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August 31, 2010

Business in the Front


Party in the Back (not sure why her hair looks super greasy here - she gets a bath every night!)

Yep, that's right, my baby is sporting a mini mullet.  The back of her hair keeps growing but the front has yet to catch up.  Thank goodness she is cute or this would make for a series of unfortunate events!

In other news, she lost her cord last night - my baby is growing up!  She also went down at 10pm, woke up every 3 hours to eat, went straight back to sleep after her bottles, and didn't get up for the day until 10am!  I feel like a new woman!!

Here's a cute, not mullet, picture from this morning!
She's built just like her Daddy - long legs and no butt!

August 30, 2010

We are surviving!

We've been busy since my mom left.  Who knew someone so little could generate so much laundry?!?!

We are good but tired and seem to be dealing with a gassy baby - with the worst hours being between midnight and 3am.  We tried gas drops last night but I didn't really notice any difference.  Hopefully we grow out of this soon - and I will be talking to the Pediatrician about it on Thursday when we go back.

I'll leave y'all with a picture from this weekend!  Thanks for the precious cupcake outfit Lala!

August 28, 2010

Bye Bye Mimi...

We are sad today because my mom (Mimi) got on a plane back to Florida.  We are sad to lose the help, I am sad to lose the ability to interact with someone that doesn't just eat/poop/sleep, and I am sad that as of now, we won't be seeing Mimi again until December.

Needless to say, I have cried a ton today.

I will never be able to thank my mom enough for all of her help over the past 9 days. 

Before Mimi left, we filled our tummy (please ignore my yuck arm - the green/yellow/ black in some places is from all of my blown veins from the platelet line).

Then we got some final Mimi cuddles

And took a picture of three generations before heading out

After we dropped my mom off at the airport we ran to Target for our first outing as a family of 3.  We were probably laughed at by several people in the parking lot as I tried to explain to Alex how the car seat and stroller work.  But, we figured it out and got everything we needed!

We are all home resting now - Miss Piggy (who is now eating 3.5 ounces every 2.5-3 hours) is sleeping on me (as is Oliver) and Daddy is doing some things around the house. 

On a different note, since I shared my weight gain with everyone over the past 9 months, I'm going to be vain and share my weight loss as of now.  I am down 19 pounds as of this morning and here is what I look like 9 days post delivery.  I haven't done much to help lose weight - I'm not breastfeeding and I am not dieting - I'm just cuddling a baby girl and getting little sleep.

August 26, 2010

Happy One Week!!!

I am the proud mom of a one week old!  She is growing up way too fast!  This past week has absolutely flown by! 

We had a busy day on Katie's first "birthday".  Baby girl got the party started at about 2am and stayed up until about 4.  She wasn't screaming but she just wouldn't settle.  And she picked the one night this week that Alex desperately needed sleep seeing as he had a 6am meeting at work.  She finally gave in but it was a long night for this momma!

There wasn't much resting this morning either as my mom had to get Sadie and Oliver off to doggie daycare and I had to make myself look good enough for professional pictures.  Let's just say that a sweet 7 day old is much better for the camera than a 7 day postpartum woman. 

We had a great time with our photographer for our newborn session.  Alex was even able to sneak away from the office for a little bit and we got some (what I am hoping are) great pictures of the three of us!  After Alex headed back to work we started the marathon (5 hours) session with the baby.  She is just so cute - I know I am biased but I think she is such a pretty baby! 

While the session was great - and I am so glad we did it - I think Katie was a bit over stimulated by all of the moving, posing, etc and was a little cranky this evening.  Hopefully she is so tired that she will sleep awesome tonight!

I can't wait to share pictures from today!

We also went on our first family walk tonight!

Ready to go - having trouble standing up straight due to some pain I'm having today - and wishing my belly would go away.


Blogger will not upload this rotated - but here she is stretched out in her bassinet!


All 5 of us (Sadie is hiding)!!


All tuckered out after our big day!

So, here is the short version of the great nickname debate.  I called the baby Kate from the day we decided to name her Katherine.  I loved the name (and still do).  However, when my tiny little baby was born, she just didn't seem like a Kate.  She is such a small little thing and Kate seems like such a proper, big name.  I still refer to her when blogging, e-mail, talking to someone else as Kate since I was so accustom to doing that.  But, I haven't really called her Kate her to face - it just doesn't seem right.  I am using pet names (precious pumpkin, sweetie, cutie pie) and sometimes calling her Katie.  I'm still hoping that we have that "ah-ha" moment with what to call her - but until then, I will probably flip-flop between Katie and Kate!  her Daddy is 100% sure she is a Katie - I guess that means he was probably right all along!

August 25, 2010

Little Miss Piggy!

We just got back from our first Pediatrician appointment today!

My mom drove me and the baby and Alex met us there.  I was kind of nervous about Kate's (I am still flip flopping - I'm sure I'll be inconsistent about what I call her for a while) weight since she dropped several ounces while in the hospital. 

I took some pictures while we waited!

Mimi and a sleeping bow head!  (My iPhone is next to her b/c I was shocked that it was bigger than her head - I forgot to take it off before taking this picture but it really shows how small she is.)


Daddy calming down a screaming baby - she was not a fan of getting naked for the scale!

Everything looks great!  Here are the stats:

Weight: 6lbs 4.5oz
Length: 19.25 inches
Head Circumference: 13.25 inches

So, little Miss Piggy (who is up to 2.5-3 oz of formula every 3 hours) has surpassed her birth weight!  The doctor was impressed with her eating and her weight gain.  Everything else looked awesome too!

We go back next Thursday and will discuss spreading out her nighttime feeds at that appointment.  Our Pediatrician doesn't like to change feeding patterns until around 14 days since weight gain/ loss can be so up and down during that time.  Moving to 4 hours between feeding would be great!  But, if it isn't healthy to go that long we will be happy with our 3 hour stretches we are getting now!

August 24, 2010

Birth Story!

I just want to document this for me - if I go much longer I won't remember everything I remember now!

After our call on Wednesday about the change in plans, I sulked around the house for a few hours.  To be completely honest, I was totally bummed.  I wanted so much to have those first memories.  It took time for me to be OK with the fact that it simply was not possible. 

After I let Alex know what was going on, he left work to come be home with me.  However, my sweet husband made a quick detour on the way home and surprised me with a dozen red roses and a birthday cake for Kat(i)e.   I had been talking about wanting to get a cake to celebrate her birth but never got around to ordering something - Alex remembered that and picked something up at Kroger. 

He said he had the right to put Katie Beth on the cake as he was the one that got it!

After eating some cake for lunch, my in-laws came in town and we visited for a while and packed our bags.  We all went out to my favorite Mexican Restaurant (El Tiempo) for dinner.  After dinner we came home, took one last picture as a family of two, packed the car, and headed to the hospital.

Last picture as two!

We were put in a L&D room as soon as we got to the hospital.  My nurse for the night was amazing!!!  She delivered her second son under general anesthesia and was able to give me her personal experience about what to expect - both with the baby and what to expect pain wise after the c-section given that I was having general anesthesia and not local.

We got my first IV started with no problems - that is a big deal for me and my crappy veins!  However, I had to have a second line started (with a 16G needle) for my platelet transfusions (I got 2 transfusions total - one right before surgery and one about 6 hours after).  That was a nightmare.  Three nurses and four blown veins later, the anesthesia team was called to get it started.  My right arm looks horrible - it is so bruised from all of the failed attempts to start that IV.

We didn't rest at all Wednesday night - we were nervous, excited, uncomfortable (that bed was SO hard), and just on edge. 

Our wake up call came at 4am Thursday morning.  My nurses got everything ready and Alex took one last picture before I was started on my platelets and taken back to the OR.

Tired, excited, and anxious to get surgery started so I could wake up and meet my girl!
As soon as I had to tell Alex goodbye and go into the OR I got so nervous - I think I may have cried a bit but, again, my nurses were amazing and so calming.  Alex was taken to a little waiting room and I hear he was a nervous wreck. 

At 6:42am on August 19, 2010 Katherine Elizabeth entered the world.  As soon as she was stabilized by the NICU staff that was in the OR, she was wrapped up and taken to her Daddy.  This picture makes me cry every time I see it.

Does he look proud or what?
Kat(i)e was taken to the transition nursery for observation, her first bath, and just to make sure everything was OK after being exposed to the general anesthesia.
Getting her first bath!

Showing little peanut off to the family

While sweet girl was getting cleaned up, I was waking up in excruciating pain.  Since I did not have local anesthesia, my pain management was not started until after I got out of surgery.  It took a solid 45 minutes of the worst pain of my life before my morphine pump kicked in.  Other than remembering pain, I have little recollection of my time in recovery - and really, I don't remember much of Thursday due to the amounts of pain medication I was on. 

After about 4 hours, I was put in my room and Katie was brought up for our first meeting.  Tessie - our baby nurse for our stay - had Alex change his first diaper ever before handing over the most perfect little girl.

He looks like an old pro!

Then, I finally got my hands on my girl - she needed to be fed so we bonded over a bottle.
Love at first sight!
After a few hours of family bonding time our parents came in to meet her.
With Bebe (Alex's mom) - we didn't get a picture with PaPaw (Alex's Dad)

Meeting Mimi  and Pops
Thursday was a big blur for me and felt like a millions days.  The meds really messed with my state of being.  But, the memories I do have are amazing and I wouldn't trade them for the world!

I'll post about the rest of our hospital stay soon!

August 23, 2010

First Bath at Home!!!

We experienced our first bath at home tonight!

Let's just say, Katie (yes, it looks like we have a Katie on our hands - that is a post for another day) was not a fan.

We started off only slightly mad

Then got super pissed off

Then calmed down for a nano-second

But fussed some more before it was all over

We both crashed after the big event.  Please notice that Katie decided to let me know that my bathing skills suck by spitting up and peeing on me. 

After resting up a bit, we got in our first round of tummy time.  My beautiful bright eyes!

I am hoping that we get more comfortable with everything over the next week.  Last night was hard - we were up with a screaming baby for about 3.5 hours.  It is hard to listen to your baby cry, try everything you know to do to calm her, and have nothing work.  Hopefully tonight will be much better.  Alex needs sleep as he is going into the office tomorrow and I just don't want to watch my baby be unhappy.

I'm working on a big post about our time at the hospital - hopefully it will be up tomorrow!

August 21, 2010

First Family Photo!

Since Alex wasn't allowed in the delivery room and I have been on massive amounts of pain medicine over the past 2 days, we didn't get around to taking a picture of the three of us until tonight!


I still have pregnancy fat face, my hair is a mess, but we are super tired but loving every minute of our time with Kate!!!

We are hopefully going home tomorrow - I am ready to get out of this hospital.

August 20, 2010

She's Here!!!

We are excited to announce the birth if our daughter:

Katherine Elizabeth


August 19, 2010
at 6:42am
6 pounds 2 ounce

We are totally in love and think she is the most perfect baby we have ever seen!  We cannot wait to see what the future holds for our sweet girl!!!

August 18, 2010

38 weeks and some upsetting news

No normal survey today - I'm just not really up to it.  To sum everything up I am 38 weeks today, have gained 30 pounds total, and am delivering tomorrow.   Here's my last belly picture:



Alex and I received some upsetting news today that I am still trying to process.

I got a call from my doctor around 11am and after talking with my hematologist and the anesthesiologist that will be working tomorrow, she wasn't comfortable with the separate answers she was getting.  So, she set up a big round table with my hematologist, the hospital's head hematologist, and two anesthesiologists from my delivering hospital to review all of my labs and history.

After reviewing my most recent lab work, the hematologists have determined that I was mis-diagnosed with a blood disorder in 2008.  However, they believe that I have a platelet disorder that is unidentified at this time (they did not run detailed platelet tests as they thought they knew my diagnosis).  Due to the major platelet issues I am showing in my labs and my history of bleeding/ failure to clot issues during surgical procedures, the team of doctors is no longer comfortable administering any type of local anesthesia (meaning an epidural or a spinal).  Apparently the risk of a hematoma or a hemorrhage near my spinal cord is too high.

This means I will be put under general anesthesia for my c-section - all the way out.  Alex will not be allowed in the OR but he will be waiting right out side the door.  He will be able to see Kate as soon as she is stable and will be with her while she is in the nursery being observed for her exposure to all of the meds.

I will be in recovery until I wake up and can be brought to my room.

Obviously, this is not ideal and this is not how we thought our daughter would enter this world.  I am angry that yet again, something is going "wrong".  A huge part of me wants to just scream "Enough".  I went through hell to get pregnant, have suffered three losses, and now am having any type of birth experience taken from me.

But, I have no control over this situation and getting upset won't change anything.   I will be alive and healthy when I meet my baby girl and God willing she will be healthy as well.  That is really all I can ask for.

I will be checking in to the hospital tonight for tons of lab work, to receive platelets, and to meet with my team of doctors prior to tomorrow's c-section.

We will not be announcing Kate's birth until I am awake and have had a chance to hear about it myself.  So, please don't worry if you don't hear anything for several hours.  I just want to make sure I know how much she weighs, what color her hair is, and that she has 10 fingers and toes before the world does.

Also, if you could please keep my entire family in your thoughts and prayers I would really appreciate that.  Alex is worried for my health, we are both worried for Kate's health, and I am sure our parents are worried by watching their children go through something like this.

We are thankful that we have such an incredible team of doctor's here but are still sad that this is how things will go down.  Hopefully I will have sweet pictures of Kate to share by lunch tomorrow!

August 17, 2010

You know you're about to have a baby when...

* Your family starts to get into town
* You are miserable in the heat (and in the A/C) and NEED to get the baby out
* The nursery is perfect and you realize that it will never be perfect again once the baby gets here
* Your hands and feet are permanently swollen day and night

And last, but not least, the Hospital calls and tells you they won't do anything on Thursday morning until you make a nice, large payment for your c-section!

August 16, 2010

I wonder how close they will be?!?!

I had my final ultrasound today and we did growth measurements!  Per the measurements, Kate is about 6.5 pounds right now - and she had the hiccups during the scan.

I know the measurements can be off by a pound in either direction.  So, here's to wondering how big she will be.

What do y'all think?  Will she be smaller?  Bigger? Right about what they guessed?

Only 2.5 more days until we will know for sure!!!

August 13, 2010

CPR Certified!

Alex and I are officially certified in infant CPR.  We took a great 2 hour class last night to learn all about infant CPR.

I'm so glad we took it - even though it was a bit last minute!  Our instructor was fun and lively and we got to use those little dolls that are made for CPR training.

We also found out that here in Houston (and I'm pretty sure all of Texas), in order for a baby to be released from the NICU, both parents must be certified in infant CPR.  While we are praying that Kate doesn't spend any time in the NICU, I am glad that we are covered in the event that she does. 

There were several couples in the class that had babies in the NICU and had to squeeze in a 2 hour class so that their baby could come home.  That sounds way too stressful to me!

We got a great book out of the class that we will have Mimi (my mom) and Cici (my MIL) review when they are out here helping so that everyone taking care of sweet Kate knows what to do in case of an emergency.

When we left the class Alex admitted that he is nervous about everything that is about to happen.  I asked if he was nervous about the c-section, having a baby, changing diapers, holding her, or what.

And his answer was "Um, all of that."

At least he is honest!  I think the class made everything sink in for him!

On a different note, 6 days!!

August 12, 2010

Nursery!!! Picture Overload!!

Here are some of the most recent nursery pictures!  I still have some work to do but, I am at a standstill when it comes to thinking creatively and making decisions.  I'm hoping my mom will brings some creative juices when she gets here on Tuesday so that we can add the final touches on Wednesday - nothing like cutting it close!!!

Looking into the nursery (with two pups hanging out):

Drapes and recliner:

Crib and Canvases (I still need to work on stuff for the shelf):

Another view of the crib that shows the crib skirt:

Buffet with mirror - I feel like I need something else on this wall and stuff on the buffet - any and all thoughts are welcome!  The mirror has beautiful detail work on it that gives it a very antique feel!

Closet doors, Bible verse canvas, and door to the hallway:

Just for fun - Sadie and Ollie hanging out with me in the nursery - they love it in there!:

I absolutely love the room - I find myself just sitting in there looking at everything!  It turned out exactly how I wanted it to and I could not be happier!!

August 11, 2010

37 Weeks!!!


How Far Along: 37 weeks!


Total Weight Gain: 30 pounds - I gained those 3 pounds back...

Maternity Clothes: I'm pretty much over all of my clothes these days. I am dying to get back in my old wardrobe. I am so sick of everything maternity (and non-maternity that still fits) in my closet.

Stretch Marks: None on the belly but I did find some on my hind quarters. Not happy about them.

Best Moment this Week: Finally being on maternity leave!!!

Movement: I think she may be running out of room as her movement is not as much as it was. She is most active first thing in the morning and later at night.

Food Cravings: None

Labor Signs: Some contractions and I am making some progress from them.

Belly Button Innie or Outtie: It fluctuates between an innie and being completely flat.

What are You Looking Forward to this Week: My parents get in on Tuesday and my ILs get in on Wednesday!!  Then, next Thursday is Kate's birthday!!!

August 10, 2010

9 Days and Thanks Megan!!!

We are down to single digits! 

OMG - that is CRAZY!

I think I may be the only pregnant woman ever that will go on the record saying pregnancy should be like an entire year.  These past 9 months have gone by WAY too quickly.  Seriously, December (when we found out we were expecting) feels like yesterday!

I had a great day yesterday!  I didn't have to go into the office which was wonderful, I took a 2 hour nap, had a wonderful doctor's appointment, and got a sweet package in the mail!!!

As of yesterday, I look good and so does Kate.  She is still a bit on the small size but my doctor is not concerned.  I have a few appointments with some specialists this week (cardiologist and hematologist) just to review some of the health issues I have and make sure all of the doctor's at the hospital are on board and aware of these issues prior to taking me back to the OR for Kate's birth.

I see my doctor again next Monday to go over all of the details of August 19 and to have one last ultrasound!

I am getting very excited to meet this little girl - but I have to admit it doesn't feel real just yet.  We have worked so hard to get to this point - and it wasn't an easy ride.  I have had some of the hardest, darkest days of my life while trying to start our family and it is just so surreal to think that we are just days away from everything we worked for.  Just thinking about having a new member of our family makes me smile, freak out, and then smile some more!!

Also, a big thank you to Megan for the sweet monogrammed onsie and monogrammed diaper cover that she and Paige sent to Kate!  Megan and I "met" on a support group for women dealing with infertility.  We started talking on the forum and now e-mail multiples times a day - and text a good bit too!  She has a beautiful daughter and is expecting sweet twins boys!  She's going to have her hands full but I know she will be an awesome mom of 3!  I am so thankful for her friendship as she went through several of the same complications I have experienced and really "gets" me which is so wonderful!

August 6, 2010

I am done!!!

I am officially on maternity leave!  Excited does not even begin to describe how I feel!

I have tons to do in the time before Kate gets here but I am so glad to not have any job related work to do!

August 5, 2010

A peek at the nursery!

I have some things to finish this weekend before I share the entire nursery but, here is a picture looking into the room as of right now!

Hopefully I will have all of the little details done by Sunday and will share more.  I absolutely love it - it is exactly what I envisioned when I found out I was having a baby girl!

The nursery would not be half as beautiful if it weren't for my amazing Mom - she did so much for this room and I am so thankful!!!

August 4, 2010

36 weeks!!

Only two more weeks to go!!!

How Far Along: 36 weeks!


Total Weight Gain: 27 pounds - I lost 3 pounds this past week - my nurse thinks it was water weight.

Maternity Clothes: I'm pretty much over all of my clothes these days. I am dying to get back in my old wardrobe. I am so sick of everything maternity (and non-maternity that still fits) in my closet.

Stretch Marks: None on the belly but I did find some on my hind quarters. Not happy about them.

Best Moment this Week: Getting the rest of the furniture in for the nursery.  It looks so good.  We have a few more things to do and then I will post pictures of it!!!

Movement: I think she may be running out of room as her movement is not as much as it was.  She is most active first thing in the morning and later at night.

Food Cravings: None really

Labor Signs: Some contractions and I am making some progress from them.

Belly Button Innie or Outtie: It fluctuates between an innie and being completely flat.

What are You Looking Forward to this Week: Alex's and I last free weekend!  While we have 2 weekends before Kate gets here, Alex is on call for work the weekend before she arrives.  So this weekend is going to be fun and dedicated to doing things we won't be able to do for a while!!!  Oh and I am glad that Friday will be my last day in the office NO MATTER WHAT.

August 3, 2010

Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.....

I am having a really bad day.  One of those days when you just want to crawl back in bed and get a "re-do" in hopes that it might be better.  This very well be one of the most blah days of my pregnancy in terms of non pregnancy related frustrations.

I realize that I am blessed - I have an amazing husband, a healthy baby girl that will be here in 2 weeks and 2 days, wonderful and supportive family, and friends that keep me sane. 

I had a wonderful appointment today - I lost 3 pounds (probably just water weight), my blood pressure is back down, and we found out Kate has some hair!

But, today still sucks.

This morning I was dropping the dogs off at Happy Tails for day care.  I got there right when they opened at 7 but there were lots of cars in the parking lot.  I figured there was just a delay in bringing all of the dogs back to the rooms so I got out with Sadie and Ollie - both on very short leashes - just enough to be able to walk.  Sadie likes to go potty before going to play.  I realized after we got out of the car that HT was late to open and there were about 6-7 dogs outside waiting by the door.  No big deal.  Sadie decided to do her business right in the middle of them all instead of making it to the grass.  Again, I have a bag - no big deal.  Well, one of the dogs waiting was not on a leash (I didn't realize this) and ran up to Sadie right as she was finishing going to the bathroom and freaked her out. 

She got defensive (I mean who wouldn't if someone was getting all up in your business) and spun around quickly which startled the other dog.  The unleashed dog proceeded to run under my feet and trip me. 

I went straight down on the concrete.  Flat on my butt. 

And the unleashed dog owner had the nerve to get an attitude with me while I was trying to pull my 9 month pregnant, dress wearing self gracefully getting off the ground.  She looked at me and said "Well, aren't you doing to check on my dog?"

Then I got ugly.  I'm not going to lie - I tore the woman a new one - and didn't use nice words.  Put your ugly dog on a lease and then this wouldn't happen.  I mean you are really worried about your dog when a super pregnant lady has just fallen (b/c of your stupid dog)?  I am still mad about it.  And I was so worried that something happened to the baby.  All is fine but, that is not how I wanted to start my day off.

So, I come in to work already upset and my computer won't turn on.  After about 45 minutes it decides to turn on but won't really work.  After about another hour it magically starting working. 

I had a big presentation today and let's just say it didn't go too well.  And it wasn't because of my work - it was because some people like to throw others under the bus.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

Also, my company's medical office doesn't like my doctor's paperwork dismissing me from work.  So, my last day is who knows when.  I may just take the time unpaid - which is so frustrating since my doctor has specifically said no work past August 9 and I have coverage to go out and be paid 100% of my salary for up to 10 or 12 weeks. 

It all just makes me want to cry and eat brownies.

To end on something positive, we got this beauty in last night.  I'll post non iPhone pictures tonight or tomorrow.

August 1, 2010

Happy Birth Month Kate!!!

I can't believe it is August - and that I am having a baby this month!  Actually, I am having a baby in about 18 days!!

I have a feeling that these next 2.5 weeks may drag on...let's hope they don't!!!
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