Saturday, December 30, 2006
Chiquita Banana Girl
Check out my awesome hat! The big flower is supposed to be on the side, but my mommy was a little bit out of it when the hospital took my picture. I think it makes it look even more funny. My Daddy HATES it, but I think I'm pretty cute.
I'm Back.....
Well, what an eventful 10 days! I am so grateful to James for posting updates of sweet Cora for me. He did a pretty good job. I am trying to get more pictures to upload - we will hopefully get a new camera this weekend. It's killing me not being able to take pictures of our sweet new baby girl - and her EXTREMELY proud big sister. I promise I will add pics just as soon as I can!
Cora is just so beautiful. She smiles more than any newborn I've ever seen - gas or no gas, it's really cute. We can't really decide who she looks like, or if she looks like Kaitlyn at all. She has very long fingers, perfect skin, and little bird legs that just crack me up.
Labor went very well - I had the best nurse ever that made everything really easy. I went into labor on my own with Kaitlyn, so being induced was all new to me. It was a very smooth process, lasting only about 6 1/2 hours. Afterward, however is when the fun began. While in the hospital I started getting a bad headache any time I sat up or stood up. I didn't think much about it, but it got so much worse when we got home. Saturday night, the 23rd, we made an emergency room visit after I sat up to feed Cora and about passed out. The doctor said it was probably a spinal headache - which happens when something is punctured during the epidural, causing spinal fluid to leak - causing the worst headache known to man. Anyway - at the emergency room they hooked me up to an IV and pumped me full of caffine (supposed to close the hole), pain meds, and anti - nausea meds.
That worked for a few hours, but then the headache came back. Christmas morning, I watched Kaitlyn open her presents laying flat on my back, my eyes barely open. I was SO SAD that I couldn't help her open things, play with her new toys - or even sit up for that matter. So, back to the ER we went. Most of Christmas Day was spent there - getting the same stuff pumped into me. I was supposed to get a blood patch that day, but there was not an anesthesiologist available to do it. Apparantly it wasn't enough of an emergency for the one on call to come in. Nice. So, the next day, I was able to go in and have the blood patch. This is where they take blood from my arm and inject it into my spine so that it can flow up there and clot the hole that is causing fluid to leak. This hurt really bad because they couldn't find the right spot in my back. They tried 4 or 5 different times before it worked. I'm still feeling the after effects from that - but finally my headache is gone. What an ordeal. Merry Christmas to me!
My family has been nothing short of amazing. My house has managed to stay clean, laundry has been done continuously, meals have been brought, Kaitlyn has had fun things to do, and of course - there is always someone willing to hold the baby! Even with all the drama that has gone on, we have been so incredibly blessed this Christmas. We have a beautiful, healthy baby girl, a new computer for the house, a beautiful new kitchen table to share family meals, lots of new, fun toys for Kaitlyn, and wonderful friends and family to share it with.
I promise I'll add more pictures soon!
Cora is just so beautiful. She smiles more than any newborn I've ever seen - gas or no gas, it's really cute. We can't really decide who she looks like, or if she looks like Kaitlyn at all. She has very long fingers, perfect skin, and little bird legs that just crack me up.
Labor went very well - I had the best nurse ever that made everything really easy. I went into labor on my own with Kaitlyn, so being induced was all new to me. It was a very smooth process, lasting only about 6 1/2 hours. Afterward, however is when the fun began. While in the hospital I started getting a bad headache any time I sat up or stood up. I didn't think much about it, but it got so much worse when we got home. Saturday night, the 23rd, we made an emergency room visit after I sat up to feed Cora and about passed out. The doctor said it was probably a spinal headache - which happens when something is punctured during the epidural, causing spinal fluid to leak - causing the worst headache known to man. Anyway - at the emergency room they hooked me up to an IV and pumped me full of caffine (supposed to close the hole), pain meds, and anti - nausea meds.
That worked for a few hours, but then the headache came back. Christmas morning, I watched Kaitlyn open her presents laying flat on my back, my eyes barely open. I was SO SAD that I couldn't help her open things, play with her new toys - or even sit up for that matter. So, back to the ER we went. Most of Christmas Day was spent there - getting the same stuff pumped into me. I was supposed to get a blood patch that day, but there was not an anesthesiologist available to do it. Apparantly it wasn't enough of an emergency for the one on call to come in. Nice. So, the next day, I was able to go in and have the blood patch. This is where they take blood from my arm and inject it into my spine so that it can flow up there and clot the hole that is causing fluid to leak. This hurt really bad because they couldn't find the right spot in my back. They tried 4 or 5 different times before it worked. I'm still feeling the after effects from that - but finally my headache is gone. What an ordeal. Merry Christmas to me!
My family has been nothing short of amazing. My house has managed to stay clean, laundry has been done continuously, meals have been brought, Kaitlyn has had fun things to do, and of course - there is always someone willing to hold the baby! Even with all the drama that has gone on, we have been so incredibly blessed this Christmas. We have a beautiful, healthy baby girl, a new computer for the house, a beautiful new kitchen table to share family meals, lots of new, fun toys for Kaitlyn, and wonderful friends and family to share it with.
I promise I'll add more pictures soon!
Friday, December 29, 2006
One week ago Today + 1
So one week ago and one day we became a four person family. The house seems smaller, Kaitlyn seems bigger and babies sleep too much. Leslie doesn't sleep enough.
It must be hard for girls, you have to be awake to feed the baby everytime. You have about two hours to prepare for the next feeding and then you have all the uncomfortableness that goes with recently having a baby.
Amazing. I guess that's why God chose women to have kids because men would outsource it or pay someone else to do it and better.
Cora is great. She is a wonderful baby because you know exactly what she wants at all times. if she cries, she's hungry. Other than that she's quiet. We hear her make messes in her diaper and with all the soft and fluffy blankets, clothes and whatever, she has to be comfortable.
Kaitlyn has been good for the past week. Not too jealous and still helpful. She is off to Ft. Worth for a couple of days to hang out with family. I miss her greatly. With Leslie taking care of the baby, my mom helping Leslie and Kaitlyn not there to play with I look for other forms of entertainment. Last night I beat my Mom in 11-card gin twice, she beat 3 times in 7-card gin. I watched Sweet Home Alabama yesterday with Lesle and my Mom. Some early foreshadowing into my life in 10 years.
All in all this has been wonderful. Our wonderful friends from church have brought us food (thanks Holly, Hannah and Eric, Wendy and Mandy today). We have been eating like kings and "now its time for a breakdown": (i loved that part in the song from Never Gonna Get it)
Hannah made a chocolate cheescake for us on Wednesday that was awesome. How can I be a judge of what is awesome and what is not as far as cheesecake goes, I'll tell ya. My Dad loves cheesecake and he would always have it for his birthday. I have NEVER liked cheesecake so I would always miss out. Not to be rude on Wednesday (even though she was not there) I had a piece. I was wonderful. Here's the kicker, Hannah doesn't like cheesecake either.
Ok, back to my family. Leslie is the toughest girl I know, she could be the toughest person I know. Cora and her have already created a special bond and there is nothing more beautiful that looking at your wife holding your child while SportsCenter is on.
More updates to come and good news, we were given a laptop for Christmas and Leslie will be online shortly so I will be cutting back on the posts. Lucky for you.
****Because you read all of this I will show you a picture of Leslie 5 secs after giving birth to Cora. ****
Somethings to point out in this picture:
1. Her wedding rings are on, not the case last time
2. The most amazing nurse Caroline is in the background. She was fantastic and cool to talk to. Leslie and I did not like moving out of labor and delivery and her not being able to come with us.
3. Leslie's smiling, always a pretty picture.
Thank God for everything today!
It must be hard for girls, you have to be awake to feed the baby everytime. You have about two hours to prepare for the next feeding and then you have all the uncomfortableness that goes with recently having a baby.
Amazing. I guess that's why God chose women to have kids because men would outsource it or pay someone else to do it and better.
Cora is great. She is a wonderful baby because you know exactly what she wants at all times. if she cries, she's hungry. Other than that she's quiet. We hear her make messes in her diaper and with all the soft and fluffy blankets, clothes and whatever, she has to be comfortable.
Kaitlyn has been good for the past week. Not too jealous and still helpful. She is off to Ft. Worth for a couple of days to hang out with family. I miss her greatly. With Leslie taking care of the baby, my mom helping Leslie and Kaitlyn not there to play with I look for other forms of entertainment. Last night I beat my Mom in 11-card gin twice, she beat 3 times in 7-card gin. I watched Sweet Home Alabama yesterday with Lesle and my Mom. Some early foreshadowing into my life in 10 years.
All in all this has been wonderful. Our wonderful friends from church have brought us food (thanks Holly, Hannah and Eric, Wendy and Mandy today). We have been eating like kings and "now its time for a breakdown": (i loved that part in the song from Never Gonna Get it)
Hannah made a chocolate cheescake for us on Wednesday that was awesome. How can I be a judge of what is awesome and what is not as far as cheesecake goes, I'll tell ya. My Dad loves cheesecake and he would always have it for his birthday. I have NEVER liked cheesecake so I would always miss out. Not to be rude on Wednesday (even though she was not there) I had a piece. I was wonderful. Here's the kicker, Hannah doesn't like cheesecake either.
Ok, back to my family. Leslie is the toughest girl I know, she could be the toughest person I know. Cora and her have already created a special bond and there is nothing more beautiful that looking at your wife holding your child while SportsCenter is on.
More updates to come and good news, we were given a laptop for Christmas and Leslie will be online shortly so I will be cutting back on the posts. Lucky for you.
****Because you read all of this I will show you a picture of Leslie 5 secs after giving birth to Cora. ****
Somethings to point out in this picture:1. Her wedding rings are on, not the case last time
2. The most amazing nurse Caroline is in the background. She was fantastic and cool to talk to. Leslie and I did not like moving out of labor and delivery and her not being able to come with us.
3. Leslie's smiling, always a pretty picture.
Thank God for everything today!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Cora came in like a Lion
Leslie getting ready for the big day. There were some nerves and anticipation of the wonderful day ahead.
Except one small detail, our camera broke the night before. We had to call in a favor from our good Friend Lindsay, to save the day.
We entered the hospital just before 7:00am and by 8:38am everything was getting started.
In this picture Leslie is showing her excitement for the upcoming delivery. I think this was one of her cutiermomentsSo everythin g was going to plan and Leslie was progrssing nicely. I had a gentleman's bet with Leslie that the birth would be at 2:30pm, The nurse had 4:00pm and Leslie's dad had 3:01pm. He won.
On Thursday December 21, 2006 - Cora arrived, Screaming.
She was so beautiful, healthy and OK.
Here is her picture with her excited big sister.
Leslie is currently having day surgery for the epidural she recieved. There were some complications afterwards with spinal headaches. She is getting that fixed right now. I ask that you pray for her and thank God for the healthy life he brought into this world and that for the most part everyone is ok.
God is great and we owe him everything.
Have a great day.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Just a Side Note
Instead of having Cora on Friday, we will be having her Thursday morning.
Please pray for Leslie and Cora.
We're excited to meet her.
Please pray for Leslie and Cora.
We're excited to meet her.
2 Days Left and the Perfect Sopping Experience
Since Leslie has officially gone on Maternity Leave, I will be handling the updating of the blog for the next couple of weeks. Everyone should be so lucky.
We have two days before Cora makes an appearance and cannot wait.
This weekend we went shopping for Christmas presents. It was the single most perfect present buying experience ever documented. I say that because I have never seen a documented successful shopping trip, when it comes to presents. Here we go. . .
Leslie has been "uncomfortable" for several weeks now, and we knew that there was only one way to knock out Christmas presents. . . in one straight shot. Leslie made the list of gifts and stores where to buy. I was in charge of logistics of the route and most efficient way to find the gifts and exit the store without a wasted step. Brenna, our awesome cousin, was in charge of Kaitlyn. Mission Accomplished.
We started with Target, I dropped Leslie off and parked the car in backwards (to make the exit easy) went into Target and proceeded to the back of the store. Leslie was already accomplishing goal one by getting in line for a cup of ice and bag of chips. I proceeded to the toys, she went to the card section, we met in electronics. Exit Target.
Then we ran by Ashley's home furnishing, just to look but I incorporated this into our route, so not much time was lost.
Off to the Mall. I dropped Leslie off in front of BestBuy, parked the car and entered. This is where we went off track slightly. I was side tracked by TVs and stereo equipment. Leslie pulled me back on board and walked into the mall making sure to go in a loop that ended on the backside Dillards. I then departed to retrieve the car on complete other side of Dillards, picked her up and went to Chili's with our gift card (thanks ACU). After lunch, we went to Lacks. Another sight seeing mission. This was suppose to be the last stop but then Leslie mentioned Steinmart and it ALMOST eliminated the perfect shopping experience, until I realized it was on the way home and all was good.
Leslie was a trooper and we had a wonderful time. When Cora comes out in shape, we will know why.
Other fantastic stories about us coming up soon, or maybe later. Have a wonderful Christmas if we don't write anything before then.
We have two days before Cora makes an appearance and cannot wait.
This weekend we went shopping for Christmas presents. It was the single most perfect present buying experience ever documented. I say that because I have never seen a documented successful shopping trip, when it comes to presents. Here we go. . .
Leslie has been "uncomfortable" for several weeks now, and we knew that there was only one way to knock out Christmas presents. . . in one straight shot. Leslie made the list of gifts and stores where to buy. I was in charge of logistics of the route and most efficient way to find the gifts and exit the store without a wasted step. Brenna, our awesome cousin, was in charge of Kaitlyn. Mission Accomplished.
We started with Target, I dropped Leslie off and parked the car in backwards (to make the exit easy) went into Target and proceeded to the back of the store. Leslie was already accomplishing goal one by getting in line for a cup of ice and bag of chips. I proceeded to the toys, she went to the card section, we met in electronics. Exit Target.
Then we ran by Ashley's home furnishing, just to look but I incorporated this into our route, so not much time was lost.
Off to the Mall. I dropped Leslie off in front of BestBuy, parked the car and entered. This is where we went off track slightly. I was side tracked by TVs and stereo equipment. Leslie pulled me back on board and walked into the mall making sure to go in a loop that ended on the backside Dillards. I then departed to retrieve the car on complete other side of Dillards, picked her up and went to Chili's with our gift card (thanks ACU). After lunch, we went to Lacks. Another sight seeing mission. This was suppose to be the last stop but then Leslie mentioned Steinmart and it ALMOST eliminated the perfect shopping experience, until I realized it was on the way home and all was good.
Leslie was a trooper and we had a wonderful time. When Cora comes out in shape, we will know why.
Other fantastic stories about us coming up soon, or maybe later. Have a wonderful Christmas if we don't write anything before then.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Let The Countdown Begin!
10 more days people. 10 more days. Yikes! So much to do before she comes! I have not bought ONE Christmas present yet. James and I got a babysitter for this Saturday and are planning on knocking it all out in one day. That should be fun, seeing as I get winded walking from my desk to the ice machine at work. Hopefully, we'll get everything done, and next week we can just relax and anxiously await Friday!
The hospital that we're using has an educational program for siblings that are about to have a new baby brother or sister. So, Kaitlyn got to go have her special tour yesterday. They showed her all around the Labor and Delivery floor, showed her a room like I will be in, and even took her on a behind the scenes tour of the nursery! She got a little doctors bag of scrubs, masks, a measuring tape (to measure her baby dolls and to guess how long Cora will be - she already guessed one inch), the little heart stickers they put on babies to monitor their temperature, and lots of other fun things. She seems to be really excited about this - lets hope it stays that way!
I still get a little sad when I think about only 10 more days of it just being Kaitlyn. Her life (and ours) is about to totally change! I just hope and pray that I do a good job of always making sure she feels loved, needed and included in everything. I just love that girl so much - I can't imagine loving another one just the same! How exciting is that.
I'll try to add one more post before this all goes down with one last tummy shot, and a couple nursery pictures. James will probably do most of the blogging after she comes - we don't have a computer at home - SAD. But I'll make sure he keeps it updated with lots of pictures!
The hospital that we're using has an educational program for siblings that are about to have a new baby brother or sister. So, Kaitlyn got to go have her special tour yesterday. They showed her all around the Labor and Delivery floor, showed her a room like I will be in, and even took her on a behind the scenes tour of the nursery! She got a little doctors bag of scrubs, masks, a measuring tape (to measure her baby dolls and to guess how long Cora will be - she already guessed one inch), the little heart stickers they put on babies to monitor their temperature, and lots of other fun things. She seems to be really excited about this - lets hope it stays that way!
I still get a little sad when I think about only 10 more days of it just being Kaitlyn. Her life (and ours) is about to totally change! I just hope and pray that I do a good job of always making sure she feels loved, needed and included in everything. I just love that girl so much - I can't imagine loving another one just the same! How exciting is that.
I'll try to add one more post before this all goes down with one last tummy shot, and a couple nursery pictures. James will probably do most of the blogging after she comes - we don't have a computer at home - SAD. But I'll make sure he keeps it updated with lots of pictures!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Snow Day!!
I know, 2 posts in one day - amazing. It snowed/iced yesterday - so we had no work or school! Except James - the newspaper never sleeps apparantly. Kaitlyn and I had so much fun getting bundled up and playing outside. This was her first time to get to play in the snow and she had a blast. She loved eating it. I loved not being at work! We made Christmas cookies, she helped me clean up the house, we watched movies... just hung out in our pajamas all day. Nothing better than that! Here are a few pictures. I'll include a Santa Claus one just for the fun of it:
Thanksgiving
I'm a little late in blogging, sorry. We had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving in Lubbock with my family. I had not been home in so long - it was nice to go back! We had a wonderful meal, made lots of fires in the backyard, went shopping, had our 3rd annual Thanksgiving bowling tournament - more about this in a minute, the boys helped paint the house, and mom and I got the best massages ever! I could even lay on my stomach! It was the greatest.
The bowling tournament - Kaitlyn is quite the bowler. She played two games and scored a 70 both times! She loved it. I'm trying to get a video to load on here so that everyone can see the hip action she puts with it. She is hilarious. I, however, did not do so hot. I didn't realize how hard it is to bowl when your 8 months pregnant.
One of the things I really found myself thankful for is that my parents are young enough to really - actively play with Kaitlyn. They run around and play chase or hide and go seek, and my dad even climbed a tree with her. I love this picture - he told Kaitlyn to act like a monkey and he is laughing so hard.
We truly are blessed this Thanksgiving. I am thankful for too many things to count.
The bowling tournament - Kaitlyn is quite the bowler. She played two games and scored a 70 both times! She loved it. I'm trying to get a video to load on here so that everyone can see the hip action she puts with it. She is hilarious. I, however, did not do so hot. I didn't realize how hard it is to bowl when your 8 months pregnant.
One of the things I really found myself thankful for is that my parents are young enough to really - actively play with Kaitlyn. They run around and play chase or hide and go seek, and my dad even climbed a tree with her. I love this picture - he told Kaitlyn to act like a monkey and he is laughing so hard.
We truly are blessed this Thanksgiving. I am thankful for too many things to count.
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