Holidays

Christmas has come and gone, way too fast as always. We enjoyed 5 days back in Illinois that we packed in with lots of visits with family and friends. We stayed at Kyle's parents on Thursday night and did their Christmas on Christmas Eve. We then headed down to my parents on Christmas morning and had lunch with my Grandma and friend Joe while we waited for my mom to get home from work. Christmas night was filled with present opening and Reese playing with cousins Aidan and Aubrey. We then had my moms side of Christmas on Sunday, and Mekenna (Kyle's niece) 4th birthday party on Monday afternoon. WHEW...we were busy little bees. It made it go so fast, and on Tuesday as I was driving to work, I felt as though I needed one more day of vacation to relax :) Reese opened lots of presents while mom and dad indulged in lots of good food and drinks. It was a great weekend had by all.

Monday night began the process of sleep training....the dreaded words. I hate to say this, but Reese has been sleeping in her vibrating bouncy seat next to my bed since birth. I know, I know, not a good habit, and one that has made sleep training that much harder. But, we all know that the first baby is a little spoiled, and I was doing anything to get a little sleep myself. :)

So, Monday night after we gave her her last bottle, we laid in her in her crib, instead of rocking her into a deep sleep. And the screaming began....for 45 minutes. Every 10 min we went in there to assure her we were not leaving her, but we did not pick her up. After an hour she passed out. She woke up every 4 hours that night...but we did not give in and kept her in her crib.

Tuesday and Wednesday Kyle stayed home from work and kept the sleep training going with her naps during the day. Each time, it got easier and easier. As of last night, I gave her her bottle, laid her down, and she rolls over to sleep. AHHHH, sleep training has been successful thus far. She is only waking once during the middle of the night to eat, and goes right back down in her crib afterwards, I cannot complain. I know this should have been done months ago, but it is hard to get over that first hump of hearing her scream for an hour. I hope this continues and she keeps it up.

This weekend we have friends up visiting from Southern Illinois for the New Year. They have a baby girl, Phoebe, who is 5 weeks younger than Reese. It is so neat watching them inspect each other. We are also having another couple over tonight that has a baby 6 weeks younger than Reese. It will be fun to get all 3 of them together!! Looks like our days of staying up late and going out to the bars for New Years are over :) (atleast for a couple years!)

All Nighter

Reese pulled her first all nighter, and by that I mean SLEEPING all night :) I'm not sure if it is going to become a habit, or if she was just extremely tired from this busy weekend. I put her to bed at 8 pm last night, and awoke for work this morning at 5:30 am only to realize that I did not wake up and feed her last night. I had one of those moments where I was like "Am I dreaming?" or "Did I get up to feed her and I was just so tired I forgot?" But no, she was not fed during the night, and it was amazing :)

With a busy weekend, she did great. She had so many new things to look at, a schedule that was off, and was passed around quite a bit. Reese is a creature of habit and does not do the greatest with a different schedule or being away from home, but she powered through and did great at the Montgomery Christmas yesterday. She got a new toy to play with and enjoyed opening her first Christmas present! She even took a nice long nap in Aunt Krista's arms. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, her or Krista ;)

We are looking forward to a short week at work and then heading back to Illinois again this weekend for Christmas celebrations. I am praying for a nice, smooth weekend with Reese since we will be away from home for 5 days. We will have three Christmas' and a birthday party this weekend. Tis the season!

Goodbye

We head back to IL this weekend to say goodbye to my grandfather who passed away on Monday. He will be greatly missed by all of us, but we know he is in a better place. He lived a great long life of 94 years and left us all with some great memories. My favorite being that every Christmas when I was little, he would get out his wagon and hook up his draft horses and give the grandkids a ride around his farm in the snow :) It's memories like those that will last a lifetime. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we say goodbye to a wonderful man this weekend.

Winter Wonderland

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Madison. We had our first blizzard of the year yesterday/last night. The winds are whipping today, blowing snow everywhere...so much it is hard to see the neighbor's house across the street. Our plans to take Reese to see Santa this weekend have been delayed, but will be accomplished next weekend I hope!

This past week flew by for me, as Kyle came down with a cold and I was being a single parent for the week. He came down with a runny nose, body aches, and sore throat on Monday. Since the first sign of symptoms, Reese and I have avoided him, pretty much until yesterday when he began feeling better. He is on the mend, but the cold is still lingering.

I finished up my Christmas shopping on Friday night and have begun the task of wrapping. I spent a few hours yesterday and have a couple more things to wrap and then it is complete! Christmas is fast approaching!!

I received some sad news from my mother this past Thursday. Her father (my Grandpa), who is 94, is not doing so well. He has been in the nursing home for a few months and Hospice has been called in. If you could send a few prayers our way, we would greatly appreciate it.

Time to Eat!

Last week we had Reese's 4 mo appt. Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs (74%)
Height: 25.5" (86%)
Head Circumference: 40.9 cm (43%)

So she is a healthy little girl. When the nurse came in to give her shots at the end of the appt, she said "6 mo shots for this little one?" haha. Nope, 4 mo old! She is not "fat" by any means, just longer girl who looks older than 4 mo old!!

The dr. also said we could start trying rice cereal when I felt like she was ready. So, yesterday we gave it a go, and she loved it! I started out with only a couple bites in the afternoon, and she sucked those down in no time. It was so funny to watch her eat off of a spoon! Then before bed we did a little more, and she gulped that down as well. So, I guess she was ready. She then slept 8 straight hours last night...yahooo!! That was the best sleep I have had in months!!! Not sure if it was related to the rice cereal, or if she has a cold and was wiped out, but I'll take it either way :)

She is a little rolling machine now. When I was making her cereal yesterday in the kitchen, I went back in the living room only to find her on her stomach (I laid her on her back before I walked out of the room). She also has been doing a great job in her exersaucer. She loves to stare at all the toys around her.

I'm hoping to take her to see Santa this next weekend at a local library. I looked online and found out that to take her to the mall, it is $20!!!!! What a rip off. So, I had some suggestions from friends on places to go, and that is what we will do either some night this week or on Saturday.

Roley Poley

We had our first "witnessed" rollover on Sunday night! I have been watching Reese very intently every time I lay her down on the floor, as she gets about 3/4 of the way over, hoping and hoping that she would just roll right on over. This past weekend back in Illinois she practiced and practiced, but just could not get her arm out from underneath her. Sunday night after we got back to our house, I laid her down in the living room, and Kyle was in the kitchen. She looked like she was working on it, so I hollered for Kyle to look, and sure enough, the little stinker kicked her way over. The look on her face was priceless. She was shocked!! It was almost like she did not know why she was now lying on her tummy! Such a cool thing and I am glad we both got to see it at the same time. She has not rolled over since, but I don't think it will be long before she does it all the time. She is just about there each time, just a little kick is all she needs.

Minutes later as I was changing her diaper, she also found her feet for the first time. She kicked her feet up by her head, grabbed her toes, and looked at them like "Are these mine???" She got the biggest smile on her face, and now loves grabbing her toes each time you change her diaper.

A lot of firsts for one day!! Tomorrow we head to the dr. for her 4 month shots. I'm curious to see how much she weighs and how long she is. All of her teachers commented about how they thought she grew over Thanksgiving break. My guess is 24" long, 14.5 lbs. We'll see!!

4 mo old/ Turkey Day

We celebrated Reese's 4 month birthday last Wednesday. Apparently she got a song and dance number from Kyle that morning, which I'm sure was very entertaining :) We headed down to Illinois Wed. afternoon for the long weekend of Thanksgiving. Thursday we had Thanksgiving at my aunt's house on my mom's side, and Reese got to meet more family members. She had a great afternoon, but was a tired baby come 4:00. She took a nice long nap in my arm's while watching football :)
Kyle left Thursday afternoon with some friends to go down to the high school state football championship game, which Lena won! It is pretty neat to see a local team win the state championship. Kyle and I went to their pep rally on Friday night when the team got back into town, and it was awesome to see the community pull together and support the team.
Saturday was filled with another Thanksgiving at Kyle's grandma's house. Reese met even more family members here as well. She was pretty tired, and took a few catnaps while we were there. Reese tends to be a creature of habit, so by Saturday, she was wiped out since her schedule had been all messed up for the past few days.
Today we all took a nice, long afternoon nap. Reese must be tired, as she has already been asleep for 2 hours and is still out like a light. I'm hoping we can all get a good nights sleep and be rested for the day tomorrow. Hopefully the transition back to daycare for her will be an easy one. :)
This week we plan to get the Christmas tree up and decorated and get the lights hung up outside. Tis the season!!

This Way?

I had to chuckle yesterday. Kyle had the day off, so he decided to keep Reese at home with him and have a father/daughter day. I am always happy when she gets to stay home with one of us, so I was excited for them. I called during my lunch break and things were going very smoothly. When I got home, I had a pretty good chuckle only to find out that Reese's shirt was on backwards, all day long. I said to Kyle "Do you notice the flower that is on her back?" He said "Yea, I wondered why that was there!" We had a pretty good laugh.

Last night Kyle's mom came up and spent the night so Kyle and I could go to the Comedy Club in downtown Madison with a group of friends. I am on their email list, and randomly won 10 free tickets to a show of my choice. So, three other couples and us enjoyed the evening out. The comedians were actually pretty good. Two of them have been on HBO specials. It was a great stress reliever after a long work week. Today Kyle will be listening to the Lena-Winslow State Playoff Football game on the radio. If they win, he plans on making the trip down to the state championship game next Friday. Lena was always a rival of Pearl City's in sports, but it is nice to see a local team go that far in the playoffs. Kyle's cousin also plays for the team, so we wish them the best of luck!!

I am looking forward to a short work week next week and getting to spend time with family for Thanksgiving. It is always nice when everyone can get together!

Busy Bees

We have been busy, busy bees lately. So much I haven't had more than 15 minutes at a time to sit down and enter a new blog. But, with Kyle down in East Dubuque watching the Le-Win playoff football game, and a sleeping baby, I figured now was my chance to catch up!

Last weekend we went down to Dubuque for a family friend's wedding. It was great to catch up with all of my high school friends, and see some that I haven't seen in years. Every one's lives are changing with marriages, babies, and new jobs. It was great to see what everyone is doing these days. Kyle's parent's came up and stayed at our house with Reese, so Kyle and I enjoyed the "adult focused" evening :)

Work is going well, for both Kyle and I. We have seem to have gotten in to somewhat of a "schedule" with Reese now with daycare. We get home around 4:30 pm from daycare, she takes a nap, wakes around 7, eats, and goes to bed around 8:30 p.m. She is waking twice in the night (around 1 and 4:30) and goes to daycare with Kyle around 8:30 am. My mastitis is gone (once again) and I have been pumping to keep my milk production up. Until yesterday, I was dumping it every time since I was on antibiotics, but now I have begun to save it again. I had enough milk in the freezer to make her bottles for daycare, but we ran out yesterday, so good thing I am able to start saving it again. I am still mixing her bottle (2 oz. formula, 3 oz. breast milk). She just doesn't want to take the bottle when it is all 5 oz of breast milk. I figure some is better than none, so I'll make whatever she will eat :) I am hoping to keep up pumping for another month or so, and then I will try starting her on rice cereal (around 5 1/2 mo.) I will probably be done breastfeeding when she will start taking cereal.

Our little monkey is almost 4 mo old (on the 24th). Here are some things I have noticed recently:

When giving her a bottle, she now likes to try to "hold" it. She puts both hands on it, but can't quite grasp it on her own yet.

Her neck is SO much stronger than even a few weeks ago. She can lay on her tummy with her head up for about 20 minutes, and like to "pull" herself up when you lay her down in your arms. She is also now able to sit in her Bumbo seat all by herself, and her neck is in complete control.

She is very interested in the outside world. She likes to examine everything, especially colorful books and toys. She loves to sit by the window and watch outside.

She is now "batting" at toys in front of her, and if we put a toy in her hand, it goes straight up to her mouth. She has also begun drooling more, which is a sign of early teething. I bet those teeth that are deep in her gums have begun their decent to the top. I am not looking forward to the teething days.

She talks constantly. If she is awake, she is talking up a storm. She likes to tell you lots of stories about anything and everything :)

Halloween and more

Reese celebrated her first Halloween on Sunday, and did so by dressing up as a cow :) We handed out candy to the neighborhood children (I think we had about 60). Trick or Treating lasted from 5-8, and little miss Reese was asleep by 5:30. She is still fighting off a cold (going on a week now) and napped much of Sunday. She did wake up around 6:45ish for some of our friends who cam over to see her. She was awake though for our pumpkin carving that afternoon. She sat and watched mommy and daddy carve away. According to our friends, my pumpkin beat out Kyle's, even though I carved off half of my cats ear :)

We also celebrated Kyle's birthday yesterday. We went out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, and Reese was a happy baby through it all. When we got home, he opened his present from us and my parents, a new golf bag and golf balls. Now he won't have to hold the bottom of his bag so his clubs won't fall out :)

And I want to say thank you....thank you to mastitis for returning to me. Oh how I have missed it. NOT. Yesterday morning, I began to feel quite engorged while at work. I tried to feed Reese twice, and she was not having it. I was too engorged for her to get a good latch. So I pumped and almost nothing came out. I thought maybe if I could just get her to eat, my milk would drop. Not so. It kept getting worse throughout the night, and by 4 am this morning, I could barely move my right arm because my chest hurt so bad. This time it is worse than I have had it before. Im am VERY sore, all the way up to my neck, and I have the flu like symptoms that go along with it. I have an appointment at 1 today to get back on antibiotics. Having mastitis really does ruin the breastfeeding experience. I may just have to pump now and give breastmilk to her in a bottle. She is doing much better taking it out of a bottle since starting daycare, so that may just be what we have to do for the next couple of months. I am hoping to still give her breastmilk until she is around 6 mo old. We'll see how it goes.

Here are some recent pictures:

Carving pumpkins on Halloween

Ready to hand out some candy in her cow costume!

Another cow pic...

Baptism

I survived the first week back to work, barely. I was hanging on by a thread by the time Friday rolled around, and that was even with Wednesday off! It is much better this week having Kyle home. I have to be at work pretty early in the morning, so he gets her ready and brings her in a little bit later, making my mornings much more smooth and less stressul.

Reese and I headed down to my parents house on Friday for Reese's baptism weekend. My sister's family went down on Thursday night, so when we got there I was excited to see them! Saturday night we had her baptism dinner at my parents house and Kyle's family came over too. We had great food and great company. Reese came down with a cold on Friday, so she was a bit crabby and fussy, but nothing too bad. She had some sniffles here and there, but mostly just over tired.

Sunday was her big day, and she did fantastic! Not a tear shed through the whole hour and half service (even when the water was put on her head!) She was sleeping away in my sister's arms, so the water just woke her. She was great, as were my niece's and nephew. It was a great day. She also turned 3 mo old on Sunday. What a big day!

Back to work we went yesterday, and Reese is still enjoying daycare. Reports are that she is a happy baby most of the time and only fusses when she gets hungry. Great things for a mom to hear!

Reese's Baptism 10/24/10

3 mo old

Back to Work

Back to work I went on Monday, and it sure was not easy. Kyle flew to Chile for work on Monday, but his flight didn't leave until the afternoon, so he brought Reese into daycare around noon. I took my break around the same time so I could drop her off with them, and it was harder on us than her, that's for sure! We both didn't like leaving her in there. All afternoon I just kept wondering what she was doing, if she was crying, and how she was. People say I am lucky to be able to take her to work with me, but sometimes it is harder being 500 ft. away from her in another room knowing I can't just go in there. When I picked her up on Monday, her report was that she was a happy baby who was quite content. So, we survived the first day. Tuesday was not as pleasant though, for me. Reese decided to wake up every hour on Monday night, giving me a total of about 3 hours of sleep. I think I was a walking zombie at work yesterday. Had Kyle been here we could at least taken turns with her, but no such luck. I think I have said this before, but I give all the props to single moms.
Luckily, I have today off to catch my breath and snuggle with her ALL day :) She slept much better last night, and I hope she does again tonight. We head down to IL on Friday for Reese's baptism on Sunday. My sister's family is coming down too, so I'm excited to get to see Aidan and Aubrey as well.

Reese turns 3 mo old on Saturday. Here are some updates:

-She is still having a bowel movement every 3-4 days. Normal I guess. She wanted NOTHING to do with the prune juice in a bottle. I would put it in her mouth and the second it touched her tongue she would gag. So, I put a little Karo syrup in her bottle once a day and hope that keeps things moving.

-She is talking alot now. She loves to coo, giggle, and "squeak". She is also a big smiler. Anytime you talk to her you can usual get the biggest smile!

-She is rolling halfway over from back to tummy. She just can't quite get her arm underneath of her to get all the way over.

Dr Appt.

We headed to the doctor this morning to discuss Reese's "constipation", eczema, and clogged tear duct...whew! First, she weighed in at 12 lb. 15 oz. (79th percentile). I guessed around 13 lbs, so I was right on. As far as our concerns go, they are nothing to be too worried about. As far as her bowel movements, he said as long as they are "soft" it can be normal for babies to go every few days. But, when they are "hard" then she is constipated and we need to supplement with an ounce of prune juice every other day to get her back on track. She has not gone since Monday, so tomorrow I will give her some if she does not go tonight. He checked her eczema, and said to stay on top of it by apply lotion daily to her body, and using vaseline on the bad spots. She has a few rough patches on her legs and elbows. With the drier weather approaching, it is important to lotion her up daily! And finally, her clogged duct is normal as well. He said babies can have it upto a year in age. I am supposed to apply a warm compress to her left eye daily to help it drain. Her eye waters most of the day, and sometimes is pretty "goopy" when she wakes up in the morning.

Relating back to my blog yesterday, the little stinker slept in her bassinet all through the night last night. Even after I fed her at 2 am and 5 am she went right back to sleep lying on her back. Maybe I should have posted that she doesn't sleep lying down a long time ago! She also took a 2 1/2 hour nap yesterday afternoon and is sleeping as I write this. I am trying to get her on the schedule of napping every few hours, and yesterday and today have gone great! Hopefully she can keep it up at daycare.

Door County

I have some catching up to do! So much has happened since my last blog. For starters, we had our first family vacation last week. We headed up to Door County last Sunday and planned on staying until Wed. afternoon. The drive up was gorgeous, the leaves were changing and got brighter and brighter the further north we went. While we were there, we did lots of sightseeing, wine drinking, window shopping, and relaxing. It was a fantastic little break from reality for both Kyle and I. Reese was such a great baby. We only had one crabby night but she was overtired from a long day. Otherwise, she was content in her stroller or Bjorn most of the time. When we went to leave on Wed., Kyle's truck began acting up. Here we go again...I must be bad luck with vehicles lately. We called AAA (again) and they towed us to the nearest Chevy dealership (18 miles away). That was a fun ride with two guys, me, and a baby all shoved into a tow truck. Not the safest thing to do, but we had no other option. Turns out, his transmission blew! Only 40 some thousand miles on a brand new Silverado...what a bummer. But, it was covered under warranty thank goodness. We ended up staying until Thursday, and finally got home around 8 pm Thursday night. A hassle, but atleast we made it home ok.

This past weekend we went down to my parents to pick up my car that was getting fixed. I know have a brand new fuel pump, filter, struts, and my Dad fixed the squeaky brakes. Hopefully it will last me another year or so! On Saturday, Reese got to meet her Great Grandma Mosher (the last one to meet!) While we were there, my cousins/Aunt showed up so Reese also got to meet them, and her brand new baby cousin who was born two weeks ago. She is such a peanut compared to Reese! We also went to church with my mom on Sunday and talked with our Pastor, as Reese is getting baptized in two weeks. We headed down to Kyle's grandma's in Winslow on Sunday afternoon and Reese got to meet more Great Aunt's and both Great Grandmas were there as well. She was a tired baby on Sunday!

Britt and Reese- Second Cousins: 9 wks apart

Reese and her second cousins. L to R: Britt (2 wks) Reese (11 wks) Linnea (22 mo.)

Reese (11 wks) and Great Grandma Mosher (94)

Here are a few updates on my almost 3 mo. old!!:

-We are still having a tough time sleeping during the day. She is hard to get down for a nap, won't sleep lying down, and only sleeps for 20-30 min at a time. Such a stinker! But at night, I get about 6 straight hours out of her before she wakes for a feeding. I'm reading a book about healthy sleep habits, and she should be napping every hour and a half for about an hour!

-Lately, Reese has had her fair share of medical issues. Nothing serious, but enough doctors visits! She developed eczema over the weekend, so we are busy treating that. She also only has a bowel movement every 2-4 days, so I was advised by the doctor to give her and ounce of prune juice if she goes more than 3 days without one. We go to the doctor tomorrow so he can check her eczema and we will be discussing her constipation. I might need to start mixing bottles of 2/3 breastmilk and 1/3 formula so the formula can help her bowels get moving. Breastmilk tends to back some babies up.

-Reese will already be 3 mo old on Saturday, and that means.....back to work I go. UGHHH. That was a hard sentence to spit out. The reality is that she will be in GREAT hands at my daycare with a wonderful teacher, but it will be hard for me, much more so than her. I am relishing these next few days that I have her all to myself :)

Well, there ya have it...our last week and a half in review! Enjoy the nice weather outside this week, it is gorgeous!!

A week in review

I haven't posted in over a week, and have a little catching up to do! Last week Kyle was traveling on the East Coast (Mon-Thur). I had plans to go down to my parents house on Tuesday so my dad could fix the struts on my car. Great plan, until my car decided to quit running halfway home right outside of Monticello. Not good. I called AAA and they sent out a tow truck (which arrived an hour later) and my sister in law came to pick me up and take me to Monroe, where my dad proceeded to pick up Reese and I. We were supposed to get home at 11 am, and didn't until 3 pm. It was a long day. Turns out my car's fuel pump died, so it is getting fixed today down in Monroe. Sitting on the side of the road for an hour and a half with a 2 mo old is not too fun, but at least she slept most of the time.

This past Sunday we stopped in New Glarus for their annual Oktoberfest celebration. We have never been before so we did not know what to expect, but it was a nice little festival. We watched an antique tractor pull (don't worry, the tractor's were not too loud for Reese), and we ate a delicious beer brat while sipping on a Spotted Cow (New Glarus Beer). We also happened to run into some family friends and chatted with them for a while. It was a nice day out and I'm glad we stopped.

Here are some pictures from the tractor pull:

2 months old

Oh my. I can't believe she is 2 months old already. Where did the past 8 weeks of my life go? Well, I know that the first 4 weeks are what I like to refer to as a "sleepless fog". :) But these last 4 weeks have flown by even though she is sleeping more! We had her two month appointment last week. Here are her stats:

Height: 23.5 " (93 %tile)
Weight: 11 lb 12.8 oz (86 %tile)
Head Circumference: 37 cm (18 %tile)

I guess you could call it Round THREE of Mastitis set in on Friday night. I had been on my new (third) medicine since last Monday. I took it every day, never missed a dose, and by Friday night, things still were not improving and it was actually getting worse. I just about wanted to cry when it started flaring up again. I am so frustrated and Reese did not want to breastfeed at all last week (I'm assuming the antibiotic I was on made the milk taste funny). I would pump every 3 hours, and try to feed it to her in a bottle, and that was not working either. So, she had only formula for a couple days. I felt so guilty for giving her all formula, b/c I know the positive effects from breast milk. I was beginning to think she would not want to breastfeed again, and that made me pretty upset. Anyways, I called Urgent Care on Friday night, and made an appointment for right away yesterday morning. I was put on the fourth, and final medication that is used to treat Masitits. In the beginning, I was told I could not breastfeed Reese with this medicine, but I talked with the pharmacist and my doctor and they both agreed that the baby has to be over 4 weeks to have the medicine. Thank goodness. I began taking it yesterday and already feel better. Let's hope it stays this way. Reese is breastfeeding again, which makes me so happy. What a stressful couple of weeks!

Kyle is heading off to the East Coast this week for work. Not much in on our agenda. I am starting to crack down and get things done around the house before I go back to work. We would like to put up a tile back splash in our kitchen, so we will go look at some tile this week and get some samples. All the usual cleaning as well, getting ready for fall/winter and putting the summer things away!

Here is her two month picture:

Round 2

I began my Round 2 battle of Mastitis again on Sunday. What a mess I tell ya. We had some friends over on Sunday for dinner and to watch football, and around 6 pm my right breast began to get really sore again. I tried pumping twice after they left, and got pretty much nothing. I knew right away what was going on since last time. If you remember, I had an allergic reaction to the first medicine they put me on last time, and the second medicine gave me severe diarrhea. So, I only ended up having 6 days of medicine last time instead of the 10 I was supposed to. I called the Dr. right away yesterday morning, and they got me in right away. Again, my breast was SO swollen and red, and very painful. Much worse than last time, but no other side effects (usually you have flu like symptoms with Mastitis). So, we were presented with a dilemma. There are only 4 medicines that really treat it, and the top two were already knocked off the list since I had reactions to them. The third medicine is in the same family as the first one, which may cause a cross-allergic reaction, and with the fourth one I can't breastfeed b/c it is not safe for Reese. Hmmmm....what to do. After talking with the doctor and pharmacist, we all decided it would be best for me to go with medicine #3. There is only a 2% chance it would cause a cross reaction and I would have an allergic reaction. So, I started the medicine yesterday and things are already improving. I just have to keep a close watch on any symptoms that may be related to an allergic reaction, and get to the ER as soon as possible if they were to show up. Let's pray they don't, and I can take the full 10 days of medicine to get rid of this!!!

I was already feeling better yesterday afternoon, so Kyle, Reese, and I went to the Mendota Terrace in downtown Madison to sit by the lake, eat dinner, and watch the sunset. It was a gorgeous evening. I will be the first to admit I have been weary to take Reese places for long periods of time in the fear of her having a meltdown in public (when she gets hungry). Even though she is a GREAT baby at home, I just have a fear she will start crying in public and everyone will start staring at me :) So, I overcame my fear last night as we walked up and down State Street and then headed to the Terrace. Wouldn't you know it, halfway through eating, she began to whimper. So, we tried the bottle. No go. We tried burping her. Not having it. By the time we got walking to the car, she was screaming her head off (the loudest she has ever) and I was frantic. We checked her diaper, nothing. What else could it be???? So, after seeing the tears roll down her face, I picked her up, and just started talking to her while burping her, and a very loud belch finally came out. Ahh, relief. For her, and us :) She had then cried herself to sleep, and we walked to the car and headed home. It was not that bad, but it was exactly what I didn't want to happen. Ohwell, when she is two, I won't be able to burp her to get her to be quiet :) Here she is, wiped out after all that fussing!

Tonight we are going to a local park near our house for a picnic. We are taking full advantage of the great weather outside. If Reese wants to scream tonight, she can let it all out.

Here are some recent pics of her. She is becoming more and more fond of bath time, but still sheds some tears at the end.

Just Call Me Martha...

Stewart that is. I feel as though I have turned into Martha Stewart this week (or Rachel Ray, which ever you prefer!) I began my task of making homemade salsa on Thursday, and my last batch is cooking away on the stove as I write this. I made three batches, which makes about 8 cans of salsa each. Kyle taste tested last night, and it got the seal of approval. Thank goodness. It is a time consuming process, one that had to be planned around Reese's somewhat of a schedule. I also made butternut squash that I picked up at the farmers market last Saturday. I baked it for a couple of hours, and then froze it for when Reese is ready to begin eating solid foods. And finally, yesterday I made a dinner and brownies for some friends of ours that had a baby last Saturday. They had a little boy, Kai, who is exactly 6 weeks younger than Reese. We went to visit them last night, so I took them dinner and got to hold little baby Kai, he is only 7 lbs and I felt like I was holding literally nothing. He is so light compared to my own 10 lb turkey!!! He is adorable I must say and I can't wait to watch him and Reese grow up together. Romance in the future??? Not if the Dad's have anything to say about it :)

Speaking of Reese's somewhat of a schedule, I think we are getting into a routine. She is going to bed between 9:30-11 p.m., and waking around 4-4:30 a.m. to eat. She will then wake around 8 a.m. and be awake for an hour or two, eat again, and nap again until around noon. She will be awake most of the afternoon/evening, with little catnaps here and there throughout. It is quite a nice schedule we have going, and I hope it stays this way. Getting 6 straight hours of sleep a night is a blessing. I was reminded of that yesterday when we were visiting our friends and she is getting about 3 hours total a night. You can forget quite easily how hard it is in the beginning.

*On a sad note, my sister's mother in law passed away this past Monday after finding out just 6 weeks ago that she had cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time. Michele was a great, wonderful, caring woman who was always so nice to our family. It was great seeing her and her husband when we would go up to visit my sister. She was so thoughtful and always thought of me on special occasions (Christmas, Birthday, College Graduation, Wedding, etc.) even though I was not her official "daughter in law". She even gave Reese the cutest embroidered blanket just days after finding out she had cancer. Such a thoughtful woman who will be greatly missed by everyone. We continue to pray that everyone can find the strength to get through this tough time.

6 1/2 weeks

Bumps in the road

The first 6 weeks postpartum were great. Then week 6 left me with some not so great memories :(

Last Tuesday, in the wee hours of the morning, my right breast began to get realllly sore and tender. I just figured I needed to feed her on that side soon, so my milk would let down. We tried and tried and my milk just was not coming in. At about noon, I was in so much pain, I decided to call the doctor. They told me to come in right away, which I did. They said I had Masitits. It is an infection in your breast tissue that you get from bacteria generally from the baby's mouth. It is common, and they put me on an antibiotic for 10 days. Within the first 24 hours, I felt so much better.

Fast forward to Saturday night (5 nights later). Kyle and I had a nice relaxing evening, watched movie, and drank a glass a wine. I went to bed around 10, and woke up at 11:30 and didn't feel very well. I thought maybe mixing my medicine and a glass of wine was not the best idea, so I figured it would pass. As the next hour went on, I kept getting worse. My stomach hurt more and more, and now I was having chest pain and difficulty breathing. I let it go for about another half hour and then decided to wake Kyle and have him take me to the ER. Reese was such a trooper. She was woke up from a deep sleep, and took a bottle in the car on the way there. Once there, they did an ultrasound to check my gallbladder...that was ok. They also did a cat scan to check my appendix...that was ok. After 6 hours, pain medicine, and no sleep, it was concluded that I had an allergic reaction to the medicine I was on for Mastitis. Reese slept the entire time, thank goodness, and Kyle got a little sleep on the hospital floor as well. We finally left the hospital around 7 am Sunday morning. What a LONG night. We came home and Kyle took care of Reese while I got to sleep until about noon. I think I am still recovering today from the total lack of sleep of Saturday night.

They ended up putting me on a new antibiotic, which I started taking Sunday. Last night, I was woken up by extreme stomach pains and pretty severe diarrhea . Again, a bad side effect to this new medicine. I called the doctor this morning, and we will see what they do. I was up from 2-6 this morning, so hopefully Reese sleeps today so I can too.

Yesterday one of the days I have actually felt ok. We went to the Brewers/Cardinals game with Kyle's parents in Milwaukee. It was such a nice day out! My mom came up to watch Reese while we were there, and she slept the entire day :) Luckily, she still slept most of last night as well.
So, week 6 has been pretty rough on me. Hoping this week (7) turns around!

Reese didn't go to the game, but showed her support from home:

6 weeks

Reese will be 6 weeks tomorrow and she is getting bigger by the minute. I have put more of her newborn clothes away, and we have switched from newborn diapers to size 1. She is so much more alert now, even within this past week. When she is awake during the day, she is constantly "tracking" me with her eyes, and babbling up a storm (well, making grunting noises and baby squeaks that I think means she is talking to me!) :)

We went in to visit my work yesterday, and she was the center of attention. When we went last time (when she was 1 week old) we went during nap time, so all the children were asleep. Yesterday we went during learning center time, and all of the kids were thrilled to see her! My 3 years old kept saying "Kali is a mommy now". So cute! We visited the infant room as well, where she will be going in 6 weeks. We went in and played with the teachers and other babies in the room. I know she will be in great hands in there while I am working in a different room. I do not like the thought of going back to work, but it makes it so much easier knowing I can pop in and see her whenever I want :) I am also able to feed her there, which makes the anxiety of pumping at work go away.

We are going to enjoy our 3 day weekend to the fullest. Tomorrow we are going to the Farmers Market downtown (Reese's first time!) On Monday, we are going to the Brewers/Cardinals game in Milwaukee with Kyle's parents. My parents are coming up to watch Reese for the day. Kyle realllly wanted to take her to her first Cardinals game, but mommy put the kibosh on that. She is still too young, and it would not be very fun for me or her in the 80 degree weather. So, maybe when she is a little older. Hope everyone enjoys and extra day off this weekend!

Just the Two of Us

The month of September is a very busy month for Kyle. He is traveling all over (Kansas City, Nebraska, Mexico, the East Coast, and possibly Chile) for work. Reese and I are adjusting this week to being by ourselves :) Kyle left early yesterday morning for Kansas City and will return tomorrow afternoon. Each week he is traveling somewhere else. As I am used to having another hand around the house at night, let's just say I was exhausted last night. That might also be in part to Reese only sleeping for about 2 hours total yesterday (and not being very happy while awake). I give BIG props to all the single mothers out there, it is alot of hard work to do on your own. But, we are managing. My friend Jennie watched Reese for a little while this morning while I ran to the mall to use some gift cards I had and enjoyed some time to myself.

Reese has been adjusting to being awake more during the day. Yesterday she was SO tired and fought sleeping all day, resulting in me rocking her for most of the day. As soon as I would put her down, she would fuss and cry. Just not comfortable yesterday. Today has been going much better so far. Not much on tap for this week. Reese took her first trip to the zoo this past Saturday. We saw all the animals (well I did, she slept the whole time). We went with my friend and her 18 mo old, Ada. Ada had a great time! It was a nice day and and good to get out of the house without the humidity and bugs!!

1 month old

Here is Reese's 1 mo picture

I have also been noticing some developmental milestones that my baby girl is hitting, as well as things she likes/dislikes:

-Turning her head back and forth on her own
-Responding to familiar voices
-Tries to "find" the person talking in the room
-Smiles at us when we talk to her
-Lifts her head off of our chests
-Sleeping for less time, and being awake more during the day
-Making lots of "baby noises"
-Stares at patterned/high color contrast toys for long periods of time
-Loves to watch the ceiling fans go around and around
-Does not like bath time, hope that changes as Daddy and Mommy love water!
-Loves to be swaddled
-Only really cries when hungry, tired, or has a wet diaper (lets hope it stays this way!)
-Still eats every 2-3 hours during the day, and every 3-4 hours at night

I retired her first outfit that was too small earlier this week, and I cried. For some reason, putting away her newborn outfits that are now too small made me realize how big she is already getting! I want her to stay my tiny little baby forever!! :) I am sad that she is growing so fast, but I am so excited for all the new things she will be doing this next month. Today was the first time she actually smiled at me on purpose when I was talking to her. It melted my heart :) I got a little photography bug in me today, and here are her tiny little feet...

Reese's Shower

Cousins- Aidan 2 1/2, Aubrey 5 mo, Reese 1 mo.

My high school and college girlfriends at the shower.

Reese and I by all the yummy food.

We headed down to IL last Thursday for a weekend at Nana and Poppa's. My sister and her two kids (Aidan 2 1/2 and Aubrey 5 mo) also joined us on Thursday night. The kids spent the night getting to know each other, since Reese had never met them before! I also got in my full dose of playing with my little buddy Aidan. He sure is a mover, and wont slow down until someone tells him to :) My sister sure does have her hands full! Friday we spent the day relaxing at my parents house and preparing for my friends visit to town for Reese's shower on Saturday.

Saturday morning we got ready for the shower, and 4 of my girlfriends from college came over to meet Reese before the shower. I loved watching them interact with her and meeting her for the first time. We headed to the shower that afternoon and had a fabulous time. Good food, great friends, and such a generous group of people. We got a ton of nice things that will be put to use in our house. From clothes, monitors, a pack n play, and even a picnic table for Reese when she gets older. We are so grateful for everything. Thanks Courtney and Kelsey for a fabulous afternoon!

Saturday was dedicated to girls night out! I warned Kyle before hand that I would be pumping so there would be enough milk for him to do the night feedings on Sat. night, something that has never happened before. 10 of my closest friends and I went out to eat at an Italian restaurant and then headed to the bar next door for a few drinks. I was home by 11, but still gave Kyle the honors of the night feedings :) And wouldn't you know it, she slept great. She woke at 3 and 7 to feed....daddy got lucky.

Sunday we laid in the pool and enjoyed the summer heat. It was such a nice day out. Aidan showed me a few of his moves he learned at swimming lessons, and Aubrey floated around in a little raft, content as can be. She is such a great little baby, and smiles constantly :) You say one thing to her and her smile just melts your heart! Reese got some alone time with Poppa inside while we all relaxed out by the pool. I had so many helping hands this past weekend it was great! My sister helped give her a bath, my mom helped feed and change her, and Aidan gave her lots and lots of kisses. We will be back together again in October for Reese's baptism.

This week I have set out to start making baby food to stick in the freezer until Reese is ready to eat it (6 mo or so). My mom gave me fresh peaches so I got those done last night. I picked green beans out of our garden, and am going to tackle those this afternoon. I also plan on doing sweet potatoes and squash. I must take advantage of all the fresh fruits and veggies this summer instead of buying them this winter to do it, and I'm sure when I go back to work in October, the last thing I am going to want to do is come home and make baby food :)

The Big 2-5

Today I turn a quarter of a century old. Yes, 25. Reese gave me the best present of all last night, sleeping 4 hours in between all of her feedings and going right back to sleep after she was done eating. Something that has not happened very often at all! I fed her at 10 pm last night, and woke up at 11, 12, and 1. She was still asleep. Hmm, I checked her breathing just in case :) She woke up at 2 to eat and then again at 6. Wow, what a nice nights sleep. I feel so much more rested today. Kyle said he told her it was my birthday, so that was her present to me. I think we should tell her it is my birthday everyday :)

Kyle surprised me with flowers this morning and shirt from Express. He knows me well :) I also have surprise coming tonight he said, so I'll update you later on that.

I have enjoyed the day thus far. Reese and I took a walk this morning with our neighbor and her daughter, and we have been enjoying the nice weather outside. I also started packing for the weekend. We are headed back to IL tomorrow for my baby shower on Saturday. All of my high school and college friends are coming into town, so it will be so nice to see everyone and have them meet Reese. My sister and her family will also be back, and I can't wait for them to meet Reese either. Reese will be worn out after the weekend, hopefully :) I know I will be!! That's ok though, it will be a fun filled weekend with family and friends!

A Curse or a Lesson Learned?

Yesterday we headed down to Winslow so Reese could meet more family members and experience her first Winslow River Days. The parade started at noon, right about the time in which Reese decided to eat. So we missed the parade, which our two nieces were in. Perfect timing as usual :) With it being so hot out yesterday, it was probably a good thing she was not out in the sun/heat. Many family members/friends came over to Kyle's house yesterday afternoon to meet Reese. I am pretty sure she was in some one's arms from 1-6 pm yesterday (spoiled little girl!!). She met family friends, her two great grandmas, cousins, second cousins, and Kyle's godparents. A very busy afternoon!

During River Days they have a beer tent and band at night. Julie (Kyle's mom) graciously offered to watch Reese for a few hours last night so Kyle and I could enjoy some adult time together. So I fed her at 8 and she fell right asleep. I knew I would only be out a couple of hours, and they only live 1 block away from the park, so I did not have hard time leaving. After a couple cocktails, I decided to head home around midnight. When I walked in, Reese was still asleep!! 4 hours later!! So, she woke around 12:30 and I fed her, and put her to bed. I figured with such a long, busy day, this girl was going to be out for most of the night. WRONG. Of course, when mommy does not go to bed until 1 am and had a few drinks, this little girl decides to wake up at 3 and not go back to sleep until 7!!! I thought to myself "Is this the motherly curse?" "Does she know I left her and she is re-paying me now in the wee hours of the morning?" Ugh, what a long, exhausting night. I was prepared for a nice night out with friends (which was had) but was not prepared to be up until 7 am. I didn't even do that in college!! So, around 7:30, I woke Kyle, who had many more cocktails than mommy :), and didn't get home until around 2 am, and said "Your turn!" :) Not such a fun night/morning for either of us. It might be a while again before I/we stay out until midnight or after. Lesson learned.

Nana Time

Nana Albers came up to visit us on Sunday and took off last night. We had such a good time while she was here! She was SO helpful around the house. She washed our windows, did laundry, worked on our landscaping, vacuumed, made dinner, and picked up the house for us. It was so nice having extra hands here since Kyle has gone back to work. Today, I am on my own again, but it is going just fine :) She also got in snuggle time with Reese, which in my opinion, was the most important :)

Updates on Reese:
We are sleeping a little better at night. We went a few nights in a row where I would feed her in the middle of the night, and she would be WIDE awake after feeding time. That little girl did NOT want to go back to bed. I followed all the advice I have read about night feedings (keep the lights dim, do not speak to the child/or let alone make eye contact, etc.) to keep them as sleepy as possible. None of that seemed to work. So, two nights ago, I decided after being up with her an hour after she was done feeding to put her in her bouncy seat (which vibrates) and see how that worked. Ah ha, I found something that works! As soon as I put her in her seat, buckle her in, and turn on the vibrator, eyes go shut. Magic! I know they say you are not supposed to have the baby sleep anywhere but a crib or bassinet, but at this point, I am going to let her sleep wherever she is most comfortable (and safe). So, she has been resting for 2 or so hours in her seat until the next feeding. At this point, around 5 am, she eats, and then will go back to sleep in her bassinet. It is just that 2:00 feeding where she is wide awake and ready to play. A habit we are in the process of breaking!

She is continuing to eat well, every 2 hours during the day, and about every 3 at night. Her eyes are open much more now that the first week we had her home, and she makes the funniest facial expressions at us! I can already tell she is growing. She feels a little heavier when I pick her up! We have not been able to get outside and go on any walks because of the heat and bugs! The mosquitoes are SO bad. You get bit multiple times the minute you set foot out the door. So, we have been avoiding all that by staying indoors. We did go to the mall yesterday with my mom, and it was nice to get out for a while. With her being three weeks old this Saturday already, my mind dreads the thought of going back to work in 9 weeks. 3 has gone by so fast already, as I'm sure the next 9 will. :(

Here is her two week picture: 8/7/10

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my husband Kyle! We made it through the first year, and I am looking forward to many more.

Last year on this day, I don't think either one of us imagined being new parents on our first anniversary, but neither of us would have it any other way. Not too much is planned for the day. It seems like that is everyday with a newborn. Feedings every two hours, diaper changes, and rocking her to sleep consumes our days now. Not much is going to change today :) We will just relax and enjoy our day as a family.


Below is a picture from our wedding day one year ago. It was pushing 100 degrees, hotter than heck, and humid too. It rained all morning long, but the sun came out for us around 1 pm, just in time for picutres. It was a great day, one we will remember forever!

2 weeks old

Reese will be two weeks old tomorrow, already! We had her two week check-up today. Last Thursday at our appointment, she weighed 7 lbs 15 1/2 oz. One week later, she weighs 8 lbs. 10 oz.! I could tell she was getting a little heavier, and she is eating like a little piggy :) She is in the 69th percentile for weight. She is also 21 inches long (79th %tile) and her head is 35.7 cm (47th %tile). So, she is a healthy little baby. Her hands and her feet have been peeling this past week, but the doctor said that is normal, and should subside within the next week or so. Our next appointment isn't until her 2 month check-up.

Kyle will be going back to work full time on Monday, and my mom will be coming up for a few days to help around the house. She has already volunteered to wash our windows, which hasn't been done for a long time so that will be nice. It has been nice having Kyle around these past two weeks to help out, and give me some time to shower/nap. That time is coming to its end though, and it will be Reese and I for the next 10 weeks or so until I go back to work (ugh, I don't even want to think about that yet!!)

Not much on the schedule this weekend. It is supposed to be nice out, so maybe we will get in a few walks and some outside time. We have finally opened up the windows and got some fresh air, but the humidity is supposed to return Sunday and we will be back to the AC I think. Enjoy your weekend!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sister! Reese cannot wait to meet you in person :) Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Things you learn...

Exactly one week ago at this time I was sitting in my hospital room watching an episode of Dateline waiting for "real" labor to begin. Where does this time go?!?!?! How did this past week fly by so fast? Maybe sleep deprivation? Who knows, but I do know that this past week has by far been the fastest of my life. I have no idea where the time has gone, let alone what day it is :)

Reese is adjusting well to life in our house. She sleeps alot, as babies with jaundice do. It is not such a bad thing, because mommy can catch a nap then too :) She is eating every 2-3 hours and usually falls asleep right after eating. We had her blood drawn again today to check her Bili levels, and she is down to a 14!!! YAY! The doctor said she needs to be on her bili blanket for one more day, and then we can take it off of her. I am so excited to get to cuddle with her without that blanket attached!

I have been thinking about this past week, and comparing it to what I thought motherhood might be like. Here are my conclusions:

-Never have a goal or expectation for the day. I'm lucky if I get a shower by 10:00 p.m.

-Breastfeeding is much harder than anticipated. No one ever tells you how difficult it might be. We had latching on problems at the beginning, which was very frustrating for Reese and I, but things are going much better now, and she is eating for 20-30 minutes.

-Nap when she does as much as possible. When she is awake, so am I, including from 2-4 in the morning like last night!

-Don't worry about the small things. The dishes and laundry will get done at some point, just maybe not today.

-It is wise not to have a plan, because Reese runs the show. Things are now on what we call the "Reese Clock". Our time is determined by her wants/needs.

-You go through ALOT of diapers/wipes. I anticipated going through a fair amount, just not as many as we are!

-I did not expect the baby weight to come off as fast as it is. I am not complaining in any sense, I feel pretty lucky! I have already lost 20 of the 30 lbs I gained during pregnancy. But I am sure the last 10 are the hardest to lose, atleast that is what other mom's have told me.

In any sense, we love our little baby girl and can't imagine our lives without her :)

Welcome to the World Reese Isabelle Montgomery!

We welcomed our little bundle of joy this past Saturday, July 24th at 9:27 a.m. She was 20 1/2 inches long and weighed 8 lbs 9 oz at birth! She came a little earlier than mommy or daddy expected. Here is our labor/delivery story:

Last Friday I was scheduled to go to a doctors appointment at 3:00 p.m. for a non stress test, after seeing spots and being tested for preclampsia. So, after work on Friday, I headed to my clinic to be hooked up to a monitor for a half and hour so they could monitor her heart rate. After my test, the nurse came back in after talking to the doctor and said that after I was having a contraction (very little ones I couldn't even feel), Reese's heart rate would decrease for a few moments. Just to be on the safe side, they wanted to send me to St. Mary's (our hospital) for a longer test. There, I would be hooked up for at least an hour. So, I called Kyle and told him I was headed down and he was going to meet me down there. Little did I know at that time that I was going to be admitted. I thought I was just going down for a longer test.

When we got to the hospital, they hooked me up and away we went. Kyle and I sat in the room, making plans for that night. We were discussing where to go for dinner and what the plans for the weekend were going to be. Little did we know... :)

The nurse came back in with a doctor on call, and wanted to do an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid. My fluid levels were a little low, so they decided to check my cervix and see if I had dilated. When they checked me, I was a 4! So, with all the circumstances at hand, they told me I would not be going home, and that I would have a baby within the next day....WHAT?!?! I was totally unprepared for that news!!! In shock, all I said was "I haven't shaved my legs in two days and I don't have my hospital bag packed yet!!" Haha. I felt so unprepared and was not expecting this to be the way my baby was going to be born. But, plans change so I made a list and sent Kyle home to pick things up before labor really go going. They admitted me and got me settled into the birthing room around 6 p.m. Kyle ran home, and I made some phone calls to family.

Kyle returned around 7 p.m. and the nurse checked me again, and I was dilated to a 5. Still, the contractions did not hurt at all, and I barely even felt them. Kyle and I relaxed as much as possible and watched some tv to pass the time. The nurse came back in at 9 to check me and I was at a 6. Slowly progressing, and again, my contractions did not hurt at all! I thought to myself, "If this is how labor is, I can have 20 kids!!!" Little did I know things were going to change very soon :)

Around 10 p.m. the doctor came and said they were going to break my bag of waters to help speed the process along a little faster. So, at 10:30, my bag was broken, and I immediately had painful contractions. So this is what it really is all about I thought. They also started me on a small bit of Pitocin to help the contractions strengthen. By 12 a.m. I was in so much pain, I requested an epidural. The Pitocin was shut off, because they were making my contractions too painful and too fast. At 1 a.m. my epidural was administered and it was AMAZING. My body was completely relieved of all the pain. I was dilated to an 8, and was told to get a little rest. So, Kyle and I both slept from 1-3 a.m. They checked me at 3 and told me I was a 9 and to get a little more sleep as we would start pushing around 5 a.m. So, I slept from 3-5 and when I woke up, I was a 10. Time to push!

I began pushing at 5:30 a.m. and continued on...for the next FOUR HOURS!!! It was pretty rough. I was not only exhausted from pushing, but I began vomiting between every round of pushing, which was completely wiping me and all my energy out. Around 8 a.m. they gave me an anti-nausea shot, and it immediately went away. Now time to focus on pushing. She was stuck in the birth canal, and at 9 a.m., they gave me two options. Either a vacuum/forceps delivery or a c-section. There was no way I wanted a c-section, so we opted for the vacuum. With three pushes, little Reese arrived at 9:27 am, almost 4 hours after beginning to push.

The minute I laid eyes on her, all the pain and exhaustion went away. How precious she was!! The experience was amazing and surreal. I could not believe she was finally here. We both were in shock and amazement. What an awesome experience to share together. Kyle was fantastic through the whole thing. He was my support throughout the entire night and so strong through everything!

We spent the next few hours staring at her, figuring out who this new little person was, and who she looked like :) We moved over to our Family Suite, where we would spend the next two days learning how to breastfeed, change diapers, give baths, and cuddle constantly.

We came home on Monday afternoon and have been adjusting to life with a newborn. It is alot of hard, tiring work, but so worth every minute of it. Her bili reuben count is high, so she has been put on a Bili Light Blanket since Tuesday. We have another doctors appointment tomorrow to see when she can get it off. Her level was 18 yesterday, and they want to see her between 12-15. Let's hope it goes down tomorrow!

So, there ya have it. Little Reese has joined our family and we couldn't be happier that she is here!

Results

After my 24 hour urine sample yesterday into this morning, my results came back this afternoon and all is OK!! No extra protein detected in my urine, so as of now, it does not look like I will have to be induced. My blood pressure was still high this morning (142/90) so they are going to keep an eye on it. All of my blood work also came back ok, which is fantastic! They did schedule me for a non-stress test tomorrow afternoon. This requires me to be hooked up to an external monitor for 45 minutes and they will be watching the baby and making sure she is ok (I'm not really sure what they are exactly looking at). I'll let ya know after tomorrow. I also have my regular 39 week appointment next Tuesday, and they have scheduled another non stress test before that appointment. Other than that, they told me to stay hydrated and keep my feet up when possible! My work has been fantastic and very understanding with all these pop up doctors appointments, which makes it much easier to deal with.

Other than that, not too much else is new with us. We have no scheduled plans this weekend. I told Kyle we need to do somethings that we have wanted to do all summer and have not gotten around to yet. Things that we should do before baby arrives! We are going to try out a restaurant we have never been to before, and may head out to a place called Picnic Point on Lake Mendota. It is a trail you walk on out to an "island" point on the Lake and has a great view of the lake and of downtown Madison. We may hit up the farmers market on Saturday as well. Plans are pretty much up in the air, just some ideas :) I'll keep you posted on the baby after my upcoming appointments!

Good or Bad?

Which do you want to hear first? Let's do the good. It is always better to start on a happy note :)

I had my 38 week appointment today and I am 2 centimeters dilated and my cervix is 50% thinned out! Much better news than I was expecting. I figured nothing has been going on down there :) But, as excited as I can be, I know that really, I could be dilated at 2 cm for the next 2-2 1/2 weeks. It was just nice to hear that there is some activity going on down there since we are zeroing in on our due date!

Now for the not so good news. For the past week or so, I have been seeing spots (as if someone took a picture of you in the dark, and you see the flash for a little while afterwards). It happens randomly, and last for less than 10 seconds. I get a little dizzy when it happens, so I just sit down and wait for them to pass. I asked my doctor about it today, and she said it could be a sign of preclampsia. Preclampsia is "a complex disorder that affects 3 to 8 percent of pregnant women. A woman is diagnosed with preclampsia if she has high blood pressure and protein in her urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy". Today, I did have high blood pressure :( My readings has always been in the low 120's over low 80's. Todays first reading was 144/90, and the second reading they did was 136/89. Both much higher than normal. So what does this mean? Well, I did more blood work today, and tomorrow I have to start a 24 hour urine sample. This means I get to pee in a jug for 24 hours...ugh! Then I turn the sample in on Thursday morning, and they test it for high protein levels. If in fact I do have high protein levels, I will be scheduled for an induction (since the baby is considered full term and there are no pre-mature risks involved anymore). So, lets pray that these tests come back negative. I really do not want to be induced, but I know that I need to do whatever to keep the baby safe and healthy.

On a lighter note again, my sister and the kids came down to visit Kyle and I this past weekend. We had a blast! It is so great to see them. Aidan is chatting away more than ever, and little Aubrey is not so little anymore :) She is filling right out and is smiling all the time!! It was also nice to get some last minute motherly advice and tips from my sister :) For the details of the weekend, check out my sister's blog- http://www.finnlandnewsandnotes.blogspot.com/.

37 weeks

I am now considered full term! So, if I went into labor today, they would not try to stop it. But, that does not mean my due date is changing, its still August 2nd. Back in the early weeks, I thought this day would never come. Even though it seemed like forever ago we found out I was pregnant, the time has actually flown by and I can't believe I am 3 weeks away! Kyle and I (well, mostly me) have been prepping the baby room. Kyle likes to make jokes about the baby's closet and dresser drawers being WAY more organized than my own. :)

Everyone has been asking me (and even Kyle) if I have my hospital bag packed yet. The answer is..no. Why? Because my gut feeling has been telling me I am going to be late (my guess is August 5th). Kyle thinks I will be going early (July 26th). All bets are on! I would LOVE it if he was right, but I just don't think so. So, I might start throwing some things together so that I feel a little more prepared just in case she does happen to arrive a little earlier than expected.

Not a whole lot is new in our house. Kyle has been busy working on the patio this past weekend, and it is almost complete. Once the sealant is put on, it will be ready to use. We had the cement truck here on Saturday, and his cousins came up to help stamp the concrete, and it looks great! I'm sure we will be using it a lot the rest of the summer.

I am looking forward to this upcoming weekend. My sister and the kids are coming down from Friday until Sunday. She is bringing me all sorts of baby goodies that she is done using (bassinet, breastfeeding pillow, onesies, swaddling blankets, etc.) I am so grateful to be able to use it all! We are also planning on going to the Farmers Market, the pool, and I'm sure Aidan won't let us go all weekend without visiting our neighborhood park :) My parents are then coming up on Sunday for lunch before they take off to spend time with them. Should be a great weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th to everyone! This is a picture of the fireworks we went to see last night at Rhythm and Booms here in Madison (the largest fireworks show in the Midwest). It was amazing. Kyle had been once before, but I had never gone. Jody and Jenna (two high school friends) and their significant others went with us and we had a blast. The weather was gorgeous. It was a great night to sit outside and enjoy the show (along with the other 250,00 people there)! There were a ton of people, but it was not that bad. We waited around after the show for about an hour and went to the music stage and beer tent until traffic calmed down. It was the best show I have ever seen. The finale was amazing and I highly recommend it to anyone that lives in the Madison area!

Today Kyle's parents came up and helped us form together the spot where we are going to put our outdoor patio. We have wanted to do a patio out back behind our house for a while, and Kyle's cousin is going to come up next week and help us do it. So, Kyle has been busy this past week digging out all the sod to get ready for it to be done. We are very excited!!

Tomorrow my parents are coming up and we are hoping to get out on the lakes to do some boating. My dad might bring his boat, but the weather right now is not looking so promising (50% chance of rain). So, we will see what it looks like tomorrow when we wake up.

Other than that, I am starting my 36th week this week, and have my doctors appointment on Friday. Starting this week, I will be going every week now until she is born. Hope everyone has a great holiday and enjoy your week!

Summertime

I know, it is already June 29th. But, it finally feels like summer to me. I think that is because this past weekend was full of nothing, which is what summer is supposed to be all about, relaxation! Pretty much every weekend since the middle of May has been booked up for us, so taking a break and having no concrete plans this past weekend was wonderful! We did what we wanted, when we wanted.

Last Thursday, I had my 34 (1/2) week appointment. Baby girl is stronger than ever. Her heartbeat was in the 140s and she is moving all around the place. I can tell she is putting on some pounds now, because instead of her doing "somersaults", she now has more patterned movements. She will kick and "punch" me in about the same spots every time, which means she has less and less room in there to move and flip around! Her movements are also much more exaggerated, and at time, startle me. I have only had one kick that actually hurt (because it was right up by my ribs). I had a co-worker ask me about weird cravings I have been having the other day, and to be honest, I haven't really. The only thing (since my sour craving back in month 4 and 5) is my strong craving every morning when I wake up to drink a big glass of orange juice. Literally, while I'm getting ready for work, my mouth starts to water just thinking about drinking orange juice. Other than that, no strong food cravings thus far.

Friday night Kyle and I took advantage of the nice weather and went out for a round of golf (well, Kyle golfed, I rode in the cart). We woke up early Saturday morning and headed downtown to the Madison Farmers Market by the Capitol. It was such a nice day out! In the afternoon, we headed to the pool with some friends, which was amazing. My first poolside experience this summer.

Sunday was full of house cleaning, and taking a tour of St. Mary's Hospital (where I will be delivering). It was nice to see where we will be going, what the rooms are like, and how to navigate around the hospital when I go into labor. The tour made it that much more real that baby girl will be joining us sooner, rather than later! (5 more weeks!!!)

Kyle and I both took personal days yesterday. Why? Well, because after you have a baby, I don't for see any real "personal" days in the near future. So, I took full advantage of my day off and headed to the pool with my friend Jennie. Kyle spent his day golfing with a friend of his. I also worked on the baby's room a bit more, and got a things a little more organized in there.

Overall. a very relaxing, yet productive weekend. I loved every minute of it!

Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower this past weekend (thrown by Kyle's mom and sister-in-law). Kyles side of the family and family friends were so gracious! I could not have asked for a better day. The weather was perfect and we were so blessed with many wonderful gifts. Here are some of the pictures from the day (I posted more of the pictures on Facebook).

At the end of my 33rd week

The cake

The awesome fruit baby carriage Kyle's mom made.

I have my 34 week appointment tomorrow (unbelievable). That means I only have 5 1/2 weeks left. I know I have said it many times before, but where does the time go? I am very excited for Baby Girl to arrive, but I can't believe it is almost time!

Many people at the shower asked me if we have a name yet. The answer is....No. We have our list narrowed down to 3 or 4, but are quite indecisive now at this point. I have a name I really like, but I am busy selling Kyle on it. He is doing the same with me. He has a favorite, and neither one of us is ready to budge yet :) Guess we will see....

We have our last pre-natal class tonight. I guess that means we are ready to be parents, right? HAHA. I do feel more prepared though after taking the class. I think we both learned things that we did not know or realize before.

We are ready to slow down the pace of our life here now. Gearing up for baby (who could come at any time), we are taking the month of July off (from plans every weekend) and enjoying baby free time while we can. I am hoping to relax as much as possible and enjoy some time with Kyle before we add a third member to our family :) We have a nice, relaxing July open with nothing much planned for the weekends. My sister and the kids are coming down to visit in the middle of July to bring some baby items, but that's about it. Now with me being more uncomfortable, we are going to be traveling as little as possible. I'm quite excited to enjoy this next month.