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Monday, December 27, 2010

Newborn Photos - Sneek Peek

Last Thursday we had Latricia come out to do our newborn pics. OMG she is amazing! She really took her time and got some amazing pictures. I haven't seen them all yet, but the very next day she sent me a few sneek peek images that I am in love with!




 My absolute FAVORITE! Funny story - she pissed all over Daddy right after taking this shot! haha! Love it!

Gah! I love them all! I can't wait to see the rest! It's going to be so hard to choose which ones I want, and I'm going to go broke(r) buying these up.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas!


[Birth] Story Time!

Okay so warning... this will probably be long. Because I like to babble...

So... where do we start? We were finally called to go into the hospital for induction on Wednesday evening, Dec 15th. We got there at 5PM and they took blood, started IV's, pelvic exam, etc. I was still only 1cm dilated and about 60% effaced. The started me on gels to soften my cervix. We did 4 cycles of the gels every three hours. They would insert it, I'd lay down for an hour, then walk for the next hour, then chill for another hour, and repeat. I had a bit of contractions with the gels. They hurt but were tolerable. Actually the last gel was a higher dose and my contractions were hurting more with that last one. I wasn't able to sleep. A lot of back pain.

At 5AM they came in and started me on Pitocin.


I was still only 1cm dilated. Apparently there's a scar in my cervix from a surgery I had back when I was 18 that was keeping my cervix from dilating.

At somewhere between 8:30 and 9AM the doctor came in and broke my water. Oh my God. Grossest. Feeling. EVER. Seriously. I even said "ewww that is SO gross!" out loud. I won't go into detail. If you've experienced it you know what I'm talking about. I let the nurse know that as soon as they broke my water I wanted that epidural, so they had already called the anesthesiologist and he was there as soon as the doctor was done breaking my water. Literally as soon as the doctor left they came in to give me my epidural. After he left I started feeling very overwhelmed. A lot had just happened at once, so I started crying.

Then we waited some more...

The epidural is the best thing ever. I highly recommend it. ;p

A DPS officer came in... no joke. I thought they were joking when they said it was the DPS. Apparently around Christmas they go to the hospitals or something? He gave me a teddy bear.

My baby was in a posterior position, meaning she was facing upwards towards my belly instead of towards my bottom like she should be. The nurse said she could tell from my contractions that she was positioned this way. So she would come in and help me turn from side to side every hour or so, to try to get her to turn around.

A couple hours later the nurse came in and checked my cervix. When they broke my water I was 2cm dilated. At this time I was about 4. She came back another 2 hours later, said I was still about a 4 or 5. Then she broke that scar I was talking about and then she said, "okay now you're between 7 and 8."

Another couple hours later she came in and said, "okay are you ready to have a baby?" WHAT?! Um... okay. At this point I really got emotional. It was just everything we've been through to get here and now it was finally happening. It was just sooo surreal. I was anxious, I was scared, and I was happy. I had to try hard to get control of my emotions at this point. I cry just thinking about that moment.

I started pushing at 3:00PM. Pushing is HARD. I'm out of shape as it is(hadn't worked out at all this whole pregnancy), and then the whole holding your breath thing is really hard for me. But I did it.  She was still posterior and had the cord around her neck as she came down, so the doctor used the vacuum to help get her out at the end. Poor thing.

Cailin Paige was born Thursday December 16th at 3:43PM! She was 7lbs 10oz and 19 1/2 in. When she came out he put her right on top of me (at my request). It was the best moment of my life. Then they took her away and everyone else in the room (besides my doctor to deliver the placenta and stitch me up of course) left my side. My baby did not scream. I was freaking out, "Why isn't she crying? Is she okay? How's her breathing? Is she breathing? OMG. Does she have a fevor?" Yeah I was freaking out a little. I just wanted to know she was healthy. Yes she was just fine, just not a screamer. She was making these little squeeking sounds that were super cute though. This girl never gave me a cry when she came out. Daddy was in instantly in love. He did not leave her side. He went with her to the nursery and from what everyone has told me had a grin from ear to ear the whole time.




I had a 3rd degree tear, but Cailin got a clean bill of health, although she was a little jaundice. We stayed in the hospital until Saturday to help with breastfeeding and to watch her jaundice. Breastfeeding isn't happening, but more on that later....







Motherhood has been AMAZING so far. I feel like I've been doing this forever and it's only been a week. She's a good baby, only fusses when she's hungry. Sleep is good. She sleeps for 3 hours, wakes up, eats, goes back to sleep for another 3 hours. I'm surprisingly not exhausted, although I may still be running on adrenaline. I'm hoping she stays chill. And I think she will. Both mommy and daddy are really laid back. So let's hope. I can't wait to see her real features. To see who she really looks like. Everyone says me so far. She gets cuter every day though. :) We are SO happy and SO in love!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I'm Still Pregnant...

So it's Wednesday and I'm still home, and I'm still pregnant. I guess all those ladies going into labor naturally are a priority. Well poo on them. Just kidding. I've been bumped 2 days now, due to no room, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tonight is the night. They said I'm on top of the list for tonight. So I'm really hoping. My maternity leave is now just wasting away...

Anyway, since I have some time, I figured I'd share the final nursery photos! We got a new camera this past weekend on an emergency basis since my camera decided to take a shit last week. There was NO way I was going to have my baby without a camera. It's kinda important. Anyway, we decided on the Canon Powershot SD1300 IS. So far I absolutely LOVE it!

Here are the final nursery photos... now keep in mind that we do still need to find curtains, which I am working on. We're going to go with a white curtain and then I'll probably make some cute little ties... I went shopping at a few different places last weekend but they didn't have the ones I wanted in stock. So we're still missing curtains.


 Closet - right side. There's her basket of hair bows/headbands and lots and LOTS of diapers. I love this dresser we got from IKEA.
 I made the tissue poms. The monogram is from Etsy seller Open Heart Creations. I love it, but wish I would've chosen a darker color for the monogram because you can barely see the "C".
 Husband painted the closet doors. Wish we could afford to replace them, but they look much better than before.
 Okay, I admit it.. I think the monkey is kinda cute.

 Closet - Left side.


I love the mummy piggy bank. These are all gifts from the baby shower.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Finishing this blog challenge 28-30

Okay I'm finishing this damn blog challenge up today! 

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

Money for sure. It's my #1 stress in life. I don't think I agree with the "money doesn't buy happiness" shit. Really. My life would be much easier and I'd be much happier if I had a couple million.

Day 29-3 Wishes

I wish my induction goes smoothly and I have a safe vaginal delivery.
I wish Cailin is 100% healthy and happy
I wish 2011 will be better financially

Day 30-a picture
Belly cast we did this weekend! My friend really has been wanting to cast someone's belly but no one will let her. I'm not shy, so I said sure why not! Nipples have been censored. haha! So family, you may not want to scroll down any further...






37 Weeks

And my last update before she is here!

Had my weekly doctor appointment yesterday. I am 1 full cm dilated although I know that really means nothing, but good to know that things are progressing.  We are keeping the original induction date I talked about way back at the beginning of my 3rd tri, due to my PUPPPs rash.

So this time next we I will have my baby! And I'm sure will be thinking, "okay, now what do I DO with this thing?!" I'll be working on making breastfeeding work for us (which is my #1 goal. Breastfeeding). I'm so excited and a little nervous on how much my life is going to change in less than 1 week!!

We're ready though. We have everything we need for her. Nursery is done (except I am still looking for curtains). I'd post pics but my stupid camera broke! Add that to my to-do list this week. Like I said, we have everything we need for her,  but now I need to get some stuff for us/me. I need to...

* put together my hospital bag (diaper bag is ready though!). I have things I need to buy to get the hospital bag ready.
* I bought 2 nursing bras that I didn't try on and they're a tad too small. So I need to exchange those.
* I need to get some after birth stuff like pads, granny panties, and stool softners.
* I need to cook and freeze some meals. At least enough to get us through the first week or two. And maybe get some stuff to make crock pot meals. I just don't want to be eating out every night. Sending Brian out to get unhealthy food while we're both sleep deprived.
* Oh and go purchase a new camera now. Ugh. What a perfect time for my camera to break, huh? I need one stat! Good thing I'm getting a holiday bonus this week.


Here's a belly picture from Saturday. I'm in the purple. This was my friend's baby shower.She's only 5 weeks behind me!






How far along? 37 wks

Total Weight Gain? 42lbs total. More than I wanted, but at least it'll be under 50. Hoping it's mostly baby and water weight. haha.

Maternity Clothes? yeppers. Barely even fit into those

Stretch Marks? yep. New ones, and new rash on top of them.

Sleep? not great.


Best Moment This Week? getting the good news about having my baby next week.

Movement? Same ol'.

Food Cravings? I was craving Mr. Goodcents subs BAD last week. Mmmm and now it sounds good again.

Gender? GIRL!!!!

Labor signs? I've definitely had some Braxton Hicks and slight cramping, but no real labor signs. I've also had some spotting here and there.

Belly Button? half in half out. Top is out, bottom is in. <--- same.

What I Miss?same stuff as the last week. But now it's actually alittle painful to do some of those everyday things.

What I Am Looking Forward To? next week!!

Milestones? well i'm going to say that she's now considered "full term" at 37wks! And that we are at the END of a pregnancy! I never thought that we would get this far, and I just cannot wait to have her in my arms and know that she's healthy.

Monday, December 6, 2010

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 27

Day 27- Pets

Yay! I've been waiting for this one! You know I love my doggies. They've been my babies, so I am curious to see how they act or how I act once we have a real baby in the house.

First I have my cat, Tipsy. I got her when I was 19 and living on my own for the first time, so she's special to me because she was my first pet. She's well... she a cat. Nothing too special to say about her. Cats are just... blah. She's pretty though. She has super pretty crystal blue eyes. This is the only picture I could find. She's a hermit and only comes out when she wants food... This is with my other cat who we gave away. Tipsy's the one in the back.


Then we have Gizmo. Gizzy, Gizmeatloaf, Jerry Garcia, Bubbers, Butthead, Giz, Buddy, Gizmeeto... He has a lot of nicknames. I'm not going to lie, he's my favorite. Everyone loves Gizmo. He's definitely a people person. He doesn't really care much for other doggies, although he's not agressive at all. Just ignores them. He thinks he's a person, I swear. He's lazy, he's stubborn, He's like a grumpy old man although he's only four years old, but I looooves him.




Then we have Lily. :::sigh::: Lily is the baby. She's freaking insane. She is an attention whore. She's an alpha female for sure. Balls and toys are like crack to her. Seriously. You give her a toy/ball and her eyes get SO big, and then she's after that thing all day. Non.stop. She will play fetch with you non stop. I have to take it away from her or else she won't stop or even sleep. When i take it away she literally shakes and cries about it. Like she's going through withdraws or something. Don't even say the word "ball" in her presence. I only give her the ball a couple times a week. I have to limit it. On the other hand, she's super smart. Girlfriend was potty trained in like two weeks when she was a puppy. She's also the biggest cuddler in the world. She's a lap dog for sure. She always has to be near me. She follows me around, whereas Gizmo is more independant. She sleeps with me every night, cuddled up underneath the covers (even in the summer) next to me. When she was itty bitty she would sleep right on my neck. She's super needy. When she gets overwhelmed or scared she wants me to hold her, but I won't because I don't want her to think that's okay. She gets jealous. We are going to some major jealousy issues around here when the baby comes, that's for sure. She loves kisses. Getting them and giving them. She will come up to you and put her cheek right in your face and keep it there until you give her kisses. She's pretty funny and has a ton of personality. Although she's kind of a scardy-cat (dog) with strangers. People don't really like Lily because she's pretty overwhelming and hyper. I think she's hilarious. Keeps us entertained that's for sure! And she's super cute.

 Itty bitty baby Lily. Soooo damn cute.
 See that crazy look in her eye?
 Don't let her fool you with that innocent look.

I love my doggies to death, and I am very interested to see what happens after Cailin's here. The dynamics are about to change for sure. They haven't acted like they have a clue as to what's going on. We already have issues with Lily trying to steal baby socks and toys. Gizmo likes the toys that make noise as well. We've already tried reinforcing and telling them "no!" when they get close to the baby stuff. Good thing most of the bigger items scare the crap out of Lily.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

I'm a slacker - 30 day blog challenge

Day 26-Picture of your family

Pictures of my whole family are hard to come by. Here's my mom's side. My oldest Brother, younger sister, Husband, Me, Mom, youngest sister. I could've swore I have a family picture with my dad from our wedding, but I'm not finding it.

Inlaws :)
 Our nieces. Love these girls

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

36 Weeks

I'm in my 9th month! Yay!! We're in the home stretch here people!

I had a doctor's appointment today. Had my first internal. No progress yet. I'm not dilated or effaced at all. Bummer, but really  not. I mean, not like it would change anything if I were 1cm dilated, you know? I could walk around for weeks like that anyway. So we're just taking it week by week seeing how it pans out. She did say my cervix is softening though, so that's good I guess?

Here's a crappy blurry camera phone picture of my belleh:



How you're feeling: Okay actually. Other than the regular end of pregnancy aches, pains and uncomfortableness. I'm done complaining. :)


How far along? 36 wks

Total Weight Gain?Thanks to Turkey Day I was up another 4lbs this week. Yuck.

Maternity Clothes? yeppers. Barely even fit into those

Stretch Marks? yep.

Sleep? Okay. Not great, not terrible. The pregnancy insomnia has returned a bit. I'm tired.


Best Moment This Week? putting up xmas lights and the xmas tree.

Movement? Same ol'.

Food Cravings? sweets. I actually had a pretty big craving for ice cream the other night. Note to husbands all over the world: Do NOT tell your 9 month wife she doesn't "need" ice cream. It was really one of my first legitimate cravings, and he refused to go get me any, telling me "you had a lot of sweets over T-giving, you don't need ice cream." Yeah... 30 minutes later guess who went and got me some god damn Cherry Garcia?!

Gender? GIRL!!!!

Labor signs? Nada

Belly Button? half in half out. Top is out, bottom is in. <--- same.

What I Miss? The littlest things I will never take for granted again: bending over, closing a car door (once you're inside the car), getting up off the couch, touching your toes, crossing your legs. Geeze!

What I Am Looking Forward To? Getting this baby OUT!

Milestones? 9 months!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Day 24-Something you've learned
Hmmm another hard one. I'm so horrible at coming up with things off the top of my head. I always have these great ideas when I'm laying in bed at night. I had to go look at a couple other people's blogs to get some ideas. Jenni had a couple good ones that I definitely agree with, so I'm stealing them from her.

* Nothing comes free. You have to work for what you have. At least I always did. Nothing was ever handed to me.
* "I have learned to let the chips roll" (from Jenni). Yep. Let things fall into place. They will eventually, right?
* "I am learning to let go of the stupid stuff" - Agreed again. ESPECIALLY when it comes to relationships. Let the little things go. Don't hold grudges or start a fight over something silly or small. I can tell you that Husband and I rarely fight. I'd say we have little arguments here and there, but they're mostly in a joking manner. I'll tell him if something's bothering me (although he's not as good at that). But in regards to real fights, I'd say we maybe really fight once every one or two years (although they end up being big ones sometimes), but at least we're not constantly at each other's throats. I don't understand couples like that. Couples who are always yelling at eachother or giving eachother the silent treatment and just always "fighting".
* "I have learned that bills SUCK" - haha for sure, Jenni!
* "That mistakes happen, no need to dwell, just move forward" - Yep. I would say that I let a LOT of stuff go. Mistakes, comments etc. I'm not really a pushover, but it's stupid when people hold grudges or get mad etc over things that people may have done/said/mistakes, etc. Just let it go. Why do you want to be miserable all the time? Also, things like Oh, my order was wrong. I don't ever send food back (also for fear that it may get spit in haha), but it's like oh well, they made a mistake, I'll eat it anyway, no biggie. I have friends that get SO mad about stupid stuff like that and it drives me crazy. Deal with it!
* Expect the Worst, hope for the best.

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

1.Taking Back Sunday - New American Classic
2. Tiger Army - Pain
3. Authority Zero - Revolution
4. Justin Timberlake - Sexy Back (haha!)
5. Social Distortion - Story of My Life
6. Dropkick Murphys - Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
7. Rancid - Maxwell Murder
8. Taking Back Sunday again - Number Five With A Bullet
9. Bad Religion - Stranger than Fiction
10. Snoop Dogg - Gin and Juice

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 23

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Ever? This is a toss up between Seattle or Sea World. Sea World was awesome. It was Husband and I's one year anniversary as a couple. It was just the two of us, and we had a great time. Well, except that whole I was under 21 and got busted for a fake ID thing. haha!

But Seattle was more recent so I'll blog about that. Last summer ( i think) is when we took a trip to Seattle to visit my sister-in-law. We went for our niece's birthday and the 4th of July. It was sooo pretty up there and perfect, non Seattle weather. It was warm, perfect weather, sunny, and we only got the true Seattle rain the last day we were there. Which I didn't mind. We did LOTS of outdoor stuff.

Like visit the ice caves.. So cool.



Take a Ferry over to an Island (forget which one).






Eat Delicious, FRESH seafood...



Watch the sunset on the beach (at 10PM, might I add).



Have the BEST 4th of July EVER! We got to set off our own fireworks. And real fireworks. The whole neighborhood was going off. It was awesome. Much different than here where we drive and go sit in a parking lot full of people in 115 degrees, sweating our butts off. Then sit in traffic for an hour to get home.





Visit the city and play "Where's Edward?" (okay so I was the only one playing that game)....


And lots of family time! It was such a great trip. One I will remember for sure. :)

Monday, November 22, 2010

35/35

Had a doctor appointment today. We remeasured her, and although she's still running about a week ahead, she's not the giant baby they predicted her to be at 29 weeks. She must've had a growth spurt around that time or something. Now, at 35 weeks she's measuring 6lbs. Oh, and she's still a girl. I had them check just ONE more time to make sure, since everythng I read about PUPPs rash says it happens mostly with boy pregnancies and they think that boy DNA has something to do with it...


I'm pretty confused as to what's going on at this point. Doc hasn't mentioned anything about keeping the induction or not. Obviously I want her to be ready and don't want to take her before she's ready, but I cannot even fathom going another five plus weeks at this point! I will die, I'm sure (okay a little dramatic, just kidding). And plus, I already bought her a cute little Christmas outfit and was REALLY looking forward to introducing her at the annual Christmas Eve party... Plus Husband's working out of town, and I want to get rid of this rash. Totally selfish reasons, I know. So, I have another appointment next week, which starts my weekly appointments. I'm just really hoping she comes on her own at about 38 weeks. Wishful thinking, huh? So please Cailin, be good for mommy and do me a favor and get yourself nice and cooked up and healthy and come around 38 weeks, kay? Mommy and Daddy REALLY want to meet you. We love SOOO much already, and we know that will only grow when we see your pretty face for the first time. :)


How you're feeling: The rash has actually gotten a teeny tiny bit better. I mean, I really didn't want to say that out loud because that means it'll flare up, right? I actually do have a couple new stretch marks which means new rash. I've been feeling a lot of pressure in my pelvis lately. Some days it's really painful.


How far along? 35 wks

Total Weight Gain?  35lbs total

Maternity Clothes? um... the maternity clothes are actually getting too small at this point. I now have to wear long maternity tank tops underneath my shirts so my belly doesn't hang out the bottom. Oy.

Stretch Marks? yep. and some new ones.

Sleep?:::knock on wood:::: but it's gotten a little bit better since my rash has gotten better. I sleep for two hours straight now instead of one. Yipee!



Best Moment This Week? It's always great when I get to see my princess on the ultrasound. And knowing she's not huge is good.

Movement? she doesn't have much room in there to move anymore. So I still feel her but she's not doing a whole lot of kicking these days.

Food Cravings? nothing in paticular, I just can't seem to ever get full.

Gender? GIRL!!!!

Labor signs? Nada

Belly Button? half in half out. Top is out, bottom is in. <--- same.

What I Miss? not walking like a duck. I remember when I could move my hips when I walk. Yeah, can't do that anymore with a 6pounder in between them!

What I Am Looking Forward To? Thanksgiving!

Milestones?35/35

I'm baaack!

I was on a haitis last week because I was working from the office. I usually work from home, which gives me much more time and freedom to blog. But I'm back now. I know, you missed me!

Day 21-Picture of yourself

This is like 2 years old, but it's one of my favorites. My makeup and hair looks cute, and I don't have a double chin. 



Day 22-Favorite city

Definitely San Diego. It's beautiful. I love the ocean, and the weather is always perfect. 

Friday, November 12, 2010

Nursery Progress - Need your input

Nursery is coming a long great! We have all of our furniture, bedding, etc. At this point we just need to get the chair rail, new (or paint existing) baseboards, curtains and a few other decorative items.

First off, let me show you my inspiration.

First we were planning on doing vertical stripes on the top of the walls with a chair rail, then solid chocolate brown on the bottom. We did a sample, and I just wasn't feeling it. It was just too busy for me. I came across this picture (sorry I cannot remember where I found it), and loved the soft colors with the horizontal stripes on the one wall, with the chair rail. We decided to do something similar.


We went with soft pinks instead of gray (even though I love the gray/pink combo). I also knew from the beginning if we were having a girl I wanted white furniture. Here's what we have so far. Again, it's not the final reveal.

Here's where I need your help. I feel like there's starting to be too many polka dots. I was planning on sewing curtains. I was going to do a solid brown then a polka dotted boarder. Do you think it would be too many polka dots if I did that? Or should I just go with a solid color? And if I did brown, would there be too much brown? We have the brown (and polka dot) bedding, brown shag rug, brown (polka dotted) changing pad,  the pink and brown (polka dotted) canvas bins, and are getting a brown glider.  I feel like I'm over-doing the polka dots here. What do you think? HELP! 

Crib wall and stripes. I am not a fan of bedding sets for babies. I don't like all the cartoon looking prints (you know like animals, teddy bears etc). I think they're cute, just not what I wanted. I actually found this simple bed set at Target on clearance marked down from $65 to $16! I had to swoop it up. It's just a 3 piece bed set. Blanket, bumper and sheet. Although I replaced the sheet with a solid pink sheet. The other sheet was white and it had different colored brown polka dots. Oh and the other side of the bumper and blanket have stripes.


We knew that the changing dresser wouldn't  be enough storage, so we made a trip to IKEA. I love this dresser. It's sitting in the closet for extra storage.

 We also purchased the floating wall shelves (2 of them. the other will go above the changing dresser which hasn't been installed yet), and this box  thingy. Husband's original idea was to hang it, but it was way more bulky than we thought, so it's there on the floor for organization.


 Finally got the changing dresser!
 Stupid wooden monkey. I hate it, but Husband just HAD to have it. We're going to hang it above the changing table. It's the only thing that Husband REALLY wanted, so I let him have it, even though I hate it.