The two lifesavers of the past 3 weeks:

One: The first and foremost lifesaver has been.........CAFFEINE!! LOL. My much -needed pick-me-up of choice has been usually good old Coke Classic (red can, ice cold, YUM!). Sugar? Yes, but I can put up with that as long as my eyes stay open!

Two: This sling thing ROCKS! According to the "Happiest Baby on the Block", the first three months of the baby's life is comparable to the "fourth and missing trimester". The book talks about how babies love to be swaddled tight (as if still in utero, tight as can be), they love to be swung/jiggled/etc., and they love to suck, be "shhed" and be on their sides. Well, Keifer apparently agrees with the book, because she responds to each and every one of the "5 S's" in the book. Especially the being swaddled and jiggled - even more so if she's being held in loving arms.

Over the past 3 days, when she has become fussy, I've put her in the Hotsling, and voila: she has slept for over 2-3 hours each time!!! She loves to fit snug and tight, close to mama, and she dreams away (cooing and making her funny faces.). I'm so happy we got this. It was also fun to take her on a walk around the neighborhood the other night, hidden under her bright pink blanket, warm as can be, snug next to mama, ready to show off to the neighbors (because daddy likes to show his pretty princess off!). Just now, writing in the blog, I've been slinging my girl since 11 AM! She's been out for the count, snoozing away, making her little coos and mutters, making me wonder what exactly she is dreaming about? Puppies? Dog parks? Papas and Nanas? (*besides letting an occasional TOOT TOOT out, hee hee*)

Notice how Sass seems to be in the background of every picture? LOL - always checking up on "her baby"

We also just ordered the Ergo carrier -on the recommendation of my online friends who own them and seem to really like them. Mooshie (my egg angel) has one, as does another friend who traveled here last summer, and they were able to travel with a toddler with somewhat relative ease thanks to the carrier. CJ is excited to get our own Ergo, so I just ordered ours today- with the infant insert -as Keif won't be able to fully enjoy the Ergo experience because of her lack of head control (although she has been lifting her head a LOT, trying to show us how strong she is at just 3 weeks old!).

The social committee

Our first family picture attempt! Treble actually got into position with no bribes and Sage had a heck of a time not kissing Keifer the whole time!

Well, I know I haven't been updating the blog as much - but believe me, there isn't much "exciting" news to report. The days of activity and structure and exciting new PG developments have turned into waiting on Miss K. to eat, get a diaper change and keeping track of her wet and poopie diapers. Don't get me wrong - I love being a mommy, and the time is going by exceedingly fast -- but for outsiders who aren't all that into kids or who don't really care about how many ounces she had at her last feeding, my daily reports might be a tich boring! LOL. I will say this - she is an awesome baby! She pretty much only cries when she's wet or hungry and she is SO alert for her age (I swear!). She is so fun to watch when she is watching her birdies on the swing or under her playmat - and there are a few books that she "seems" to actually be looking at the pictures already! One of these books is the book from her Auntie Taryn - "Mama Loves Me" (I think she likes the trunk that comes out of the page).

She also LOVES music - we have uploaded a lot our CD's onto our computer - and if she seems fussy and not responding to anything else - I bring her over to listen to some music and immediately she quiets down, and her eyes turn towards the sound. So far, she has showed me she really enjoys the Red Hot Chili Peppers (of course, she DID see them with me! LOL), the Beatles, the Tarzan soundtrack (which makes mommy cry -especially the song "You'll Be in My Heart" *sniff* - go ahead, listen to the sample of the song and you try NOT to cry if you're a mommy!), the Barenaked Ladies, Bo Bice, and we're currently sleeping in our sling to Cat Stevens!

**FYI - her eyes are a gorgeous blue - so we're assuming that they will be blue, as her daddy has gorgeous blue eyes and our egg donor does, too. I will say this- she is a mini- me of her daddy, though. My parents said her name should be "Christina" as she is her daddy's spittin' image at times!

Things continue to go well with our pretty angel. We've been blessed (knock on wood) with a girl who seems to sleep at night for 4 hour stretches at time - YAY! Daddy usually puts her to bed around 10-11, mommy gets up around 2-3 AM, and then Daddy gets her fed and changed when he gets up for work around 5-6 AM.

This past Wednesday, Keifer and I made our first solo jaunt to Target! YAY! She did great (aka ~ she slept the whole trip!) and mommy felt good to be out and independent for once. Then, Friday, I took her to my workplace and introduced her to all my co-workers and friends at our staff meeting. Miss Keifer was a hit- and was passed around in loving arms all morning. Again, she slept most of that meeting away. Then we got home, and she got to enjoy her Grandma and Grandpa being in town again (my parents- who were down from Thursday to Saturday). Mommy got to attempt a nap on Friday without worrying about whether or not miss Thing would sleep,too!

Friday afternoon, my cousin (a 3rd cousin? my mom's cousin's daughter, so my 3rd cousin?) and her 3 girls visited - what a fun time we had! The girls were so beautiful and we got some good pics. Saturday was a revolving door of well-wishers - with my mom's cousin Leland, my college friends Michelle and Natasha visiting (Michelle with her 3 kids as well), and then my mom's childhood friend and her daughter. Then, this AM, my Auntie Annie and cousin Micaela were able to stop by for a visit - as they were ironically doing a bike race in the 'burb that CJ and I live in! COOL! So Miss K. got to meet MUCH of her family (extended!) and many of mommy's friends and future friends of hers! Mommy was tired, but overjoyed to see so many happy and loving faces and again, we feel so blessed to have so much love in our lives and so many people loving on our angel girl.

**and the fur kids were sure happy and excited and POOPED OUT (literally) after all their tail-wagging socializing, too!*

This afternoon (Sunday) Miss Keifer has been somewhat fussy - so I'm not sure if all her entertaining (while sleeping, mind you) wore her out and the only thing that really seems to calm her down is being in her sling while mommy hangs out.

Keifer's first visit to our favorite Mexican place right down the street- she and I practically LIVED on their yummy tortilla soup all throughout my PG!

Mama's favorite new pic of Daddy and his mini-me pretty princessModeling our new sweater that our online friend Linda made - it is just gorgeous! (*we wore it to Target! YAY*)I make the funniest faces in my sleep -this is one of my pouts"My college friend Michelle and her 3 kiddos came to meet Keifer on Saturday! What fun!

Meeting "Auntie" NatashaMeeting my mom's friend, Carolyn and her daughter, Missy, on Saturday

Meeting her birthday pal for the first time - my mom's cousin Leland! (She was born on his birthday!) Proud Bumpa and Nana! They were so sad to go home again :(
Keifer and her first pic with some of her girl cousins- Casey's girls - Lucia, Joella, and baby Liza- aren't they beauties? Big cousin Joella is going to be a knock-out, watch out Casey & Jeff! More kisses (as always)
Meeting Auntie Annie and cousin Micaela
This is what Sassy Sage thinks of all the hulabaloo over Keifer: ZZZZzzzzz *because the fur kids , well, their schedule has been knocked right out of their routine as well - with all the crying and getting up and visitors! LOL*)

Two weeks old

It is SO hard to believe that 2 weeks ago at this time exactly, I was in labor! Keifer is 2 weeks old today!Amazing how fast time goes -in the blink of an eye, my life is continuing to blur right by me. I'm so thankful that I have the rest of the school year off, and that I have the summer to spend with my girl and my fur kids, adjusting to our new life. I can't imagine going back to work after 6 weeks - I would be an utter mess!

Miss K. had her newborn Pediatrician appointment yesterday - and yesterday, Daddy CJ went back to work. He was sad to leave, but he came home at mid-day to take me and our Princess to the doctor. Our little girl is thriving! We kind of thought she was, but the doctor confirmed it! At birth, she was 8 pounds, 10 ounces; she went home 4 days later at 8 lbs., 6 oz., and yesterday she was 9 pounds, 2 ounces! She is in the 75%ile for her weight (overachiever, piggie girl!). Her length is still 21 inches (75%ile as well), and her head size is in the 80%ile! Big-headed girl! No wonder you didn't want to come out! LOL.


She did a major poop job at the doctor, which made it more real. LOL. She didn't seem to mind the examination, but didn't really enjoy the doctor prodding her mouth and nose and ears. LOL. The doctor commented on how she seems like a mellow baby - and I guess she is? We have a mellow little girl on our hands - which we are so thankful for! Mellow until it's time to go to bed at night - then she gets a bit fussy and doesn't want to be let go of (which of course, breaks our hearts). We rock her as much as our tired eyes can handle, and the past 2 nights have been pretty good *knock on WOOD*. She has only woken up once in the middle of the night and then slept until around 6 AM when daddy gets up for work. I'm praying this continues! LOL.

Other good news - I had my blood pressure checked at my OB's office (upstairs from Keif's doc),and it was GOOD! YAY! I passed the scale on the way out the door and asked if I could hop on? I did, and yay- I've lost 30 pounds since 2 weeks ago! All the fluid in my Shrek cankles and legs seem to be gone - and my belly is slowly but surely starting to flatten down. Of course, it's still mushy and floppy, and my belly button is STILL brown, but I'll take the 30 pound drop in weight! I gained about 45 pounds total with Keifer in my tummy!

"I love my activity mat" - the first time Keifer laid under it, she was in complete AWE - you could just see the wheels turning - like, "What IS this thing?" Almost a smile for mama?
Daddy and his girls (can you see Sass?)

Another Abby and Keifer picture- Abby wrote Auntie and Keifer a homemade letter- telling us she loves us so much! Such a proud big cousin.
Keifer's new hang out when mama showers! She loves the Papasan chair, and seems to enjoy the shower and fan/vent sound! Its nice for mama to be able to get clean, too! LOL
Mama attempting a burp - and enjoying the snuggle time - and the coos and sighs.

She was SO worth the wait

Our angel girl, that is. She was so worth the 3 years of waiting, the endless months of tears and depression and dashed hopes. The needles, the drugs, all the prayers. None of it is even in our thoughts when we hold our girl and listen to her sigh in her sleep. She is our sweet, pretty girl, who we are so in love with.

She is getting used to living out in the real world - her sleep and eating are so "off" any type of schedule, its crazy, but understandable -she's only 10 days old!

We went to Babies R Us and USA Baby today and mama got a new Hotsling; Miss Princess likes to be held and so far, so good with the pouch - -she likes to be tight in in against mama's body. Just like in the womb! *and getting OUT to the store was so nice for mama!*

Hey! Who turned out the lights?

My first outfit ever (besides a sleeper or gown - LOL) Like my pupper shoes?

ENOUGH with the pictures, OK?

Growing and growing

Time is flying and our little angel is still causing us to stare at her in awe. The days, as I've stated before, go by in a blur. A blur of time and some visitors, and the past few days, we've been slowly but surely venturing out of the house *so mama isn't stir crazy and as weepy as she was ~ whew*.

Tuesday we took our first walk in the neighborhood and all the neighbor kids swarmed the stroller: "it's Treble and Sage's baby!". LOL. Yesterday, the dogs were also stir crazy, so we tried the dog park. It was heaven - I've stated before in past posts that the dog park is my bliss- the dogs are happy and running wild, the sun was shining, and I'm walking side by side with my best friend - CJ - chatting about life. Yesterday, we had our angel girl with us in the stroller - CJ pushing- and I was in heaven. We used to walk the park and speak of having our angel girl in the future - now we were able to walk WITH her and talk to her! *sigh with love*.

Today, we hit SuperTarget and I shuffled along (damn Sciatic! Grrrrr) and when Keif had had enough of shopping - Daddy took over and fed her and changed her - what a man! We are so lucky to have each other!

Here's the latest pics, as if we aren't taking any *tongue in cheek*

Uncle visits for the first time Mama venturing out for her first post- C-section walk! Yay for the sunshine!Mama and all her kids on the couch!

Sass is happy to have mama next to her -cuddle bugCousin Abbers loves her - "She's so beautiful!"
Sassy is always making sure Keif is OK - and that she still tastes good!

Smiling in her sleep - we love these moments! And check out Keifer's 1/3 sissy- Maddie! Crazy, or no? (this is my egg donor Mooshie's daughter as a newborn!)

One week Old

The week has been one big blur. I can't believe my little angel was born one week ago today. At this time, one week ago, I was laboring to have her. Wow. Incredible.
Happy one week, our beautiful angel girl. We had a home health care nurse visit us this AM, as we left the hospital before the full 72 hours. It was nice - she checked out mommy and we found out my blood pressure is a bit on the high side still, so she encouraged me to rest MORE. And Keifer - well, she is just perfect, which is a huge relief. She went home at 8 lbs, 6 oz, and this AM is measuring 8 lbs, 13 1/2 oz! So our little hungry hippo is making gains. She likes to eat. A LOT! *big smiles* She is sucking down her bottles and is eating anywhere from every 2 hours to 4 hours, depending on her sleep cycles - which are obviously not very regular yet!

I have so many random thoughts, it's better just to list them as they come. This won't make much sense, as I'm in a daze still - like I've been out partying all night long. Well, I have been - partying with a little 1 week old! Some of these might be a bit too much information, but hey, its my blog!

What people didn't tell me:

1) that having to poop after giving birth would be like going through the labor process again. However, for me, I ended up having a C-section so never made it to the pushing stage. Well, I did on Saturday. My bowels had been inactive, due to the drugs, etc., all week, and Saturday AM I was on the pot over the expected amount of time. Like, ALL DAY LONG (I told you too much info!). I was miserable - crying, shaking, feverish all day and into Sunday. I called the on call nurse and on call OB, and we tried every trick in the book. Sunday AM things started getting better, but NOW I hear about all the "after birth" stories of the bathroom episodes and I feel more normal. I honestly wanted to die on Saturday from the pressure. Whew, birth knocks you out.
2) that people would continue to be so generous. We are so blessed, and have been through our entire journey to have so many friends and family spoil Miss K. We continue to get gifts everyday and it honestly moves me to tears.
3) Tears. Ah, yes, the tears. The docs told me about post- partum baby blues, etc.. I know about being on the look -out for the post partum depression and that my hormones will be out of whack for weeks to come. However, I cry at the drop of a pin. I cry over the damn lullaby on the Pack & Play or swing, I cry over the fur kids and their obvious confusion (although they are adjusting well), I cry more at night, when the sun goes down - probably because I still feel in a bubble and my routine and structure are all "off". I cry over the pain of my incision and I cry over my still- present Sciatic pain in my back. I cry over the loss of being able to make the labor process completely full- and being able to not push Keifer out after 9 hours of labor - and having to resort to a C-section. I do not in any way feel dismay about her, I love her with all my heart and soul, so that is a relief. I've heard of mommies who reject their babies due to depression and I'm thankful that isn't me. CJ and I can't get enough of staring for HOURS at our beautiful girl. She seems to change every day in our eyes (which makes mommy cry MORE), and I just love holding her for hours on end, smelling her and watching her smile and GIGGLE (yes, GIGGLE!) in her sleep. I love hearing CJ tell her "Hi, pretty". I know the tears will get better, but I honestly never expected all of them!

4) the furkids are great. We knew Sassy Sage would have questions and want to be right there with Keifer every second of the day. That is true. She wants to smell her all the time, and see what all the little squeaks and peeps are about. If we are looking at Keifer in the Pack & Play or changing her, Sassy scratches at us to be picked up to watch. She is very "on the look out" for anything baby. We went for our first walk yesterday- CJ handled the fur kids and I slowly pushed the stroller, and Sassy kept coming back to peek in the stroller at her. It was very sweet. Treble seems to care less - however, when the home health care nurse was here this AM, he seemed to be tackling Sage to tell her to stay away from the baby. We've also noticed that he prefers to "stand guard" instead of going out on the deck as often as he used to in this nice Spring weather. He always goes to check on her whether she is in the Pack & Play or not - he'll get up, peek , and then get down. Its really very sweet. This AM, Keifer was in her crib and we could hear her starting to wake up on the monitor and suddenly, I heard this shaking sound - it was the Treble wake up shake. I came out and he was in the hallway right outside her door. So I think he is starting to get used to this "thing" in the house.

First time in the swing - before being buckled. She is VERY alert, almost more alert that I imagined she would be - she loves her swing and loves her mobile in the pack and play - we have one very smart baby in the making, right? She also is very strong - she's been trying to hold her head up since day 2~!

With Papa/Bumpa Dale before he had to go back home on Sunday.

What a week! Keifer is HERE!

What a week! Its been probably the most emotional week of our lives around here! Keifer Lynn arrived on Tuesday - a very healthy girl who was very stubborn in coming out of her mama!
I was one week overdue on Tuesday, so we had a scheduled induction set for that day. I was to go in on Monday night for my "cervical ripening", and Tuesday I was first on the books for my induction to start. As my previous posts indicate, we went in on Monday night, after getting our last belly and "family picture" with the furkids.

Well, CJ and I got our stuff unpacked, settled in, and we went through all our paperwork with the nurse. Then she did her cervical check, and realized that my body had already started contractions and labor on its own - I was already at a "3"dilation, and the doctor (OB) on call that night decided to send us back home, with instructions to come back in the early AM.

We arrived bright and early for our induction, and everything was started. I got hooked up to the Pitocen, and contractions immediately started getting more intense for me. Labor was going great - I had an epidural around 10:30 or so, and sped up to a up to a 5-6 in dilation. Then, at around 1 PM, the nurse checked me again, and realized I was at an 8, almost a 9 dilation. She asked how I was feeling and I told her I was feeling lots of pressure in my bowels. She said this was a good thing, as the baby was starting to bear down, and she guessed we'd be pushing and in active labor in about an hour or so. About 20 minutes later, I was dilated to a 9 and BAM: I stalled out. The pressure I had started to feel in my bowels turned into the most horrific pain in my whole back (I've never felt pain like that eve). Ironically, CJ had been the most awesome "coach" ever and was so supportive of me through all this. He decided to run out to the car and get himself a pop (soda), and ran into his parents in the lobby. He talked to them, told them we'd call when things got going, and came back up 20 minutes later, only to find me writhing in pain, throwing up, and completely miserable.

The nurse kept me moving from side to side - which was a chore because 1) I was numb from the epidural and it was almost impossible to move my legs, and 2) whenever I moved, I wanted or did throw up. If I even attempted to rest on my back for a split second, I was intensely SICK. Poor CJ- he didn't know what to think. Then the contractions started to become intense for me again, even though I had the epidural in. They upped my epidural, and I could STILL feel the contractions as if I didn't have any meds in my system at this point. CJ could feel the contractions in my back.

At this point, the nurse had realized I was stalling out at a 9 dilation, and things didn't change. I had the pleasure (not) of hearing the next -door-neighbor in labor - and for almost an HOUR she was screaming with obvious pain. I couldn't even move without throwing up, and had also started having the chills and shakes so bad, they had piled on heated blankets to no avail. I told CJ I didn't think if I even got to the point of pushing, I'd be able to do it. The screaming was making me unhinged, I was trembling uncontrollably, having contractions in my back that felt like I had no medications, and kept having to throw up. My labor that had started out a 'breeze' quickly turned into a stall -out of misery.

The doctor came in and also noticed that my blood pressure and Keifer's was going up and I also had a 101. something fever, and they were worried I was getting some type of infection--so a decision was made after me being stalled at the 9 for almost 3 hours (*!!!!*). We were heading into the OR for a Cesarean section. Not what I had hoped for, but at that point, I couldn't even open my eyes from the pain, and I just wanted this to be over with. They threw the scrubs at CJ to put on, and quickly wheeled us down to the next floor for the procedure.

The C-section was miserable getting into position for -I was in so much back pain that I kept apologizing for being so dramatic and crying. They had to lift me from my bed onto the operating table, and I knew I'd throw up if I moved, plus I had to lie flat on my back and that was next to impossible from the pain. So it was pure hell. I don't even know what they gave me to get me into position. CJ came in after they had started the procedure, and I told him to use our camera to video tape the whole thing. Now, I am one who cannot stand to watch shows or health type shows that show any type of medical procedure. However, I've watched the birth of Keifer via my belly, and it really isn't gross. What is intense and freaky to me is that:

1) The doctor had to request a stool for her to stand on so she could get more leverage into my belly. She was literally up to her ELBOWS inside me.

2) They had to get the vacuum machine out to get Keifer out of the birth canal - she was so far down and stuck, it was quite the chore from the looks of it.

3) Keifer came out and had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck 2 times. Whoa. Freaky. Scary.

They then quickly whisked her out of me and over to the table to get her cleaned up, and do their checking of vitals. For me it was a "here she is, Carrie, she's beautiful", and then I didn't get to see her. I sent CJ with her with the instructions to get as many videos and pictures as possible, as I was obviously not going anywhere. It took the doctor another 20-30 minutes to finish the work on me, and I was so out of it - I barely remember it, other than CJ coming to kiss me goodbye and him feeling so sorry for me that I "did all the work, and he got to go with our baby and leave me".

Ironically, CJ had run into my parents in the hallway right before the C-section was performed - as they were lost, having taken the wrong elevator in hopes to find the labor and delivery floor. So they were waiting outside in the OR waiting room, and when they were done retrieving Keifer, my parents were lucky enough to be able to go with CJ and Keifer up to the post-partum room and take part in recording all her vitals, etc.. My dad and CJ both took a lot of video clips and tons of pictures, so that I was able to see them all later, and see what I missed out on.

When they were finished cleaning me up, they brought me to the recovery room, only to find out that they brought me to the wrong floor, the wrong room, etc.. It was a disaster. I got to listen in my drugged up state to the nurses complain to each other about some other nurse that had them running me all over the place. I finally got to recovery, and the nurses were so sweet to me in there, as I was crying and in pain, and so miserable about the fact that I had just labored all day, only to not be able to even touch or see my baby after the C-section.

I finally was wheeled up to my post-partum room to be reunited with my CJ and Keifer after a little over an hour. I knew I was being brought back to them, and as the 2 nurses were bringing me up in the elevator to my room, I started bawling. When one asked me what was wrong, I just said I hadn't been able to see my daughter, and I just wanted to see her and hold her. They brought me into the room, and the nurse cleared my family out, leaving just CJ, Keifer and myself.

Afterwards was a blur of medications, and tiredness, and love, and laughter, and a huge range of emotions after such an intense day. But, my daughter had arrived and I've never felt so much love in my life. Even CJ got choked up watching me be reunited with Keifer.

We stayed in the hospital until today, and it has been a painful healing process for me physically so far. I do not tolerate pain very well, and its hard to be in so much pain, while trying to take part in taking care of the infant you just carried inside your belly for 9 months. CJ has been the most fabulous father I've ever seen. He's had to take over all the care of Keifer and wouldn't dream of not doing it. The first night in the hospital, we brought her to the nursery so we could sleep, and he literally went down every hour to the nursery just to see how she was doing. He is infactuated with Keifer and the love they share already just melts my heart.

We came home today and the furkids are confused as to what this cooing, crying, mumbling, little creature is, especially Sager. They were very gentle in their welcome home this afternoon, and so far, Sage has been very confused as to where this "thing" is going and why we are holding her, and just plain old question marks above her head whenever she looks at us with Keifer.

So wish us luck our first night at home. It'll be interesting to see how each day unfolds now that we've come home with the angel we prayed for. I am so excited to be a mommy!