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What do you do?

Wednesday, December 30, 2009
What do you do when you get home from work? I usually reach right into the car seat that holds my little pumpkin, loosen and unstrap all of her multiple harnesses, and pull her up for a good snuggle and squeeze.

As you know we have recently switched over to full-time formula. There were a few bags of breast milk left, lonely in the freezer. We decided it would be easiest to send them with her to day care until they were gone. I may have changed my mind about that now...

Every day that Kate consumes the frozen breast milk, she spits up more. Before I thought that breast milk stunk less than formula, but that was not bringing into mention "frozen" breast milk. All I can even think about when I cuddle her close, as her neck and sometimes clothes reek of stinky milk, is how fast I can get her upstairs into a bath while holding my breath!

Yesterday when I picked her up, there was not much smell to be smelled. Testing my good fortune I brought Kate upstairs and began to play with some new (from Christmas) toys with her.

While changing her diaper the first bit of spit up decided to arrive...and let me tell you, even one small drop is enough to stop my nose in its tracks!

After outfit change #1 we sat on the floor to play. Not long after our sitting up escapades had begun, the river of spit up began to flow again.

No problem, I thought. While on the floor I quick whipped her out of outfit #1 and into outfit #3. A couple of swipes with a wipe later and we were good to go again.

Of course, after a flow that large there couldn't possibly be any more to come up...right? Wrong!

The river of spit up overflowed again, now onto the third outfit of Kate's day.

That was it, I decided that at this point a bath was eminent. Instead of tarnishing another outfit before bath time Kate and I continued our playing with her only in her diaper. Have I told you how much my kid loves being naked now?

Later that night John commented on how much laundry that Kate had...little did he know how it all got there!

Not Me Monday

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Have you ever done something, seen something, said something, or even heard something that caused you to stop and think, am I really doing this.

Or have you ever stopped after actually doing/saying something and thought to yourself, did I really just do/say that?

If so, MckMama has created a way for us to voice these crazy happenings. So if you do not have any to share, at least check out the "not me" Monday postings on others blogs, they will make you feel better about your own "not me" moments!
This week...
...it was not me who woke up at 3:15am and stayed up just so that I could take a longer shower in the morning, imagine the water bill this month!
...it couldn't have been me who ate dessert for breakfast three days in a row...and still counting!
...i never would have given my daughter a bath as soon as I got home because no matter how cute she is it is hard to snuggle with a stinky-milk-necked baby!
...and finally I never would have reached into my pocket to grab my keys while walking towards my car, thinking of what to make for dinner, humming a song in my head, and talking on the phone and not notice that the pink nuk in my hands will not unlock the door after all!

She Gets That From...The Beagles?

Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Last night in her bath, Kate decided to pull out one of her brand new tricks since she had the undivided attention of both her mommy and daddy.

While John was talking to her (also known as sounding like a crazy person, which is an ailment most adults contract when within five feet of any infant or toddler) she was watching him and then she tilted her head to the side. Right away she brought it back up like nothing happened and John and I both kind of stopped. Then she did it again, and again, and even went back and forth from side to side.

(I will try my best to get this on camera, but as most people know, once the camera is out it becomes much more interesting than what was happening before.)

John thinks that it could be because he tilts his head when talking to her sometimes.

I think it is from all that time she spends watching her friends, the Beagles.

When talking to either Beagle, but especially Puller (I know, only crazy people talk to their dogs right?) they will often tilt their head as if to say, "I don't understand", or "I sympathise", or even "I am trying to figure out what you are saying to me".

We have many, and I mean many, pictures of them holding this pose, none of which I have handy to post along with this right now.

Great...my baby is going to be a Beagle when she grows up!

Just like at the Deli Counter

Tuesday, December 22, 2009
I used to work in a grocery store, at the deli counter. I have had plenty of experience with the calling numbers method that is used at most locations.

It seems that this method may also soon find itself applicable with my family...

We have a suggestion from some family members, that when arriving at my parents' house on Christmas day, that each person would get a number. Then, every so often (timed period of course) a new number would be called. I am sure you wonder what would happen when this number is called, don't you?

The person with the number that is called will then be able to, for their allotted period of time...


hold Kate!

Ha, ha, ha! This funny idea definitely gave me a well-needed chuckle at work today!

As long as everyone plays fair, we shouldn't have to resort to these drastic measures.

Advice for the next grandchild to have a baby...

have multiples!

Merry Christmas from the Taylors


Kate's Four Month Slideshow

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Great Diaper Debate

Friday, December 18, 2009
If you have had the privilege of parenting, grandparenting, or caring for a child in diapers you will agree with me that the amount of brands and types can be dizzying.

Because we are new parents, and also because we knew that there couldn't be that much of a difference between the premium priced diapers and the value diapers, John and I decided it would be best for us to try out a bunch of brands.

Below are listed the brands that we have tried and what we thought of them. This is only based off of our experience which means that other peoples' experiences may be different since no two kids are exactly alike. In case you happen to have a child that is exactly like Kate, this will help you shop for diapers for her/him.

Pampers Swaddlers (est. $0.23 each): One of the best, but also one of the most expensive. They hold throughout an entire night without leaking, unless there is more than one type of filler (if you know what I mean).

Pampers Baby Dry (est. $0.20 each): We liked these a lot as well, but were pretty much comparable to the Luvs brand if you don't count which type of character design is on the diaper.

Huggies Little Snugglers (est. $0.25 each): By far my favorite diaper! They are comparable to the pampers in their holdability but they have an inside flap in the back of the diaper. Do you know what that flap saves? It saves John and I time, wet wipes, a load of laundry, and most importantly it saves our daughter's back from being covered in you know what! If I have a coupon and these are on sale I will always buy them, but only then.

Huggies Regular (est. $0.24 each): Comparable to the Luvs.

Target Brand (est. $0.13 each): At first we thought that these would be the diapers we would always use. They are by far one of the cheapest and seem to be okay. After using them for a while we realized that we had to change them more often and therefor were not actually saving money.

Luvs (est. $.16 each): These are the diapers that we will probably purchase from now on, on a regular basis (except for the times that we buy Huggies). They seem to be exactly the same as both Pampers and Huggies regular types but are significantly lower in price.

All in all, for a newborn I would purchase the Pampers swaddlers. But after their belly button heals then I would definitely switch on over to the Luvs. When you look back as your child gets older you will be proud of yourself for saving almost half of what you may have paid while purchasing Pampers or Huggies!

Revving Her Engine

Thursday, December 17, 2009
Yesterday when I got home I had to go through the mail and the large stack of packages outside our door. Kate seems to like the Christmas tree lights quite a bit so I decided to put her in her Bumbo chair in front of the tree.

While I was opening/organizing/tossing I could hear her making noises at the tree. These noises were new and weren't like the "talking" that she has done in the past. The noises were more like a very small car, revving its engine over and over again.

At the time I thought it was pretty funny, and kept on going through what I was working on.

About ten minutes later she started to fuss a little and I was done, so I went over to see what was wrong...

About ten feet from her the pungent aroma hit my nostrils. By the time I made it upstairs with her (it smelled too rank to change her on the pad downstairs) I was practically gagging at the stench!

Ten wipes, an impromptu load of laundry, and a bath later I had one very happy and talkative little girl.

I guess I have learned my lesson...

Revving does not equal cute, it equals mess!

Four Months

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Our little pumpkin turned four months old yesterday!

This month has brought us some of the biggest changes so far for Kate.

She is weighing in at 14.5 pounds and is 24.75 inches long. This moves her from the 50th percentile in height and weight to the 75th percentile. We knew all that sleeping and eating was good for something...growing!

She is fitting into 3-6 month clothes now, in length anyways. The arms on all of her shirts are too long and the shirts themselves are way too wide. We may have a tall little girl on our hands...wonder where she got that from (in case you didn't know already, John and I are the tallest siblings by at least a head in both of our families)?

She has finally mastered the art of sitting in her Bumbo and loves to watch either myself or John make dinner, we like to call her our little sous chef!

Besides sitting in her Bumbo she loves to sit on peoples laps and has recently started whining unless you support her standing on your lap! The other day I propped her at an angle on our big chair and she pulled herself all the way into the sitting position...looks like we may have to start keeping a closer eye on her!

One of her favorite tricks besides sticking her tongue out at Grandma is to reach into her mouth and grab ahold of her tongue, it is quite a site when she smiles, sticks her tongue out, and still has ahold of it!

She is eating cereal every night for dinner and has recently started eating peas with that cereal. I think she is really enjoying eating food because yesterday when being held she went for a fry that her holder, Sue, was going to eat. After she realized that it wasn't going into her mouth she started to wail. I don't know how to explain to her that she is not ready for that solid of foods yet (if she is anything like her two cousins those fries will end up being only a way to get ketchup and ranch into her mouth)!

Talking has become one of her favorite past times. She talks to the dogs, cats, herself in the mirror, her hand, other people, the closet, the hanging toys, etc. Again, not too sure where she gets that from either! : )

With all of the new things she is learning each day I know that it will only get more exciting, probably both for her and for us. We can't wait!

Lion's Christmas Project

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Kate and I are on our way to volunteer at the Lion's Christmas Project today. I'm pretty sure that I will be doing all of the heavy lifting (wrapping) while Kate just soaks in all the attention that she will be getting from Grandma and Grandpa.
To get everyone in the holiday spirit I have finally remembered to upload the picture of Kate with Santa!
Enjoy!

Making Peace With It

Monday, December 14, 2009
Since Kate was born she has been drinking breast milk. The amount that she drinks has differed greatly over her first four months. We have needed to feed her both formula and breast milk since birth.

Unfortunately I have never been able to produce the amount of breast milk that Kate is hungry for or needs. This has been a constant challenge for me over the last four months that has caused me both aggravation and increased emotions.

It has gotten to the point now where I can only express up to 12 ounces each day, when Kate is eating between 36 and 40.

I have tried the herbs and teas, increased water, etc.

Finally, today I have gotten to the point where I need to make a decision.

Is it worth the extra grief that I put myself through? She has technically been on breast milk now for four months, which is really good.

At this point I have finally made peace with the idea of feeding her only formula for milk. She doesn't seem to notice one bit between the two, and is happy either way.

I guess this means I better dust off my old gym card...since those extra calories I was burning will be burnt no more!

Christmas at Macy's

Sunday, December 13, 2009
We started a new family tradition yesterday, maybe one that will grow some more in the future.

John, Kate and I went to Macy's downtown to see the holiday display. The theme of the display this year is "A Day in the Life of an Elf".

This was the first time going to this event for both Kate and John, and after getting there John made a comment about how much he would have loved it as a kid.

I remember going as a kid, but this always included waiting in a super long line. The long wait takes some of the fun out of it, but not for us yesterday.

For some reason we arrived at the perfect lull in the action. There was no line to get to the displays and only about a fifteen minute wait for Santa. Definately worth it!

Kate did great, and sat on Santa's lap without a peep! The picture turned out so cute and we were able to get it digitally on a flash drive which is really nice. It was a bit spendy to do this but for $19.99 plus tax we got the one picture on the flash drive and parking validation. We figured no matter what other package we purchased, after paying $9.00 in parking this option was best.

Plus, now I can share her super cute photo with all of you (once I can remember to upload it)!

Peas

Thursday, December 10, 2009
My grandma hated vegetables...

My mom hates peas...

Kate loves them!

We started Kate on cereal about two weeks ago. Our little girl decided that even after eating gallons of breast milk and formula, that she should start waking up at night crying for more food.

The cereal transition has gone over seamlessly, we were both really surprised at her innate ability to eat from a spoon (a little tip for those who haven't had this experience yet, the thicker it is the easier it is for them to eat.)

So last night, just for kicks we decided to add some peas in with her cereal. John mixed in half a container (thanks mom for the shower game/food gift) and set her up to chow down.

After her first taste, she screwed up her face and kind of looked at John like "what are you feeding me now?" At that point I think we both thought we were embarking on an uphill battle.

**Side Note**
One of my biggest fears is to have kids that are afraid to eat anything except pizza and hot dogs (though John and I like those things, they get old really fast!).

John and I would not be deterred, our Kate was going to like peas and vegetables if we had to force feed them to her until she succumbed!

Thankfully that type of behavior was not necessary since after a couple more bites she was practically begging for more. And by begging I mean short little whimperings that soon turn into large wails if the spoon does not hit her mouth with food in it!

So my baby likes peas, is it weird that something this small feels like an accomplishment to me?

Christmas Presents

Wednesday, December 9, 2009
What in the world do you buy for a four month old baby at Christmas?

Our families seem to be picking up the toy department for the holidays, so John and I weren't sure what we should do.

At one point we thought we would just deposit some cash in her savings account, which we might still do.

Then, I had a great idea!

Every little kid needs a suitcase to carry their things to grandma and grandpa's house, don't they?

I found the cutest little suitcase with wheels at Pottery Barn Kids and even was able to get her name embroidered on it. (Picture Kate on it instead of Ella).


I know that Christmas in the first couple of years is more for the adults than for the kids, but I can't help but buy something for her. It is amazing how much fun I get out of shopping for her, which is something she will probably enjoy when she gets older and wants to go to the mall!

Pretzel M&Ms

Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Today my boss Kim pulled me into her office to try something new that she had...


Pretzel M&Ms!


Tiny balls of pretzel covered in chocolate and then the trademark candy coating.

I only got one, but it was awesome!

I went online to the M&M website, and they weren't even listed there, must be too new.

Anyways, if you happen to see them around I would definately suggest them!

Over-Tired

Monday, December 7, 2009
We officially know what it is like to have an “over-tired” child.

Kate spent the night at John’s parents’ house on Saturday, and it seems she had so much fun that she forgot to sleep. Darlene said that she slept through the night, but I think that on Saturday night the excitement of being around a bunch of people ready to give her attention caused her to skip her nap.

We got her home on Sunday and I wanted to give her a bath. But when I sat her down on her changing table to start undressing her the tears sprung forward. Even after getting her completely naked (which she usually loves), she continued crying. As I picked her up to carry her into the bathroom she quieted down. Then, halfway through the air towards the tub she started up again.

This was the first bath since she was a newborn that she cried to, let’s just say I made it quick. Finally I was able to get her diapered and dressed, still through more crying. John picked her up and cuddled her close and she started quieting down.

We decided to try a bottle due to the ferociousness in how she attacked her nuk at that point. Six ounces later I had one happy, smiling, and talking baby.

Thankfully, not much longer after that she tuckered out. Whew, not fun! This morning though she was still tired but back to being smiley!

Daddy's Girl

Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Could Kate look any more like John in this picture?


Shocking!

Monday, November 30, 2009
Walking into my parents' house is always a big event. We usually have more than one bag and a carseat full of Kate.

My parents' dog Darby may be the happiest and clutsiest big ball of fun that I have ever seen.

On Sunday John was carrying Kate in her carseat, as usually Darby bounded down the stairs straight for him. Luckily John was able to grab ahold of her collar to calm her down, when all of a sudden he felt a vibrating on his hand.

My dad had hit the vibrate on Darby's training collar...good think it wasn't the shocker!

Kate's First Thanksgiving

Saturday, November 28, 2009
Posted by Picasa

Overnight With Grandma

Friday, November 20, 2009
Tonight John and I are heading out to celebrate a friend's birthday. Since this is an adults only event, we quickly found ourselves a suitable babysitter...

GRANDMA!!

Babysitting while we were gone quickly turned into an overnight with Grandma. This will be the first time that Kate won't be with us overnight.

Of course I completely trust my mom, and know that Kate will be perfectly fine.

The one who may not be perfectly fine is me. But like taking off a band-aid, I should get this first over night out of the way.

I'm sure it will be hard, but on the upside I will be able to sleep in! : ) (Which to me means around 6:00am)

As Big as Reese

Thursday, November 19, 2009
The other day as I was picking Kate up from her swing I stopped for a second and looked at her. I realized at that point that she is now as big as Reese was when she and her mom Heidi came to visit us in the hospital.

At that point I of course could not fathom that my small tiny peanut would ever be that big, or even bigger.

Once I realized that I just had to stop and smile, I really can't believe how much she is growing. It is amazing how much fun it is to be with her as she gets bigger and learns new things.

Then I thought of sweet Reesie Lou and decided it was about darn time to see her again, as well as Heidi of course!

I know I have mentioned this before, but it is such a wonderful gift to have two friends with daughters that are about three months older than Kate. As I watch both Reese and Peyton grow up, I get a little preview of what to expect with Kate.

And let me tell you, it only makes me more excited!

Naked Baby

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
My once freeze baby of a little girl has now become the incredible naked baby!

It seems that Kate has now accumulated enough fat on her body so that when she has no clothes on she isn't freezing cold anymore. This change happened slowly, starting with her not crying when her diaper came off. Next she seemed fine while her clothes were changed.

Finally, she has gotten to the point where she loves to be naked.

Yesterday I decided to let her "air out" for a little bit on top of her changing pad. As soon as she had everything off, she was moving around like crazy. There were kicks, leg lifts, arm flails, and punches galore. She had even started rubbing around on her belly trying to grab it with her hands.

Along with this activity, she worked out a couple of good stinkers of course. After hearing, and smelling, a couple I started to get nervous. As most people have heard "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

So I reached down to get a diaper to quickly attach to her cannon of a bottom. When I stood back up the protective sheet over the diaper pad was wet (thank goodness it has a plastic lining) and she gave me the biggest smile.

While I was cleaning it all up, and laughing of course, she continued smiling away seemingly proud of herself for sneaking it out on me like that. What a stinker!

Three Months

Monday, November 16, 2009
Kate is now three months old, here she is doing one of her favorite things (swinging in her baby swing).

A Love Affair With the Man in the Brown Truck

There's no need to worry, this is not a post about a trashy romance straight out of my Grandma's old novels! It is a post about the love affair our beagles have with the UPS man.

When John and I got married we had a lot of gifts delivered to our house. This is the first time that our beagles, Nora and Puller, met the UPS man. Every time that he stopped to deliver a package when I was home, he would give the dogs each a treat.

Now this treat was not the normal small-sized milk bones that we give them, but was the extra large sized milk bones made for dogs the size of a mastiff. I am sure they thought it was one of the best things they had ever received.

It was basically love at first bribe.

Not long after this first meeting the dogs began to recognize the UPS truck and would bark hysterically whenever they would see it, no matter if they were inside or out.

Then, one day I opened up the door to pick up a package that was delivered when we were gone, and there were two dog treats sitting on top of the package. It seems that the UPS man didn't want to dogs to feel left out even if they weren't outside when he came by.

A couple of weeks later, on a Saturday, John let the dogs outside and immediately they started barking like crazy. He got up and started to go outside when he saw the UPS man driving down our street. The driver slowed down by our house, did not stop, but tossed out two bones that the beagles quickly gobbled up. The driver waived at John and continued on his way.

This special relationship is strengthened almost weekly through the tossing of treats out of the moving UPS truck as well as the treats that are left on our delivered packages.

Now I'm sure that there are others out there that have great delivery people, but I just wanted to take a minute to let people know how much our dogs love our favorite UPS driver!

Oh What A Night

Friday, November 13, 2009
Whooeee, what a night we had last night!

Little miss Kate did not sleep very well at all. Thank goodness this is an unusual happening instead of the norm!

She went down at 9:30 and proceeded to wake up twice with John and twice with me, until she woke up for the fifth time at 1:30 in the morning with me again.

We tried changing her diaper, giving her the nuk, cuddling her, turning on her rain forest music machine, feeding her, etc. But no matter what as soon as we sat down with her or laid her down, she went crazy. Go figure that we ran out of batteries in the swing the day before and had not replenished yet (this is usually her favorite thing). The bouncy chair was just not going to work as a substitute.

Finally, I started singing to her...much to my surprise this worked! I started with some Raffi classics, then moved onto some nursery rhymes, finally in my sleep deprived state of mind I had no clue of what else to sing.

And of course as soon as I stopped she would start to whimper again.

Then I had a great idea (given to me by Kool 108) to start singing Christmas songs. After one round of "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and "Silent Night", she was down for the count.

So the other day when I shook me head as Kool 108 was playing some Christmas music (way to early in the year) I didn't realize that it would come in handy!

Kate's Funny Feet

Thursday, November 12, 2009
Here's a video showing how Kate likes to touch things with her feet instead of her hands. I swear she is more coordinated with them than anything else!

http://www.youtube.com/taylormadefamily3#p/a/u/0/0uEd7Ijubik

I Did an Awful Thing

Last night on my way to dinner with my mom, I hit a dog with my car.

I barely saw it as it crossed the white line, and slammed on my brakes just as I hit it. Right away I couldn't believe that it had just happened, and pulled over onto the side of the road and turned on my hazard lights.

I kind of sat there for a second, maybe in a little bit of shock. Then I realized that I had Kate in the back and #1 shouldn't be sitting on the side of the highway in the dark and #2 didn't feel comfortable turning the car around and driving back to the gas station (by where the dog ran into the road).

As I was sitting there I saw in my rear view mirror, someone walk out into the road, pick up the dog, and walk back. I couldn't really see much more since it was dark. At this point I wasn't sure if I should wait there, go back to talk to the person, or keep on going.

It changes everything that Kate was in the car with me, and that it was just the two of us alone. When you have your young child with you in this type of situation, their well being greatly supersedes any other thought process that you might be having, or trying to have.

So I called 911, not really knowing what to do in this situation, and while I was waiting for the cop to come I pulled onto a side road right next to where I currently was. I finally gathered up the courage to get out of the car and look at where the dog hit. I was so afraid that any blood or hair left on the vehicle would cause me to completely freak out, that it took me a while to calm down enough to look.

I couldn't really see anything, so I got back in the car to wait. When the cop showed up he took a look and shined his flashlight there so that I could see as well. I explained to him what had happened, and it sounded like he was going to go back to the gas station to ask around. He said that it is a good thing that he will be able to let the owner of the dog know what happened.

All night, and still today, I couldn't shake the feeling that I got when I realized what had happened. I feel so sorry for the family that the dog belonged to. As many of my family and friends know, I have two dogs and two cats of my own. This makes what happened even harder for me because I understand how much of a family member a pet can become.

So thankfully Kate was not hurt, even the car was not hurt, but my heart...definitely was hurt.

Why Is That Any Of Your Business?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Yesterday, as I was leaving the parking ramp, the parking lot attendant (who is always overly friendly) asked me if I was still breast feeding my baby.

He asked this while motioning to his breast and making a squeezing and pulling motion. I get this question a lot from people that I know, and I am fine with it. But when it comes from a complete stranger, who is not a doctor/nurse/medical professional that needs to ask these questions, and is accompanies by crude motions, I think I have the right to be offended.

Now really, is that any of his business?

Supposedly he asked this to lead into his next compliment..."Because you are looking very pretty." Sorry, that compliment kind of backfired!

Barely Made It

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I barely made it into work this morning and it really didn't have much to do with me taking too long to get ready.

I wake up at 4 every morning and by 5 I am ready with a bottle to feed miss Kate when she wakes up. Though there are times when she wakes up around 4:30, but she is perfectly content to swing it out in her swing while I finish getting ready.

After feeding her a bottle I bring her into her room to change her into her daytime clothes. This is a part of my morning where I often get sidetracked. Kate loves to lay in her changing pad, with only a diaper on, and coo and smile away. This is where we have our morning chats.

Today though, she was extra talkative, and when I put her back in the swing so that I could leave for work, she decided there were some more things to tell me. She was getting so excited, moving all around and smiling like crazy, that I just had to sit down on the floor next to the swing and hash it out with her. Ten minutes later, she was getting a little tired, and I looked at the clock and realized that I would have to drive or be late.

It's mornings like these that I wish I could take her to work with me!

You Know You Have a Daughter When...

Monday, November 9, 2009
... your husband cuts his finger on the washing machine, cleans it up with a baby wipe, and covers it with a Hello Kitty band-aid because those are the only ones you have in the house!

A New Friend

Friday, November 6, 2009
Kate loves to talk to her Cookie Monster friend after he gets done singing her his own version of "Old McDonald"!

Just a Little Juice

These past couple of days Kate has been kind of whiny and finicky when I get her home at night. I was thinking that it could have been because of an upset stomach. Just to see if it would help to get things moving along (hint, hint) I gave her some prune juice.

I know that most adults as they read this will flinch, squish up their faces, and think, "Yuck, prune juice!"

She loves it!

It took her all of five minutes to hoover down three ounces of the stuff.

Then, one pruney smelling burp later...she was back to being my happy baby again.

We may be on to something...

A Day of Fun

Kate is embarking on her very first "Day of Fun" with her auntie Kristen!


I am sure that the two will have a blast, hopefully my little girl is full of smiles and giggles all day for her aunt!

Is this a Growth Spurt?

Thursday, November 5, 2009
Ever since last Sunday, Kate has been eating like a hungry hippo! She is still taking about 6 ounces for every feeding but instead of those feedings being 5 to 6 hours apart, she wants to eat every 3 to 4 hours.

Plus she has been super sleepy (practically slept all day on Sunday).

This morning at 2:30am she woke up super hungry, which she hasn't done since I went back to work (4 weeks ago).

But still, not chubby. I am still secretly hoping that she gets chubby, I love chubby babies!

If she keeps eating like this she will deplete my supply!

Ah well, what baby wants, baby gets! : )

All in Good Humor

Sunday, November 1, 2009
When John and I found out that we had a baby on the way, we knew that we both wanted to raise our children Catholic. Our only problem with this was that we both wanted to find a church with a priest that made church more enjoyable than your run-of-the-mill Catholic mass. Was it such a weird thought to want some humor mixed in with mass?

Growing up in St. Paul you would think that John had his pick of funny and interesting priests, but it doesn't sound like that was the case. The priests that were at my church growing up were both very family and kid friendly, and made it enjoyable to go every Sunday. Hey, when you have a priest who sporadically breaks out a guitar to sing his homily you can't get bored!

Our first church visit on our search was to the Catholic church in Hugo, let's just say that neither of us were impressed. The Friday night fish fry was pretty good though!

Then, some friends of ours joined the Church of St. Genevieve in Centerville, so we thought we would give it a try. Thankfully, it was perfect. The first mass we went to the priest instructed the deacon on how important it was to joke during the homily (together they kind of put on a faith-centered side show). We have now become members, which involved the priest visiting our home. We both found him to be funny, in a corny grandpa kind of way, which really helped to calm our nerves. Wouldn't anyone be nervous with a priest coming over to their house? I even wondered if we should hide the R rated movies!

To get to the end of my story here...

Today when we were leaving church, Father Tom, with all of his typical humor, pointed at Kate in her car seat and shouted, "Rookie!". Now if that doesn't make you laugh, then I don't know what will. : )

Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Is This Considered Child Abuse?

Monday, October 26, 2009
Kate's grandma (my mom) came up with a great idea to carve a really large pumpkin and place Kate in it for some cute pictures. Well, Kate did not think it was such a great idea!

Bath Time Mishap

Friday, October 23, 2009
Last night when John was giving Kate her bath, he kept telling Kate, "You are splashing so much that you are going to get me soaked!"

After about 10 minutes of playing and splashing it was time to rinse her off (i.e. warm up the water). John reached over to turn on the water and instead of only turning on the spout, he accidentally turned on the shower!

I guess that Kate didn't have to worry about getting her dad too wet since he already did it on his own!

A New Way to Eat

Thursday, October 22, 2009
Kate has created a new way to eat. Instead of just sucking on her bottle during feedings, she now uses the "soon to be patented" suck, chew, and tongue method.

She starts out her feeding by sucking on the bottle, as does every good baby. Then part way through, usually a couple of times, she brings out her new method. She will stop sucking and start chewing on the bottle instead, next she will push the bottle around in her mouth with her tongue. Eventually she does go back to sucking, but may throw in a couple more rounds of chew and tongue before the feeding is over.

Sometimes she will stop everything all together, look up at me with the bottle still in her mouth, and give me a huge goofy grin. It's almost as if she is saying, "I may be the silliest girl in town, you are supposed to suck your bottle not chew it!"

Does this mean that I am too patient with her while she is eating? I guess it doesn't really matter because it is worth stretching her feedings for a few extra minutes to get that grin out of her! It is a heart melter and usually makes me get a good chuckle.

A Cousin Who Isn't Sure

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
This past weekend on Saturday the Taylor family got together for a round of family pictures. I was lucky enough to find an amazing photographer and have been seriously utilizing her skills over the past two months!

The day was perfect for outside pictures, so we all met over at a local college so that we would have a lot of backdrop options. During one point of the session we had Kate, Cole, and Alex all on a blanket on the ground. (Cole and Alex are John's nephews.) The boys were both hamming it up pretty well, and it was one of the first times that Kate wasn't crying so Emily (the photographer) was snapping away as many shots as she could get.

Finally Emily asked both boys to give Kate a kiss and Cole leaned right in and started kissing away. Alex, who seems to be slightly afraid of Kate, quickly leaned backwards away from the baby. He looked up at Emily as if to say, "Are you crazy, I'm not kissing that thing!" Eventually after some gentle coaxing by all of the adults (and some physical head moving by his dad), Alex had gone back to resting his head by Kate again.

I think he is just waiting for her to impress him before he makes his final decision of whether to keep her or not. Just wait, I'm sure some day she'll drive him crazy!

Two Whole Months

Monday, October 19, 2009

I seriously cannot believe that Kate has been with us now for two months. It is pretty amazing to think back at how much she has changed over that time.


She had her two month wellness checkup at the doctor's office this morning. Daddy had to be the unlucky one to bring her in for a handful of shots. She weighed in at 11 pounds and 15 ounces and is just over 22.5 inches long.


One of the things we have noticed lately besides her significant increase in smiling and "talking", is that she has started figuring out what her hands are. There are times when she is looking at something and she will slowly reach out her hand and hit it or touch it. Besides that the coordination is still pretty low, but it is amazing how far it has come!


She started daycare last Tuesday and seems to be loving it. I am loving it since it is causing her to sleep through the night. She loves to sit and try to stay awake all day just to see what the other kids are doing. John and I think that she gets pretty spoiled there all day!


Bath time is becoming a longer process, not a bad one though. She loves to sit in the water and has just recently learned how to splash with both her legs and arms at the same time. There was one bath where she was having so much fun that the water got cool and had to be refreshed. What a lucky girl!

Kate's Second Month in Pictures

Thursday, October 15, 2009
We can't believe our baby is allreadt two months old! Here is a picture montage of her second month...
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Kate on the Prowl

Friday, October 2, 2009
Yesterday morning I brought miss Kate to the gym with me to work out. Wouldn't you know it, she spent the entire time flirting with the men that were there. She even tried to pick up the club's trainer!

We may have our hands full!

New Videos of Kate

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Check out some new videos of Kate:

http://www.youtube.com/user/taylormadefamily3

My Baby Teenager

Kate has what I think is Baby acne. She has gone from 1 1/2 months to fifteen over the last week. I feel so bad, but supposedly they don't even notice it. Hopefully it clears up by her next doctor's appointment, but if not John will have to ask the doctor what it really is.



An Uncomfortable Situation

This past weekend on Sunday my family had scheduled our family photos to be taken in Duluth. Since we were both heading the same direction, we decided to car pool with my parents. Being a mother of an infant who eats breast milk, I was going to need to pump in the car throughout the day. Thankfully I have a cover up and besides the noise of the pump I can be quite discreet (I have already had to pump on other road trips). Though I knew I could handle it, I was pretty uncomfortable knowing I would have to pump with my parents in the car!

When we got to the location where we were picking my parents up, they hadn't arrived yet so I decided to pump then and get at least one out of the way. To my surprise the battery pack to power the pump did not work, and this was with 8 brand new batteries. At this point John and I were trying to figure out which locations had private restrooms that would also have outlet plugs in them (we still have no clue thank goodness).

Since I didn't need to pump yet, I decided to wait. John started telling us of this thing you can plug into your car lighter and then it creates a normal plug in that you can plug anything into. We decided to purchase one of these once we got to Duluth. By the time that we did buy it, I had gotten quite uncomfortable and needed to pump asap. Needless to say I did have to pump in the car filled with four adults and one baby, but only once, and by that point I could have cared less!

P.S. I was able to exchange my pump for one that did work correctly the other day, thank goodness!

We Have Daycare!

Friday, September 25, 2009
Well we think we may have found the perfect daycare mom, Joyce. We are both really excited for Kate to go to her house every day, which is amazing since we thought we would be nervous. I am dropping off all of her supplies a week from Monday and then the next Tuesday will be Kate's first day.

From the cuddling attention that Joyce gave her during the interview I just know that she will feel loved while she is there. Plus, her references were all very positive about how much both they and their kids loved her.

The funny part is that one of her vacation days is the Monday that we were going to start, but it is okay because Grandma Taylor is more than happy to fill in!

Losing the Pregnancy Weight

Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Of course the focus of losing the pregnancy weight (and then some) is pretty common with women after having a baby. I am no different, especially since we have a couple of family photos coming up soon.

I was able to find a great resource online that calculates how many calories you should be eating each day. It tells you how many to maintain, lose, and (gasp) gain.

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_guide.htm

I found this really helpful and am using the calorie tracker that this website also offers for free. I have used the Weight Watchers online tools in the past and I think that I like this alternative better, plus it is easier on my wallet!

http://caloriecount.about.com/

Please let me know if there are any resources you have found helpful that I may have missed!

Tip for Interviewing Daycare Moms

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
When you are a daycare mom and are having an interview, show interest in the couple's children. Yes, it is important to make sure they get all of the important information about your service, but you should also be interested in the child.

We have only been to two places, out of five so far, where the providers actually even ask to hold Kate. One lady, who we didn't like right away, looked at her for like five seconds and that was it.

(Our favorite so far waited about two minutes before asking, then held her the entire interview, cuddling and talking to her. She is definitely a baby lover!)

As soon as the two did ask to hold her it was great to see how they would interact with her. I know that they are on their best behavior since it is an interview, but it still does help. A lot of this decision has to be based on gut feelings and reactions, this type of activity really helps!

Child Care Snafu

We at one point had found who we thought would be the perfect daycare mom for Kate. She lived in Hugo, was super nice, seemed to have it all together, was on the same page as us in raising kids, and even her rates were reasonable. Due to our procrastination though we have missed our chance with her and she has filled her open infant spot, actually both of them.

A first time parent is never aware of how tough it can be to find infant care. Since the county only lets the providors care for two infants at a time, the spots fill up quick. I think this is especially true in a town like Hugo where there are a lot of younger families because of all the new developments.

We realized this snafu on Thursday night around 6:30pm. Of course once we knew this we both scrambled to call as many providers that we could find. I think that we called every single providor for Hugo, Centerville, Lino Lakes, and Circle Pines that were listed on the State of Minnesota website. At first it seemed like every person that we called had just filled their infant openings. This of course made me really nervous, I think John was just happy I didn't start hyperventilating!

Thankfully we were able to set up quite a few interviews which started on Saturday and go through to Thursday. At this point we have our one favorite, who is slightly more expensive than the rest, but we both believe it will be worth it. We have appointments every night until Thursday and hopefully will then be able to make our decision.

The hardest part for me may be calling the ones that we did not choose to let them know. What do you say, especially to the ones that you did actually like just not as much?

She Sure is Growing!

Friday, September 18, 2009
We had Kate's 1 month wellness check up this morning with her doctor. She weighed in at 9 pounds 8 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. That is an increase of 2 pounds 10 ounces and 2.5 inches in less than a month!

We thought she was feeling a bit heavier! : )

Kate at 1 Month

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

One Month Old

Kate is one month old today!

Our little baby is growing like crazy right before our eyes. It is amazing how much she has changed over the past month, but is still so much the same. Some of her mannerisms and faces are so funny that I hope she carries them as she grows up.

At one month Kate:
  • eats between 4 and 4.5 ounces of milk at each feeding.
  • only wakes up for one feeding during the night, on average.
  • can track with her eyes and likes to watch lights, toys, hanging things, etc.
  • recognizes both her daddy and her mommy's faces and voices.
  • recognizes the beagles' barking/howling.
  • recognizes her bottle and likes to flirt with it at times.
  • can lift her head past 45 degrees and hold it while on her belly.
  • can turn her head from side to side when on her belly.
  • can hold her head pretty well when sitting up.
  • squeaks a lot.
  • is awake a lot more and alert.
  • still loves to cuddle, especially with daddy.
  • is beginning to grow out of her newborn clothes and is beginning to fit into her 0-3 month clothes.
  • smiles at daddy and sometimes mommy.
  • still has all of her hair, which may even be getting longer.
  • (she has her Dr. appointment on Friday which is when we will find out her length and weight.)

Happy 1st month Kate!

Check out our family's channel on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/taylormadefamily3

Daddy's Girl

Friday, September 11, 2009
Kate has become quite the little Daddy's girl. It doesn't hurt that she has John wrapped around her tiny but long finger. : )

A couple of days ago she smiled spontaneously for the first time, which basically means the smile had nothing to do with gas or a bowel movement. What made her smile do you ask, well her Daddy of course!

We figured it wasn't a fluke because it has now happened multiple times. John was happy and surprised the first time that he saw it, and I'm sure the strong hold she already had on him just got stronger.

She also is memorized by his voice, especially when he comes home from work at night. Most of the time whenever he starts talking she will wake up just to see that he is home.

She even enjoys watching sports with him, as she watched football with him last night and seemed to enjoy it.

In our house we have a little girl that loves her Daddy just as much as he loves her.

Birth Announcement

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Kate's First Slide Show

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Use the link below to watch a slide show of a bunch of pictures from our quickly growing collection:
Enjoy!

She Rolled Over

Monday, August 31, 2009
So we aren't sure if it was just a fluke, or if she is doing it during the night as well, but on Saturday John was downstairs with Kate and she rolled over.

Saturday was when she was officially two weeks old, there is no way that a two week old baby should be rolling over!

Then, the following morning she was more than halfway across her crib from where she was bundled and set down (out of the bundle of course, she mastered this move right away).

I think we may have to keep a close eye on this one!

First Day On Our Own

Today was John's first day back to work, so of course it was Kate's first day at home alone with her mommy. I could tell that he missed her when he came upstairs first thing after coming home and took her downstairs with him to cuddle. : )

We didn't get much done, which is actually a nice thing every once in a while (especially since this is the first day I haven't had a fever in a few). We did make it out of the house though to go grocery shopping/errand running, which didn't prove to be too hard. I definitely realized that when traveling with a baby in a car seat at the grocery store it is a good thing to have a limited grocery list. By the time I had gathered all of the things that I wanted to get, there was no more room around her car seat in the cart to squeeze much more. This may help me in dieting, since the baked goods and chips are always at the end of the store, if I don't have room in my cart then for sure I can't buy them! : )

When we got home it was time for her to eat again, which was quite noticeable by her letting me know through crying (basically the only time she does cry, except when made naked). She ate 4 ounces, which is a crazy amount but good because it means she should go longer between feedings. After that she actually started screeching when I put her in her swing so that I could pump. I had just changed her so I knew she wasn't wet, or constipated, I tried to give her a little more food but that didn't work, I also tried burping her some more to no affect. Finally I figured out she just wanted to be held, because when I just sat down with her in a good cuddle she fell right asleep. It's pretty obvious now that this little girl is getting pretty spoiled! : )

Kate Has an Gunky Eye

Thursday, August 27, 2009
Earlier this week our little girl started getting some puss or gunky yellow stuff in her eye. Throughout the day it just started getting worse, so we brought her into the doctor again. They were able to do a test on the puss and it isn't an infection, but is just eye gunk.

We have medicine that is a gel that we put into her eye two times a day, and she doesn't even mind. She also doesn't mind at all when we put a wet warm rag on her eye, or wipe out all of the gunk.

What a good little girl!

Some More Pictures of our Little Trucker

Friday, August 21, 2009







Fun Facts About Kate Taylor

  • She likes to sleep on her side. No matter how many times we put her on her back to go to bed she always ends up on her side.
  • She has won the hearts of all four animals in the house, especially our female beagle Nora. Every time that Nora and Puller go outside, the first thing they do when coming back in is peek into her pack n' play or find her wherever she is, almost like they are making sure she is okay.
  • She hates being naked, no matter if it is for changing a diaper, bathing, changing clothes, etc.
  • She already eats about 2.5 ounces for each feeding, though she loves to fall asleep multiple times during the process.
  • She burps like a little trucker, usually right away before you can even get her into burp position.
  • She doesn't seem to mind a wet diaper, but if she is hungry she will sure let you know!
  • She often sleeps with her mouth open.
  • She loves her Nuk already.
  • Her car seat/swing/bouncy chair are all very soothing to her. She can either just sit in them or fall asleep in them easily.
  • She loves to kick off her blankets and socks.
  • When she is laying on you on her belly she can push herself up and hold herself up already for about 10 to 15 seconds.
  • If you let her suck on your finger you will soon discover that she has the jaws of life, with the suction power to match.
  • She gets the hiccups, but doesn't seem to mind.

  • And of course we both think that she is perfect!

Kate's First Home Spa Day

We had Kate's first bath at home on Wednesday morning, was she impressed? Look below to find out!

Kate's Birth Story

Thursday, August 20, 2009
On Saturday, August 15, 2009 John and I were finally able to meet our little girl Kate at 10:39 pm.

Three days prior to this life changing event I was sent into the hospital by my doctor to start a long inducing process. The process began that Thursday afternoon at 3:00 pm when I was admitted into the labor and delivery unit of United Hospital. At admittance to the hospital the nurses started me on both fluids and Magnesium, which I was hooked up to until 11:00 am on Monday. The Magnesium helped to prevent my body from seizing, which is a complication that can result with pre-eclampsia. I was then started on a drug called Citotech, which is supposed to induce contractions to open the cervix. My body decided to fight the drugs the entire time, and after an entire evening I was barely any further along than I had been the day before.

That morning my original doctor came in and started us on a plan that included pitosin and gave us an end time of early the following morning. Unfortunately my doctor had to do her clinic rounds and after she left another doctor decided to change the plan. Midway through the day all efforts were stopped and we were told that they would not resume until the following day. Hearing this my doctor actually came back to the hospital and spoke with us in person with a kind of apology, we do not think that she was very happy that her plans were changed.

After another night of sleeping at the hospital, we woke up on Saturday full of hope that this day would be the day that Kate would make her grand appearance. Right away in the morning they started me again on pitosin (we think my doctor really kicked them all into gear). By 10:30 the resident and nurse came in to break my water, which started the contractions to fire off like crazy. Since I was on the magnesium already and could not walk around (the drug makes you feel like a wet noodle, and totally out of it) the nurse suggested that I get my epidural then, to prevent the chance that it got too busy later and I miss my window. After the epidural I was able to take a good two-hour nap.

At 7:00 pm Doctor Ozelle came onto shift at the hospital. I had met her before and really liked her. She told me that I was measuring at a 5 and that the nurse would check back in a little bit. After about 30 minutes the nurse told me that I had gone from a 5 to an 8, we were definitely starting to get close. Not long after that the baby started moving on her way, and we were ready to start pushing. After 24 minutes of pushing the doctor tossed Kate up onto my chest, where the nurse got her all covered up.

Once I got to see her I basically didn't realize that there was anything else even happening in the room. The first thing that I noticed was that she has John's lips, and really did look a lot like him. I was able to cuddle with her for a little while before we got moved to our permanent room down the hall from labor and delivery.

Throughout the next couple of days we were extremely grateful for all of the family and friends that came to visit. It was really great for us to get to show off our new little girl and have them all meet her. On Monday we were told that our new family was able to go home, so we packed it all up and headed back to our house.

Though this whole process did seem like a huge hurdle that we would never get over, we both realize now that the end prize definitely made it worth it.

Katherine "Kate" Adele Taylor

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
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Breakfast in Bed

Saturday, August 15, 2009
Who would have thought that all I had to do was get admitted into the hospital for a couple of days to finally get breakfast in bed?

There is one good thing to do with shutting off the pitosin last night, I was able to eat dinner and breakfast this morning.

We started back up with the pitosin this morning around 7:30. Hopefully that starts doing its job soon so we can get this show on the road! Later today, hopefully not too much later, they will manually break my water. After that happens there is a window of twenty-four hours in which they must deliver the baby (because of infection).

Some of you may be thinking that this sounds familiar, yes this was the same plan as yesterday. The only difference is that my body is a lot more receptive to the plan today than it was yesterday. I have so much confidence in my nurse, that when she tells me today is the day I believe her!

My parents and sister came by the hospital last night to visit us for a while. It is nice to get some new entertainment! After the baby is born we will let people know as soon as we can. People are definitely welcome to come and visit us at the hospital or at home once we get there (if I even remember where that is at this point). I am sure there are some family/friends out there just as excited to meet this little girl as we are. Send me/John and email or text/call and we will let you know where our new family ends up!

Not Cooperating

Friday, August 14, 2009
So go figure my body is not cooperating with the pitosin (medicine that makes your body go into labor). The doctor has decided to stop the medication for now and retry tomorrow morning. In the mean time we will just be hanging out hear at the hospital. Here are some pictures of us settled in, can you see how excited we both are to have to stay longer?

Yes, this is the chair/bed that John gets to sleep in, lucky guy!

At the Hospital

At my doctor's appointment yesterday my doctor made the decision to get this whole process started and sent me on my way dowtown to the hospital.

I was admitted into the hospital at 3 pm and was started on a medication that would start contractions to open up my cervix. It took a while for the contractions to start but though they were weak, they did continue all night. At this point we don't know yet if they did anything to the cervix or not, unfortunately even with the medicine it is still just a waiting game.

John came to meet me at the hospital not long after I checked in and had a very comfortable stay in the reclining chair in the rom.

This morning we are just waiting to see what the doctor's plans are for the day and we'll take it from there.

John's Volleyball Team

Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tonight I was able to go and watch John's volleyball team in the playoffs for the first time. We took the dogs with us and I sat at the park with them on their leashes and watched. His team did win the first round but lost to the #1 team in the second round, which means they are done for the season.

It was great to sit and relax outside (in the shade) like that for a while. I swear that my crampy contractions even got better the more that I relaxed. Of course I am sure that is all about to change soon...

Wednesday

Today when I called into the hospital they were able to schedule me for my gel at 10:30 which was great! I went in and everything looked good so they did give me the gel. This caused me to start having contractions, which basically at this point feel like bad cramps. After two hours of monitoring they let me leave and I headed into work for a little while.

I am still getting the crampy contractions at this point. I don't think they are getting worse, though they have moved to my back a little depending on my positioning. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment bright and early in the morning. Supposedly at this appointment my doctor and I will make a "plan", so I guess we'll see where that leads us!

Tuesday

I feel like I have been constantly running these past couple of days, so why don't I catch you all up!

I called in the morning to see if the hospital would have room to do a gel. I was told that they would call when they had an opening. So I started working from home and then decided to head into work around lunchtime. After working, on the way home, I stopped at Target to grab some milk and waffles. Just as the cashier was handing me my receipt the hospital called letting me know that they had space but I would have to come in right away. I proceded then to return the milk and waffles that I just bought (they would have gone bad in the car). It was pretty weird returning them like that, but after my explanation as to why I was doing it the woman at guest services completely understood.

At the hospital they started monitoring me, my blood pressure was up again at 150. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the gel though because my body was allready contracting too much (not that I could feel anything). So after sitting there from 4:15 to 7:30 we were on our way home again. At that point I was getting pretty frustrated to have gone to the hospital two days in a row without leaving with a baby in my arms!

A Day of Fun

Monday, August 10, 2009
Today I had one of my bi-weekly bio physicals (ultrasound and NST). The nurse checked my blood pressure while I was there and go figure it had gone back up. At that point it was at 144/88 and after the biophysical it was still at 140/92.

This prompted the doctor to send me on my merry way to United hospital to be monitored. At the hospital they monitored me and the baby for a while and eventually my bp started to go back down. Though I was at the hospital already, this was good because of course there are a million things that I need to do! : )

Starting tomorrow I will be going into United to get the "gel" which will hopefully start opening everything up (I know TMI) so that they are able to induce by the end of the week. If all goes as my doctor plans we may even have a baby by Friday.

I would still rather wait for her to come naturally, but the doctor today said that she was sure my doctor wouldn't want to take that risk. I figured that if we were going to have to start this stuff soon anyways, we might as well start tomorrow.

I'll be hanging out at the hospital for a little bit each day but will still be working from home and trying to fight the boredom of bed rest. I hope that she decides it is okay to come soon!

Someone Else is Waiting...

Thursday, August 6, 2009
Uh oh, it looks like someone else in our house is patiently waiting for the baby too...


Week 37

I had another doctor's appointment today, which of course came with another "lovely" exam. I guess that once you hit 36 you should expect a physical exam each week until the baby comes, oh joy!

During the ultrasound Kate was perfect. She was doing her breathing exercises (moving her diaphragm to build up the muscles to breath, or cry, when she comes out), squirming around (i.e. punching her mother), and hanging out in a sufficient amount of amniotic fluid. She continues to cover up her face whenever the ultrasound tech tries to get a good look. Today she was even rubbing her eyes which was cute. There was a point where the tech said "Oh look, there is her hair on the back of her head", which again makes me nervous for a hairy monkey baby! : )

The NST went without a hitch, her heart rate fluctuated in the 130s and she had a good number of movements in combination with increased heart rate around the 160s.

In the exam I found out that my body is no further along but that she has moved down slightly so that her head is resting at a -3 instead of a -4. Hopefully the added pressure will kick my body into gear. The doctor decided that since everything looked good we should wait another week to see where things are before making a decision on inducing. Now if I could just convince Kate that she would rather come naturally sometime this week that would be best!

Hot Flash

Wednesday, August 5, 2009
So today when I was in the office for my allotted and allowed 1-hour of actually being at work, I got the craziest hot flash.

First my hands started shaking a little bit and then I felt super hot. This hotness was of course followed by profuse sweating which was lovely, especially since it happened in the one hour that I am actually in public.

It went away after like ten minutes, but it was icky. I guess that makes me super excited for that stage of my life, yuck! Hopefully it won't be for a long while!

Hello From Home

So I have been on moderate bedrest now for a full three days (Friday, Monday and Tuesday). It is amazing how much more work I can get done without the extra distractions.

We've basically got everything ready for the baby including the house cleaned and even all of the laundry done. I even got a chance to organize my closet and dresser! All of her newborn sized clothes that we have are washed and ready. I have to iron her take home outfit and pack it into my suitcase, which is also practically ready to go. I swear that all this readiness will only mean that she will take longer to get here!

I had an appointment with the ultrasound tech on Monday that went great. The NST machine was broken, but since the ultrasound went without a hitch the doctor did not make me drive to St. Paul on Tuesday to have the NST there. The baby was moving and squirming the whole time. When the tech tried to get a picture of her face she kept putting her arm and hands up in front of it, so I guess that means she may be shy. : ) By the end of this pregnancy I think that we will have the most ultrasound pictures ever created for one baby. She'll have tons to look at when she gets older!

My appointment with the doctor is tomorrow as well as another ultrasound and NST. Maybe the doctor will say then that she thinks it is time for the baby to come, I would be all for it! The best thing would be if the doctor said she thought the baby would come naturally within the next week, that would make me the happiest of all!

I will keep everyone updated on our status!

Grandpa's 80th Birthday

Friday, July 31, 2009
We celebrated my Grandpa's 80th birthday at the Saint's game a couple of weeks ago, here is a picture of him looking excited to eat his cake!

Hanging out with Cole and Alex

Here are some pictures from when we spent two days with John's nephews Cole and Alex, we had a blast!
This is Alex patiently waiting for Cole to be done in the porta potty on the walk to the park (quite handy placement of the potty I might add).

Here is Cole at the very top of the rope mountain, he loves to climb!

Here is Alex showing us how to use the parallel bar thing. I beleive he ended up burning himself slightly as the metal was directly in the sun. Ouch!


John and I had always wondered what this round tire looking thing was for, the boys quickly showed us how it worked!

And the beagles, they had to be tied up in the shade and were not to happy about that!

Bed Rest

That's right, I'm on it. Thank goodness it is only modified bed rest, which means I literally do not have to lay horizontally all the time!

I am still allowed to work from home, and even drive in to work for about an hour a couple time a week. I can also move around but cannot excercise, walk, walk the dogs, go shopping, lift heavy things, etc. This just started yesterday but has allready been a huge challenge for me. First reason is that I do not do well with people telling me things that I cannot do. Of course when this happens the only thing I do want to do is that which was previously denied! Second reason is that even when I do take a day off, I never just sit at home. That is why I am so glad I was able to get the green light from my boss to work from home. There is nothing I love more than a good mental stimulation!

Anyways, the dogs are sure to love it as their kennel time just went from around 10 hours during the day to zero! They probably won't know what to do with themselves!

At the doctor's appointment where I learned that I was being put on bedrest, my blood pressure was still good (122/70) but my protein levels were at 2+ which is the highest they have tested at. This means that more protein is beginning to leak out of my kidneys and can also mean that my mild preeclampsia may be upgrading to full preeclampsia (hope not). Because of the preeclampsia diagnosis my doctor does not think that I will carry the baby full term. Depending on my body and the baby she predicted that we would try to deliver either next Thursday or the one after that. This means that I would have to be induced into labor, which is not what I want, but will be the best thing for both the baby and myself.

We were going to head to John's friend Mike's cabin with a huge group of people that was sure to be a blast, but John put the kibosh on that as soon as I got pregnant. I wasn't on board and still wanted to go, but after the appointment yesterday I am starting to come around on his reasoning. : ) I just know that they are all going to have a blast! Oh well, that just means that next year will be that much more fun for us!

I guess it is a good thing that we have everything ready for the baby, since she seems to be coming sooner than planned!

Week 35 Belly Shot

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Do I look huge, because that is how I feel!


Week 35

Tuesday, July 28, 2009
By this time our little baby should be weighing in around 5 to 5 1/2 pounds. I will have to check with the doctor on Thursday to see if they can give me an estimate. She's still head down which is good since it will increase the ease of labor, if there are any eases to that! Over these next couple of weeks she shouldn't get much longer, at this point she could be up to 20 inches long. Up until delivery the baby will continue gaining weight at around a 1/2 pound per week.

I am feeling the increased pressure of the baby on my injured groin muscle. I have given up the hope that it will heal and will probably have to wait for that until after she is out. That's fine with me though, because I am pretty sure all of this dumpy stuff we've been dealing with will be worth it when we are finally able to meet our little girl!

I'll try to take a picture tonight and post it, I feel like I am huge!

Getting Everything Ready

Monday, July 27, 2009
This weekend John and I worked our butts off getting everything ready for the baby. In our minds if we do this and have the house clean with everything ready for an impromptu early birth, then chances are the baby will go full-term. Usually this is how things work out for me, when I am ready for the worst it never happens, but when I am not it sometimes does.

Not that having the baby now would be the worst. We understand that the longer the baby goes to term, the better, but we are both really excited to meet her.

Seeing her play with her toes through the ultrasound on Thursday really got John read for her to come and definitely lifted his excitement levels.

The only things that may not be ready are the dogs and cats, as I am sure they will all go through some sort of withdrawal from lack of attention once she comes. Oh well, they'll just have to get over it! : )

Preeclampsia

Saturday, July 25, 2009
Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from the on-call nurse at the clinic. The level of protein in my urin test came back elevated, which means that I have been diagnosed with preeclampsia.

At this point it just means more monitoring. I will try to rest more and keep my blood pressure down, though I suppose it went up again once I started stressing after hearing the diagnosis.

I also have to watch for the following symptoms, which will mean that I have gotten toxemia:
  • headaches that do no go away with Tylenol or rest
  • swelling of legs, arms, hands and/or face
  • acid reflux together with soreness under ribcage
  • sick feeling
  • blurry or spotty vision
  • decreased movement of the baby

If I do get any of these symptoms I have to call the nurse line immediately. The nurse informed me that since I am already at 35 weeks if my blood pressure increases and I start to get these symptoms that the doctor will probably deliver the baby early.

All that being said, if I don't get any of the symptoms and my blood pressure stays where it is right now, 120/50, I could very well carry the baby full-term.

We would love to wait for week 37 so that she is full-term and not premature, but are both ready to meet her soon. I just hope that this excitement all dies down and I am able to go into labor naturally as well as deliver naturally instead of being induced or having a c-section. It is amazing to me how little power a person has over their own body, be it that they are pregnant or not, and you don't realize that until going through a pregnancy or some kind of illness.

Wish us luck!

Blood Pressure

Friday, July 24, 2009
As of my appointment yesterday, my blood pressure was back down to 120. This of course does not take me and the baby out of the clear. I will still have to have the NST and ultrasounds with my appointments each week. If my blood pressure stays at 120 or goes lower I only have to get checked once a week. If it starts going back up I will have to get checked 2-3 times per week as well as run the chance of being put on bed rest.

The baby got a little upset during the NST and tried to push/kick off the heart rate monitor, the nurse definitely thought it was funny, when she was trying to hold it in place physically on my belly the baby kept kicking at it to get her to stop.

During the ultrasound we were able to see the baby's practice breathing and heart beating. She finally did some good movements near the end and even started playing with her toes. One of the benefits of having this issue is that I am going to be able to see her every week until she comes.

Now I just have to wait for the results on the urine test to find out if I have preeclamsia or not.

More Appointments

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I should have mentioned below that the increased monitoring done by my doctor will be done through weekly appointments (normally these wouldn't have started until week 37). At these appointments we'll be monitoring the baby via ultrasound as well as doing a non-stress test which monitors the baby's heartrate for a half hour.

My first of these appointments is on Thursday. John and my mom are coming with for information and probably for moral support.

I'm pretty sure that my mom is really excited to see the baby!

Super Attractive Picture

Here is a picture that my sister took of John and I at my Grandpa's 80th birthday celebration. The best part is that it isn't at the end, this is how we were at the beginning. The sun soon came out which gave us both a lot more energy!

Doctor's Appointment

I had my first awful doctor's appointment this morning. Hopefully it will be the last, but I have a feeling I have a few more trying appointments in the near future to get through.

My blood pressure, which was amazing throughout my pregnancy, has now skyrocketed from 100 to 140 in a month. This is causing my doctor to be worried about preeclampsia which has made her schedule a whole slew of tests and appointments to get through the next six weeks.

Preeclampsia is caused by high-blood pressure in pregnant women. It can cause the baby to have a low birth weight as well as other non-identified issues. The most damage that it causes is with the mother. Some of the things that I may have to worry about are seizures during labor, organ issues, premature delivery, as well as some others. It can be treated, but the only cure is delivery of the baby. This usually causes women with preeclampsia to be induced before their due date.

There are a number of symptoms leading to preeclampsia that I do not have including extreme swelling, headaches, rib/diaphragm pain. The one that I do have is the spike in blood pressure. Another symptom is protein in the urine, which I will be testing for tomorrow.

This development is causing me to have to do a 24-hour urine collection so that the doctor's can use that "huge" sample to test for protein. I also have to go into the doctor every week to have an ultrasound and a Non-stress test (the babies heart rate is monitored for a half hour). These tests will make sure that the condition if there is one is not negatively affecting the baby and that everything is still developing as it should.

All of this information is a little hard to swallow, especially for a person who has not had any other real issues throughout this entire pregnancy. I'm doing my best to get through this without thinking of all the possible bad outcomes (totally where my mind always goes). At least with the careful monitoring, if anything does go wrong, the doctor will know sooner and will have the best chance of remedying the situation.

Baby Shower #1

Monday, July 20, 2009
I had my first baby shower yesterday that was put on by my sister Kristen and my mom.

It was a blast! We played a game where they melted candy bars inside of baby diapers (so it looked like poop) and people had to guess which type of candy bar it was. There was also a baby food themed game and a memory game.

Everyone that came seemed to have a great time, which made it even more fun. I am often amazed at the generosity of our family and friends and was overwhelmed many times throughout the shower yesterday.

Thanks to everyone who came to share and celebrate our new baby with me yesterday!

Thanks Kristen and Mom for putting on one awesome shower!

Baby School Dropouts

My husband and I are baby school dropouts.

We had baby class scheduled for last Friday from 6:30 - 9:30pm and on Saturday from 9:30 - 4:00pm at United (where I'll be having the baby). We went to the first night where they told us all about the labor and what to expect and all that stuff. After painfully sitting through that info (not because it was too scary, but because it was so boring since we had already read all about it and heard about it from friends who have recently had babies) we decided not to come back for the Saturday all-day class.

I think that we are both extremely happy with our decision as we got tons done on Saturday, including a lunch trip to Key's Cafe where I had some of the best meatloaf ever!

The only thing that we missed on Saturday that we would still like to do is the birth center tour. Fortunately they give those quite a bit and for free, so we are planning on going to do that soon.

Belly Pain

Friday, July 17, 2009
Last night I woke up at 3:30am with extreme pain shooting into my right side lower belly area. The pain hurt so bad I wasn't sure I would be able to get up. I even had a thought run through my head that we would have to be heading over to the hospital...

The pain didn't feel like labor, not that I know what that feels like. When I was able to sit up straight the pain started to go away. After going to the bathroom and walking a little it was gone.

Now I am just sore as the baby continues to move lower in my belly, I keep telling her that she's running out of room and is in for the shock of her life if she keeps on going...but of course she isn't listening!

Oh and by the way, now due to the discomfort, painful muscles, and positioning/moving of the baby I now waddle. And, I don't even care! : )