was a magic mirror that reflected the image of the most wonderful woman in the world...is that the sweetest thing EVER???? My next gift was a beautiful ceiling fan/light fixture for our bedroom. I've been wishing for one for over a year...and now that I'm prego and summer is fast approaching, it's the perfect gift! I was sooo excited about it, and the best part was that it came with the promise that it would be installed the next day! As one last surprise for me, I got a coupon for pre-natal massage, a massage technique specifically for pregnant women. The biggest surprise was that he had studied prenatal massage technique, and proceeded to give me the most wonderful (and relaxing!) hour-long prenatal massage. I was SUPER impressed by his effort with that. After working in the spa industry for over a decade, I've had a lot of professional massages to compare it with. He did a great job! Is my husband the BEST, or what!!!??

It was an amazing birthday, and I'm so excited for this coming year...we have so many wonderful things to look forward to, not the least of which is having our first little baby! Life is so wonderful, and while it's not always perfect, I feel so blessed. My life has changed so much over the last few years...it's completely different than it was three years ago. But I wouldn't trade any of it for what I have right now! I'm looking forward to another wonderful year!!!

More Nursery Stuff...Crown Molding!

We were so excited that my brother Matt was going to be in town for a short visit! While he was here, he graciously shared his expertise with us by helping us install crown molding in the baby's room. He brought all of his pro tools and he and Bryan had the job done in under an hour. Thanks so much, Matt!! We love you and REALLY appreciate it!

We enjoyed the rest of the evening by having dinner and just spending time together. I love my family so much, and wish they lived closer!!

Color-Coordinated Carpet!

Last summer Bryan's sweet grandma gifted us some brand-new carpet. We determined at that time that if we had a baby girl, it would be perfect for the nursery. Well, this weekend, that carpet was pulled out of it's cocoon in our basement and actually got installed in the nursery! Bryan's friend Devin came to help, and the whole project was done in one day. Things are looking really good, and our nursery project is coming right along!