Catching up on November 2013

Yes, yes. Im so far behind on this blog! Today's post will be playing catch up on November 2013.

It was pretty uneventful month. Carly's first Thanksgiving. We took family photos with the famous rubber chicken as we have the past few years starting in Guam on the beach. And Carly turned 8 months old. That photo session was a challenge because she was an avid crawler at that point. Kayla had a bandaid on during the photos due to getting stitches removed. She had a cyst on the side of her head near her ear and had surgery to get it removed. That was no fun. I never felt so helpless with my own child before.

Stay tuned for more. This post was pretty boring. But I assure you...details of other things will be documented. This is all for the kids, so I want to them to know and understand everything that has been going on. 

Catching up on October 2013

Whew. Life has been crazy. Trying to catch up on the blog while getting more and more behind.

If you know me in person, you already know we are moving. If you know me though blog reading only...Yes, we are moving. Back in August while we were at our daughters 1st grade meet your teacher conference, an email comes through to my husband saying "Congratulations on your new assignment." We didn't apply or expect for a new assignment so our hearts were definitely racing. We rushed out of there and rushed home for him to check his government email and we were notified of a new assignment to Osan Air Force Base, South Korea. SHOCK. Utter shock. It took months for this shock to wear off. We built this house expecting to stay put for a long time. Oh the military life. Thank goodness we are extremely spontaneous and adventurous people.

So, before any more details are spilled on this move....this and last week has been filled with paper work and driving all over town. Between the cat's 2 appointments to get his health certificate (which will have within 10 days of arriving to Osan) plus dental paperwork for myself and kids and school clearances for 2 kids....which need to be re-done because the papers that printed out were old forms. Yay. Fun.

Anyways, trying to get caught up here...I now need to catch up on October 2013!
It was a pretty uneventful month.
 

Carly has he first Halloween experience. 

She also turned 7 months old. 

Mama continued on her weight loss journey, with about 20 lbs left to go in this photo. 

Healthy baby.

More Halloween fun!

First adventures with hay.

Carly was taking off in the walker like a pro! She started walking in it at only 5 months old. 

Kayla was doing and progressing fantastic in Kindergarten.

We discovered having picnics in the living room at Mama's fav place to get taco salads, and free kids meals. 

1 month

Carly is now 1 month old. Makes me so sad to see how fast she is growing up. I love this tiny baby stage. I loved it through each of the 3 babies and I love it even more this time around. I think because I know just how fast it really does go by and eventually it's just a distant memory.

She is still perfect. Guessing to weigh about 7.5 lbs now. She is still 20 inches long. Still eats 2.5 oz about every 2-3 hours. Still only cries when something is wrong and that is it which is usually only when she has to burp or has gas stuck.

We did have problems getting her to burp. She would have them stuck for 30 minutes to an hour after eating and I could hear her gulping and swallowing air. We switched to Dr. Brown bottles and the problem is much much less now.

She defiantly recognizes her Mama. :)

She loves to watch Kayla and Caden. And they love to kiss and hug on her.

Had to sneak in these gorgeous pictures of the big sister!

16 days old

Our little cuppy cake is 16 days old today and still perfect.

Her 2 week check up she was up from her birth weight of 6.4 to 7 pounds even and up from 19 1/4" to now 20".

I cherish this time when she is so incredibly tiny because before I know it, she will be Kayla's age and almost going to Kindergarten. :(

She is still a fantastic sleeper and eater. She only wakes 2 times a night to eat and will sleep in 4 hour stretches, eat and go back to sleep. She is becoming more alert and her awake time periods are a few minutes longer. Yesterday, I got a serious big smile from her!

I cant get over how much she resembles my baby pictures!

One week

Not sure I like Carly being one week old already. Seriously. I'm afraid just like the other 2 kiddos, this time will be a long distant memory and I will miss the sound, and feel of a newborn baby.

Please freeze time for a while.

Things are going fantastic. We seriously could not have asked for a better baby in any way.

Out of the 3 babies, she is the best sleeper. She goes 3-4 hour stretches all night long before wanting to eat. 

And she never cries. I have figured out her "I'm hungry" sounds so I catch her before she gets mad to feed her. She eats, she burps, I change her diaper and then back to sleep for a few more hours. For example: Last night: I fed her at 8 pm. We went to bed and I didn't get a peep from her until 11:30. Back to sleep until 3:30 and back to sleep until a little after 6 am. 

During the day she is pretty much the same except between feedings she is awake about 20 minutes.

She sleeps through any and all loud sounds in the house...mostly her brother and sister.

She is starting to pick up her head for the first time yesterday. When she is on my chest she will lift her head to look at me. I love the wobble-ness (yes, I made up my own word) of a newborn. 

She is just perfection in every way. 

Absolutely perfect.

And her big sister and big brother are just loving her to pieces!

Birth Story- LONG!

Carly's birth did not go the way I had imagined. Not the way that I planned. Not the way I wanted. In a way I feel jipped on the birth process, the baby coming out, watching her enter the world, pulling her to my belly,  letting Dad cut her cord.

I have a lot of up and down emotions, but in the end I remember that she is alive, she healthy and she is a very happy, easy, content baby and she is all OURS, forever. And that is ALL that matters.

Anyways, it all started last Thursday (a week ago tomorrow) I woke up around 5:30 am and noticed I was slowly leaking a clear fluid. It felt like I was peeing myself but it clearly wasn't pee. I mentioned it to Nick and said said lets go to the hospital. I was sure that it would be a waste and we would be sent home. It was such a slow trickle I thought it was just normal fluids that has thinned out as the doctor had told me a week before at my normal weekly appointment.

At 7:30 we showed up at Labor and Delivery. I had called before leaving the house and they told me to come in to get checked. Its better to be safe rather than sorry.

The docs hooked me up to the monitors, baby was great, I was having no contractions. They checked my cervix,  I was still only 3 cm as I had been for the past 3 weeks. They swabbed me to test the fluid to see if it was amniotic. The test came back slightly positive so the doctor thought I had a small high tear that was leaking fluid very slow.

 Because of this, my water didn't officially break, but if it was a small tear in the membranes, I could risk infection. So the option to induce right then was given to us and we took it right away.

I was 38 weeks and 5 days, and healthy and the ultrasound showed a healthy baby ready to be born. 

At 10 am pitocin was started. I dilated to 4 cm. Once I hit the 4 cm I could feel the contractions but they were not painful. 

 At 12:45 I had got up to use the bathroom once more before the contractions got too painful and as soon I hit the bathroom, no question about it... my water broke. It was like in the movies. A huge gush of clear water all over my legs and the floor. A sign things were on the move!

At 1:11 pm the pain had really begun. The Dad had to convince Mom to ask finally for the epidural. So I did. Before it was administered, the doctor checked me and I was a whopping 6 cm! I made it all the way to 6 cm without pain medication. Go me!

The pain got really intense as the epidural was being given at 5 pm...thank God I decided to ask for it when I did. 

Here is where it got scary and difficult. Most of this I do not remember, I'm going by what Nick has told me happened.

At 5:45 pm I passed out because my blood pressure dropped in reaction to having too much epidural. ( My body has a very, I mean very extremely low tolerance for any type of medications. We told the anesthesiologist this, but no doctor every really believes just how low I mean) He administered 10 (whatever volume they use for this) which is what a normal person gets for labor. 

They stopped the epidural and pitocin for about an hour to give the baby and myself a break. 

I was still 6 cm. 

They restarted it about 7:30 pm.

My blood pressure dropped again, and I nearly was passed out completely again. The baby's heart rate had dropped from the 140's to the 40's to the 30's and for a second even to zero. 

At that point, the doctor made the decision to take me back for an emergency c-section. 

I was in shock. I was out of it. I didnt totally get what she meant until they started wheeling me back.

Skipping ahead a little, the baby was born at 9:10 pm. We heard her cry about a minute later and I could turn to my right and see her on the scale. It was then that we were told the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice.

A tiny 6 pounds 4 oz and 19 1/4" long.

Thank you God for the doctor who made the hard choice for the c section. 

Its not only physically hard but also emotionally hard.

But, 

we have this baby that was so worth every second.

Kayla checking out her sister on going home day.

Time for Mom and baby sister to go home!

Not liking Dad buckling her.

Kayla not happy that her baby is crying.

Dad putting her in the car seat.

Caden checking her out in the elevator.

Going home.

Kayla and baby waiting for Dad to bring the car up.

Walking to the car.

Tired, swollen Mom's first day home.

Getting in the car.

Carly Joy is here!

So, the last post about 5 days was a lie. She was here just 2 days later!

It was an unpleasant, scary and almost sorta traumatic birth. I will post the details as I get a chance. Right now, we are tired, and exhausted. Its our first full day home so we are trying to adjust and figure out our new routine and schedule. I have Nick here helping me off work for 3 weeks and he is doing AMAZING. Tomorrow night my Mother In Law comes in until June.

So, I make you wait no more....

CARLY JOY

Born: 21 March, 9:10 PM via C-section. (Details on this later) 6 pounds 4 ounces 19 1/4" long
Happy, healthy, baby girl!

After pitocin started, but before the major pain began. And the last belly picture! I am very swollen and bloated here from all the fluids.

Nick was in the nursery with Carly right after birth while I was getting stitched back up in the operating room.

This is my favorite picture of her I think...She looks so happy to be born. And this picture looks so much like myself as a baby. I cant get over it! But at the same time, when shes asleep, I think she looks just like her Dad.