Zooing

As I said a couple of posts ago, about a week and a half ago, we took our first excursion as a family of four to the zoo. An appropriate place, as things could have gotten a bit "zooey", but thankfully, aside from Kaia having a major spitup before we went in, things went perfectly. The weather was perfect, and little miss K seemed content to just be pushed along in her stroller. We recently bought a double sit/stand stroller and brought it with us. It was perfect, as Kaia could sit in her little carseat and my little man on the go didn't have to be completely strapped down in a conventional stroller.

Hopefully we can enjoy a few more zoo days like this before the weather turns too cold....

Getting ready to head in

My two boys

One of Brett's favorite activities at the zoo... petting the sharks

Behind us is Brett's other favorite exhibit: the cheetahs (they were the point of the pic anyway)

And this is how Kaia spent the whole trip... very content, actually.

New Kiddo, New Blog Changes

As you can see, I've made my blog shiny and new again. In addition to the new layout, I also gave my blog roll a makeover as well, so you may find some new bloggers you might like to follow. Most are still mommy blogs, but I've also incorporated a few food bloggers and others as well.

Possible new tweaks as I get inspired...

Bleary Eyed Blog

As I recall, I wrote a "Bleary-Eyed Blog" with Brett, so it's only fitting that I write one with Kaia.

The past 4 weeks have gone by, almost, in the blink of an eye. Days and nights have blended together and I've spent almost the entire time indoors. I get out a couple of days a week, but I've been pretty much here at home the whole time. In fact, I haven't been separated from Kaia girl at all. Since she's such an excellent nurser (as opposed to Brett, who we had problems with starting), I have tried to follow the lactation consultant's recommendations of solely breastfeeding for at least 3 weeks to establish a good record before we introduce the bottle. Since she eats CONSTANTLY, I need to be with her. We tried to give her a bottle a couple of nights ago, as Steve and I had a beer (my first adult drink in almost 10 months!), and she hated the bottle. I don't blame her, but we are going to have to get her used to it as I go back to work in a couple of short weeks.

Recovery has been much better than the first time around. After about a week, I would say I was about 75% (well, except sleep deprived), and almost 100% by almost 2 weeks after giving birth. Steve and I hit the zoo with the kiddos when she was 2 1/2 weeks, and I've been getting on the treadmill almost every day since then. I've also managed to get into my "fat" jeans a couple of days ago, and I have a goal of getting into the next smaller size by the time I see my doc at my 6 week appointment, which is about 2 1/2 weeks from now.

And, about the sleep deprivation....yeah. So, Kaia had a few amazing nights during her first 2 weeks, where she'd sleep 6 or 7 hour stretches at night. Not so much anymore. She goes to sleep around 10:30 and wakes around 2 or 2:30 (which is normal for a baby her age) to eat. The challenging part then is getting her back down to sleep after that. Some nights are easier than others. She'll drop right off and we can move her back pretty easily. And some nights, she ends up falling asleep in bed with us as we fall back asleep and we never get her back into the pack n play. She then eats again around 6:00 or so (regardless of where she is sleeping). We are working on trying to get her back into her own bed every night. I am super conscious when she's in bed with us to not have any covers near her, but it still worries me. Normally I'd be okay with this schedule, as I was with Brett, because I could sleep in with her. However, with a big brother who normally wakes between 7 and 7:30 I don't get that luxury. So coffee has become my friend.

Other than that, she's been a normal newborn...lots of sleeping and dirty diapers and eating (and when she is awake, 90% of the time she just wants to eat). Oh, and we finally found out that her hearing is normal. She had to have a second test, which we got at Riley last week, to confirm hearing in her left ear. The drama of even achieving that appointment could be a post in and of itself. But, her hearing is fine, so we have no reason to believe she isn't 100% healthy :).

Next blog I'll try to upload some cute Kaia pics. I need to get motivated to take some more...now off to take a nap :).

Kaia's Eyes

I was able to get a good shot of Kaia with her eyes open :).

She has these very dark blue/grey eyes that I am sure will turn dark brown like her daddy.

So interesting to have a little dark haired/brown eyed girl and a blondie/blue-eyed boy! Genetics are a funny thing for sure!

First Bath

Kaia had her first tub bath Tuesday night. The pesky umbilical cord fell off during the weekend (thank goodness) so we were able to stick her in the tub with big brother. She pretty much hated the whole thing, so pics weren't very good, but I've posted them for the memory.

Yes, Steve is trying to "censor" our children's private areas in the first pic :).

Newborn Stats

So, I'm a slacker. Kaia had her newborn appointment a week ago today, and I'm just now getting around to posting her stats. By the way she eats (and eats, and eats, and eats...) she's probably way past these numbers, but this is what they were last week:

Weight: 7 lbs. 3.2 oz - 25% (almost back to birthweight)

Length: 20 1/2 inches - 68% (not sure this is right, or her birth measurement was wrong - hard to believe she grew 3/4 inch in 10 days)

Head: 34.8 cm - 33%

So, there you go... another skinny kiddo :). More posts as I am motivated!!!

1 Week Old!!!

Yesterday, Kaia Beth turned 1 week old!

And, as we did with her brother, we put her next to the teddy bear chair to chart her growth. Brett of course wanted in on the action, and as you can see, she is such a tiny peanut compared to him!

As I remember to take them, I'm sure there will be lots more of these to come :).

Kaia's Birth Story

It all started last Monday night (August 30th) at a little after 10 p.m. We were watching the critically acclaimed television program "Bachelor Pad" (yes, I know, I will have to explain this to Kaia one day, much to my dismay) on the DVR when my contractions started to feel a little more intense. As you may recall, I've been having contractions that caused mild discomfort for about a month or so now. Suddenly, they went from "ugh" to "holy mother of ....". I knew then that I was in trouble. So I called the doc... I hadn't really been timing them because it was pointless, but I was having trouble breathing and talking so she told me to come in. I called my parents and they then came up to pick up B.

Now, my parents live like 30 minutes away so the trip wasn't super fast, but hey, doesn't labor take like forever? I thought I had plenty of time... well, by the time they got here, we had moved on to watching an even BETTER show "Dating in the Dark"....yes, we watch some pretty horrible TV. And, I was bracing the pack n play with my hands, trying to stay calm while in extreme pain. Seriously, things took a turn for the worse in the blink of an eye. I somehow made it downstairs and into Steve's car, while my parents put a very confused Brett (who had been awoken in the middle of the night) into their car to head to the south side.

Luckily we are like 10 minutes from the hospital, but with every bump in the road and red stoplight I wanted to scream obscenities. I couldn't get there fast enough. By the time we arrived and I was escorted upstairs in a wheelchair, it was after midnight. They took me to the triage area to check me to make sure I was really in labor. This process took FOREVER. I sat there for like 20 minutes or longer while the nurse on duty took her sweet time (and trust me, it was after midnight so no one was around). Finally, she got around to checking me and asking me all of the stupid questions and having me sign consent papers (which I feel, I was NOT in the right frame of mind to be signing, but I WANTED to get to an epidural as quickly as possible). At the time she checked me, it was between 12:30 and 1:00 and I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced, and my water was very close to breaking.

Finally, I got to a real room, and about 30 minutes later they gave me a mild narcotic through my IV. They said it would feel like a couple of good margaritas. Oh, it did, and it did take the edge off, but it didn't act like a real epidural. THAT I had to wait another 30 minutes or so for. I swear that the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life was waiting for the epidural when I had Brett, but this might have been worse. After another eternity, the anesthesiologist arrived and she looked mildly bored and annoyed when I asked her if she was my angel. Then she proceeds to tell me about all of the horrible things that can happen as side effects of an epidural, to which I replied something like "sure, I don't care". I mean, I REALLY didn't care at that point if it would cause nerve damage. I just wanted instant relief. So, she proceeded to hook me up and about 10 minutes later I started feeling the sweet drugs in my system.

After another 15 minutes or so, the nurses checked me again. I had almost doubled my progress to a 7 1/2 cm. Then, they checked me 15 minutes later and I was almost at a 9. Seriously, I am so glad they didn't check me before the epidural because they might have said it was too late. I was progressing THAT FAST. They let me lie there for about 45 minutes to enjoy the relief of the epidural, then they came back, had me push one time and I was at a 10 and 100% effaced.

So, we waited for maybe 30 minutes for the doctor to arrive. My doc wasn't on call, so it was another doc from the practice who I hadn't met, but I really didn't care WHO delivered me at that point, just so that it would be over. Her job was super fast. After a practice run with the nurses, who only had me do one push and then demanded I stop and wait for the doc (I probably almost had her out), I only pushed a total of 3 times through one contraction. And, Kaia popped right out. COMPLETELY different scenario than with Brett, who I endured almost 24 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing with.

I couldn't believe it! After such a horrible pregnancy full of so many problems, my labor took like 5 hours, and if I hadn't waited for all of the hospital stuff (paperwork, epidural, etc.), I'm sure it could have been much faster. The doc even joked that the next one I'd be having in the car. It was unreal.

Anyway, that's how Kaia got here. She cried immediately and was bright pink and had an Apgar score of a 9. I was a bit sad that she wasn't given right to me as Brett was, but I knew that the NICU nurses needed to look at her because she was a GD baby. But thankfully, she was small (7 lbs 5 oz) at full term (can you believe she arrived ON her due date - 8/31? I've never known anyone to give birth on the actual date!). And, her sugars, which they checked 3-4 times were perfect. I felt so good for being able to keep MY sugars in check throughout my pregnancy. As much as I hated 4 finger pricks and an insulin shot every date, plus counting every single carb I ate, it made her healthy birth totally worth it in the end.

We spent the next couple of days in the hospital, and were released Thursday morning. We are all doing well (well, sleep deprived, but well) and loving every minute with our new baby girl!!! :)

She's Here!!!!

Introducing: Kaia (K-eye-a) Beth :)

Born: August 31st, 2010 at 3:46 a.m.

Weight: 7 lbs 5 oz

Length: 19 3/4 inches

Lots of dark hair and dark eyes, like her daddy!

As you can see, she chose to be a peridot (August) baby. I promise I'll post her birth story a little later.... when I've had a chance to regroup a little bit :). But until then, here are pics of my beautiful baby girl for you to enjoy! :)