This has been a fun week for us! Lauren has been smiling up a storm!!! It makes life much more fun when this sweet face has an even sweeter toothless grin!
School Starts Again
2 weeks ago
Friday, July 16, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
The 4th
Brian and I both agreed that this 4th of July just didn't quite feel like it. I think it was because we didn't spend it with extended family (my grandma and aunts and uncles couldn't make it this weekend - and we usually travel there...and I wasn't brave enough to make the trip), we didn't go see fireworks and I wasn't thrilled with our neighbors who were lighting them in the neighborhood. I really didn't want the explosions to wake my sleeping babe. Judging from comments I read on other new mommy blogs and facebook updates, I wasn't alone. However, it could just be that we're new parents and life is drastically different now.
We did get to spend the day celebrating. The Koehler's had a large gathering at their house and we were invited to join! It was quite fun and there was lots of fantastic food! I would have liked to have stayed longer, but I needed a nap!
I forgot my camera at home, but thankfully Emily always has hers! And, by the way, I am REALLY want a new camera. I've had my current camera for almost 5 years and I want to take the plunge into the land of DSLR cameras. However, with hospital bills, a new (to us) car, and a new garage door opener so we can park the car inside, a $600.00 + camera definitely isn't in the budget. Ah well.
Here are a few pictures from our 4th. I wanted to take some more of Lauren in her adorable outfit, but as soon as we got home, she peed all over it while I was changing her diaper. I had to do the bow. I knew she'd get called a boy without it. It was off for a bit...and she did! Grow hair girlie!!! And I need to dress her in pink more!
I'd love to have a good family pic...but she doesn't like photos taken while she's awake!
But if we're asleep...it's all good. :)
We did get to spend the day celebrating. The Koehler's had a large gathering at their house and we were invited to join! It was quite fun and there was lots of fantastic food! I would have liked to have stayed longer, but I needed a nap!
I forgot my camera at home, but thankfully Emily always has hers! And, by the way, I am REALLY want a new camera. I've had my current camera for almost 5 years and I want to take the plunge into the land of DSLR cameras. However, with hospital bills, a new (to us) car, and a new garage door opener so we can park the car inside, a $600.00 + camera definitely isn't in the budget. Ah well.
Here are a few pictures from our 4th. I wanted to take some more of Lauren in her adorable outfit, but as soon as we got home, she peed all over it while I was changing her diaper. I had to do the bow. I knew she'd get called a boy without it. It was off for a bit...and she did! Grow hair girlie!!! And I need to dress her in pink more!
I'd love to have a good family pic...but she doesn't like photos taken while she's awake!
But if we're asleep...it's all good. :)
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Pics From Play Group
On Monday morning Lauren and I went to our first play group. She slept through the whole thing. I loved being around other moms and could tell that it will be awesome to have something like than when Lauren does more than eating, sleeping and pooping. My friend Emily took some pictures while we were there (Lauren didn't cooperate much) but these were the ones that Emily sent me.
Also...thanks to THIS LINK I was able to change some settings and make the pictures bigger! It actually makes adding pictures A TON easier too!
How can you not love the stretch!
I love her sweet face :)
And there are few things more adorable than baby feet.
Also...thanks to THIS LINK I was able to change some settings and make the pictures bigger! It actually makes adding pictures A TON easier too!
How can you not love the stretch!
I love her sweet face :)
And there are few things more adorable than baby feet.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Snippets...
...because that's all you really have time for when you have a 2 1/2 week old!
~ Lauren is a really good eater. We went to the doctor on Monday and she gained 12 oz in one week. She weighed 6lbs 14oz at birth, lost 7oz in the hospital and at two weeks weighed in at 7lbs 10oz.
~Sometimes Lauren is a good sleeper. Most nights she'll wake up, eat and fall back asleep. Some nights she won't. I'm trying to figure out what makes the difference...
~ My car sold on Craig's.List in less than 24 hours. So, I had to take Brian and pick him up from work every day this week. We also bought a car today. We needed something that had 4 doors and was car seat friendly. I've never had a say in the car that I drove (thanks to the hand-me-down generosity of my parents) and I'm excited about my new-to-me wheels. Buying a car with a 2.5 week old isn't the least stress free thing I've done. However, the car salesmen that we worked with were awesome. They even had someone leave their office so I could have a locked room with a couch to feed Lauren. I was SO grateful. I got to use my 'udder cover' for the first time. :)
~Lauren has now met all of her grandparents.
~ I have yet to watch the Today Show and drink coffee from a real mug this summer. I fell in love with the Today Show last summer when I couldn't watch cable (we're too cheap to pay for it). It kept me entertained for hours in the morning. Since then it's always a treat to get to watch it (that means there's no school!!!). Lauren usually sleeps her longest stretch from 5:00 - 10:00 ish and therefore I choose sleep over the Today Show. It also doesn't help matters that I hadn't used my coffee pot since I found out my heartburn was significantly less if I didn't drink coffee. I think that was around December. Needless to say, the thing was DISGUSTING and is still soaking by the sink. I did buy fresh coffee and a bottle of creamer this week.
~I'm loving being a mom, but missing time with just my hubby more than I thought I would.
~I never knew I would be so thirsty and drink so much water.
~Now that I'm a mom, I get to have 'play dates' with other moms! I'm excited to go to my first one this Monday.
~Here's an awake pic of my little sweetie! She looks so concerned about something :).
~ Lauren is a really good eater. We went to the doctor on Monday and she gained 12 oz in one week. She weighed 6lbs 14oz at birth, lost 7oz in the hospital and at two weeks weighed in at 7lbs 10oz.~Sometimes Lauren is a good sleeper. Most nights she'll wake up, eat and fall back asleep. Some nights she won't. I'm trying to figure out what makes the difference...
~ My car sold on Craig's.List in less than 24 hours. So, I had to take Brian and pick him up from work every day this week. We also bought a car today. We needed something that had 4 doors and was car seat friendly. I've never had a say in the car that I drove (thanks to the hand-me-down generosity of my parents) and I'm excited about my new-to-me wheels. Buying a car with a 2.5 week old isn't the least stress free thing I've done. However, the car salesmen that we worked with were awesome. They even had someone leave their office so I could have a locked room with a couch to feed Lauren. I was SO grateful. I got to use my 'udder cover' for the first time. :)
~Lauren has now met all of her grandparents.
~ I have yet to watch the Today Show and drink coffee from a real mug this summer. I fell in love with the Today Show last summer when I couldn't watch cable (we're too cheap to pay for it). It kept me entertained for hours in the morning. Since then it's always a treat to get to watch it (that means there's no school!!!). Lauren usually sleeps her longest stretch from 5:00 - 10:00 ish and therefore I choose sleep over the Today Show. It also doesn't help matters that I hadn't used my coffee pot since I found out my heartburn was significantly less if I didn't drink coffee. I think that was around December. Needless to say, the thing was DISGUSTING and is still soaking by the sink. I did buy fresh coffee and a bottle of creamer this week.
~I'm loving being a mom, but missing time with just my hubby more than I thought I would.
~I never knew I would be so thirsty and drink so much water.
~Now that I'm a mom, I get to have 'play dates' with other moms! I'm excited to go to my first one this Monday.
~Here's an awake pic of my little sweetie! She looks so concerned about something :).
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Newborn Pictures
My cousin Kami - who is an amazing photographer - braved some serious weather and high water (literally) on Tuesday night to come and take some newborn pictures of Lauren. Really people...if you're in need of a photographer, you should use her! She'll come to your house! That is quite convenient! It's great to be in your own home when your child screams bloody murder for most of the shoot, poops on one of your blankets and pillows and pees on your couch. With all that said, I was really pleased with how the pictures turned out considering there were only a few moments of peace during the shoot!
Check out Kami's blog and Lauren's pictures HERE!
Check out Kami's blog and Lauren's pictures HERE!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Lauren's Birth Story/first days home
Ah. We're home. Life is different. Good. Hard. Strange. Exhausting. Sweet.
The story of Lauren's arrival began on Monday. We went and did our grocery shopping at Wal.mart. I was SO exhausted afterward, that I had to take a nap. I was feeling pretty crappy. I couldn't get comfortable sitting or laying down. Pregnancy wasn't much fun anymore. I was ready for it to be done, but I wasn't counting on her coming early. My due date wasn't until Saturday. After I woke up from my nap around 4:00, I went to the bathroom. The 'bloody show' had begun. I started to get excited knowing that labor was going to happen soon! Brian and I started rushing around, packing our bags, and he cooked dinner - we'd been marinating chicken all day and didn't want to waste it! I called the doctor because I wasn't having contractions and I wanted to make sure that the bleeding wasn't something to be concerned about. The doctor told me that if contractions started, that I should go to the hospital when my contractions are 5 minutes a part. About 5 minutes after hanging up the phone, the contractions started. They didn't hurt that badly...but by 5:00 they were starting to become a little more uncomfortable. We snarfed down our food, finished packing, and I sat down on the couch to time my contractions. By 6:15 they were already less than 5 minutes apart. Some were 2 minutes apart and others just went on and on with no relief for minutes. They were starting to get painful, so we decided to head to the hospital around 6:45. Once in a room, the nurse hooked me up to a monitor and checked me. I was only dialated 2 cm (and had been 1 cm for weeks) and she couldn't get a regular contraction pattern. She said she'd check me again in an hour to determine if I could stay or if I would be sent home. I was in some pretty serious pain and REALLY didn't want to go home, so we walked the halls until I couldn't handle it any longer. The nurse came and checked me again - no progress. I was bleeding quite a bit, so she let me stay another hour - and the next time she checked, I had changed to a 3 - so I got to stay!
The on-call doctor was at the hospital to check on someone else in labor so he came in, checked me and told me he could break my water if I wanted things to go a little faster. That sounded great. It was already 10:00 pm and I was tired, extremely excited and nervous. Once he broke my water, my contractions got really mean. They hurt. BAD. After another bag of IV fluid, I got my epidural, and the world returned to normal. It was fantastic. I can't imagine having to deal with that pain for hours and hours longer. Here is a pic AFTER the epidural... I'm very happy.
The nurses left me to rest and try and get some sleep. Around 2:00 a.m. the nurse came back to check me and I was at a 7! I hadn't felt any of it! I tried to rest more, but I was shaking uncontrollably and couldn't really rest much. An hour and 45 min later, I started feeling some intense pressure. The nurse checked again and I was ready to push! My contractions were never in a regular pattern, so sometimes I'd have 3-4 minutes in between pushes and at other times it was 30 seconds. After about an hour of pushing, Lauren made her arrival! The epidural was perfect. I felt NO pain, but all of the pressure. I could feel her head coming out and her body slide out, but it didn't hurt a bit! The nurses were impressed with how quickly the labor/pushing went for a 1st time mom. I'll admit, the whole process was a little easier than I thought it would be! I suppose 12-13 hours isn't really all that much compared to some people I know who've had to labor for days!
I was a little surprised at how tiny she was! (We think she looks a little like an alien in this picture.
Finally!!! She's in my arms! She was perfect - all ten fingers and toes! I couldn't believe she was actually on the outside!
Oh...I love kissing these sweet baby cheeks!
He's a great daddy! I couldn't have done it without him!
Hooray! We're getting ready to leave the hospital! I was a little sad to leave one of the nurses. She was so fantastic I jokingly asked her to move in with us as she was walking us out to the car. We were blessed by a great staff, and it was great to get to have the same awesome nurse for 2 days! It was a great experience!
I've tried to swaddle her, but she doesn't like her arms tucked in. She's been sleeping MUCH better since I've figured that out! She actually slept all night last night - other than the feedings at 1:30 and 5:00! I feel a little more human again after a few hours of sleep in a row! She's been nursing and pooping (so glad Brian is here to hold her squirmy legs) like a champ.
I'm excited to go to the doctor tomorrow to see how much weight she's gained! Here's one last pic of her in a super cute onesie her Aunt Alicia painted for her at my baby shower!
The story of Lauren's arrival began on Monday. We went and did our grocery shopping at Wal.mart. I was SO exhausted afterward, that I had to take a nap. I was feeling pretty crappy. I couldn't get comfortable sitting or laying down. Pregnancy wasn't much fun anymore. I was ready for it to be done, but I wasn't counting on her coming early. My due date wasn't until Saturday. After I woke up from my nap around 4:00, I went to the bathroom. The 'bloody show' had begun. I started to get excited knowing that labor was going to happen soon! Brian and I started rushing around, packing our bags, and he cooked dinner - we'd been marinating chicken all day and didn't want to waste it! I called the doctor because I wasn't having contractions and I wanted to make sure that the bleeding wasn't something to be concerned about. The doctor told me that if contractions started, that I should go to the hospital when my contractions are 5 minutes a part. About 5 minutes after hanging up the phone, the contractions started. They didn't hurt that badly...but by 5:00 they were starting to become a little more uncomfortable. We snarfed down our food, finished packing, and I sat down on the couch to time my contractions. By 6:15 they were already less than 5 minutes apart. Some were 2 minutes apart and others just went on and on with no relief for minutes. They were starting to get painful, so we decided to head to the hospital around 6:45. Once in a room, the nurse hooked me up to a monitor and checked me. I was only dialated 2 cm (and had been 1 cm for weeks) and she couldn't get a regular contraction pattern. She said she'd check me again in an hour to determine if I could stay or if I would be sent home. I was in some pretty serious pain and REALLY didn't want to go home, so we walked the halls until I couldn't handle it any longer. The nurse came and checked me again - no progress. I was bleeding quite a bit, so she let me stay another hour - and the next time she checked, I had changed to a 3 - so I got to stay!
The on-call doctor was at the hospital to check on someone else in labor so he came in, checked me and told me he could break my water if I wanted things to go a little faster. That sounded great. It was already 10:00 pm and I was tired, extremely excited and nervous. Once he broke my water, my contractions got really mean. They hurt. BAD. After another bag of IV fluid, I got my epidural, and the world returned to normal. It was fantastic. I can't imagine having to deal with that pain for hours and hours longer. Here is a pic AFTER the epidural... I'm very happy.
The nurses left me to rest and try and get some sleep. Around 2:00 a.m. the nurse came back to check me and I was at a 7! I hadn't felt any of it! I tried to rest more, but I was shaking uncontrollably and couldn't really rest much. An hour and 45 min later, I started feeling some intense pressure. The nurse checked again and I was ready to push! My contractions were never in a regular pattern, so sometimes I'd have 3-4 minutes in between pushes and at other times it was 30 seconds. After about an hour of pushing, Lauren made her arrival! The epidural was perfect. I felt NO pain, but all of the pressure. I could feel her head coming out and her body slide out, but it didn't hurt a bit! The nurses were impressed with how quickly the labor/pushing went for a 1st time mom. I'll admit, the whole process was a little easier than I thought it would be! I suppose 12-13 hours isn't really all that much compared to some people I know who've had to labor for days!
I was a little surprised at how tiny she was! (We think she looks a little like an alien in this picture.
Finally!!! She's in my arms! She was perfect - all ten fingers and toes! I couldn't believe she was actually on the outside!
Oh...I love kissing these sweet baby cheeks!
He's a great daddy! I couldn't have done it without him!
Hooray! We're getting ready to leave the hospital! I was a little sad to leave one of the nurses. She was so fantastic I jokingly asked her to move in with us as she was walking us out to the car. We were blessed by a great staff, and it was great to get to have the same awesome nurse for 2 days! It was a great experience!
I've tried to swaddle her, but she doesn't like her arms tucked in. She's been sleeping MUCH better since I've figured that out! She actually slept all night last night - other than the feedings at 1:30 and 5:00! I feel a little more human again after a few hours of sleep in a row! She's been nursing and pooping (so glad Brian is here to hold her squirmy legs) like a champ.
I'm excited to go to the doctor tomorrow to see how much weight she's gained! Here's one last pic of her in a super cute onesie her Aunt Alicia painted for her at my baby shower!
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