Kylie's first photo shoot

This past weekend we had Kylie’s newborn photo shoot. It went great and we were able to get some really good photos. I can't believe how fast she's growing, as of last Thursday she was already 7 lbs, 14 oz! She’s gone from not being able to fit in anything (even her newborn stuff) to pretty much outgrowing it! This coming week we've got her 6 week check up and then time to make the appointment for her first set of immunizations, fun! I've given these several times before, but I must admit that I am a little nervous to be on the receiving end. Thank god Jamie will be in town to attend, otherwise I may chicken out!

Other than that, not too much going on here. Jamie had to make a quick trip to Adelaide this week but was only gone for 2 days. I did go on an interview Wednesday for a job working in the neonatal intensive care unit, but we've got some stuff to iron out before I decide to take it. Here all of the hospitals work on rotating shifts so until the schedule comes out you have no clue if you are working days or nights. Wouldn't have been a big deal before as I LOVED working the night shift, but now that I have Kylie things are a little different. If Jamie has to go out of town I have no one to watch her (not that I would consider leaving her with a sitter overnight anyway) and the daycares around here don't open until 7-7:30. My day shift would start at 7 so again, when Jamie is out of town it would be difficult to work. It's still not 100% decided that I will go back to work, but all I was really hoping for was to get something part time that would get me out of the house and maybe meet some people. So, I'll keep you all posted on what happens.

Here are a few photos from our shoot.

Time Flies!

I can't believe it's been so long since our last post! Tomorrow Kylie will be 4 weeks old and it feels like we just brought her home yesterday. A lot has happened in the last few weeks, so hopefully I don't leave anything out.

The first week home with Kylie was a crazy one. Trying to adjust to the new schedule (her schedule that is) and finding time to hang out with the dogs, clean, cook and everything else took a little getting used to. Lucky for me she has been a good night time sleeper, so we usually get about 3 hours sleep at a time. I've realized that the part that sucks when it comes to breastfeeding is that you're on your own! It's kind of hard for Jamie to help with the night time feedings when he doesn't have the right equipment! The dogs have mixed feelings about her (Punkin absolutely loves her while Budder could take or leave her) but they've both been really good about being around her so far.

We were home with Kylie for about a week before my mom arrived (aka Nanna Trahan). Once she arrived a few "to do's" were taken off my daily list. She did most of the cooking and cleaning up around the house while she was here, which was a huge help! Unfortunately with Kylie being so young we didn't really get out and do anything, so most of our time was spent hanging out at the house. The Saturday before she left Jamie and I did have a "date afternoon". Kylie stayed with my mom and we went out to lunch and did some shopping. Sunday afternoon I took my mom out to see a few sites and shop while Jamie stayed with Kylie. It was nerve racking leaving her on both days, but it was good to get out. She did really well both days and daddy survived his first afternoon alone with Kylie (I wasn't nervous about it but he was!!).

This past week was full of outings, appointments and our first Mothers Day so it has gone by the quickest so far. My mom's flight to head back home was late Wednesday night, so we made reservations for dinner at the Raffles Bar and Grill before she got on her plane. It was a thank you for helping out the10 days she was here and a chance to get Kylie dressed up. The food was great and Kylie looked so cute in her little headband and dress! It turned out to be a great night and Kylie made it through dinner with no problems. Thursday we had an appointment to get her US paperwork done (social security card, passport, etc) and Saturday was the CB&I family picnic. We made it through both of those with no problems or fits as well. Jamie and I both couldn't believe how good she was! To end the week we had a relaxing Mothers Day at home. Kylie and I spent the afternoon napping, while daddy worked on the house chores. What a great way to end the week!

I am almost scared to say it, but so far it seems that we have a pretty good baby! We haven't had any problems with screaming fits for no reason or not being able to get her settled. When she does cry there is a reason and when you fix it she’s done. She seems to have settled into a nice little routine all on her own and is quite alert, constantly taking in her surroundings. Hopefully things stay this way and I haven't jinxed myself by sharing the news with all of you! I'll leave you with a few photos from the past few weeks of our time with Kylie.

Photos taken at hospital

Nap time first week home

Play time with Daddy and waking from nap (2 weeks old)

Nap with daddy after an afternoon with Nanna Trahan, Nap after afternoon with Daddy

Hanging out with Nanna Trahan

3 weeks old  (on the right - she makes this face all the time, I love it!)

Dress up time!  Dinner with Nanna before flight and CB&I family picnic night

Our first Mothers Day!

First time in swing and flowers from Daddy and Kylie

"Easy Pregnancy, Difficult Delivery"

Kylie is finally here!! YAY! She arrived on April 13th 2010 at 8:27 pm (Western Australia Time). It was a bit sooner than we expected, but I can't say that I was disappointed about it. I'm glad to have her home and happy not to have to wait around and see when it's going to happen.

Monday the 12th I went in for my 38 week check-up. When I got there I had to tell my doctor that I had a headache that would not go away and had been there since the day before. I had protein in my urine and my blood pressure was up (again, this time 130/100), not too mention that my ankles looked like they were one with my calves! It was horrible! They decided to do blood work and observe me for an hour to see if my pressure went down. After an hour my pressure had not gotten any lower and my labs were not back yet. The doctor (my regular doctor was on holiday so her partner was filling in) gave me a choice. I could go ahead and be induced ( I would need to start the Prostin gel that night as my cervix was not quite ready) or I could simply be admitted for a day or two and see if my pressure returned to normal. After Jamie and I talked about it we decided that if I were going to be in the hospital, I might as well be induced while I was there. So, they admitted me on the spot.

I got the gel around 4:30 pm and by 5:30 pm I started having contractions. They didn't feel like much to start with, but the midwives (that's what they use as maternity nurses here) thought I was contracting enough that I didn't need the second dose. They were also concerned because they couldn't find a proper baseline for Kylie's heartbeat (she was very active, but I thought is was clearly around 150). Even with my assessment, they were concerned because her baseline earlier during observation, which was around lunch time, was about 120. Because of this, I was kept on the monitor until 1:30 am!! Every time I got comfortable the midwife would come in and tell me that it wasn't tracing and I needed to roll over. I was exhausted and couldn't get comfortable. Finally, one of the midwives from the birthing suites came to check on me and agreed that I didn't need to be on the monitor anymore. Thank God!  I knew it was going to be a long day and I really just wanted to get some sleep.

From there I only got about an hour of sleep before the uncomfortable contractions began. I was offered Panadol (which is like Tylenol) but it didn't do any good. I got 0 amount of sleep from that point on and at 7:00 am I was taken to the birthing suites to start my induction. So, by 7:30 am my water was broke and I was on Pitocin. What a great way to start the day!

Oh, I forgot to mention that during my exam the day before I was given a "heads up" that even though Kylie was not expected to be a big baby there were some concerns that she would not fit. The doctor thought that this may give us some "problems" about half way through and that I should just keep it in mind. (Many of you know that about a month ago I shared the news that I "had a gut feeling I would end up with a c-section" - here we go!)

I made it until 2:00 pm before getting my epidural. It worked great at first, but then I began to have problems. Here they do not use a continuous pump. It’s either patient controlled or given in bolus form every hour. I opted for the patient controlled form, thinking that it would be better because I wouldn't have to wait if the midwife was doing something else or out of the room. In the end, it didn't work like I had hoped! The epidural worked for me only about half the time. The rest of the time I was playing catch-up, which was not fun. During all this my blood pressure was all over the place (anywhere from 120/80's - 180/130 (as I was later told by Jamie). My pulse was also 120 while sleeping, but if I would move it would jump up to 150-180. I don't remember a whole lot toward the end of the afternoon, because I was so exhausted I was in and out so Jamie filled me in on the details later that night. I do remember him being by the bed most of the time, which really helped ! He was great and I couldn't have asked for a better labor partner!

The doctor came in and checked me sometime later that evening and I was 8. She said she thought I would make it to complete, but Kylie's head already had a lot of molding (she was getting a cone head) and she didn't think there was any way I would get her out on my own because of the space. So, we agreed to try with a vacuum first and if that didn't work after a few pushes we would go into a c-section.

Luckily, my first set of pushes brought her down pretty well and after 2-3 more sets using the vacuum our little girl arrived!! Not sure if I will ever do it again, but I must say I have no regrets about this one! She is absolutely perfect! She looks a lot like me and has Jamie’s olive skin tone and dark hair.

Here are some photos from our first week with Kylie!

I looked happy in the begining and the end, you just read all about the rest!

                       She's here!!                       

12 hours old and first bath

Cuddle time with daddy after bath and haning out on day 2

And day 3

Heading home!

Home life, it's as fun as we expected!  Check out the exhaustion on my face!!

Kylie is Born!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Kylie was born on April 13 at 8:27pm in Perth, Australia.  She weighed 6lbs 9oz and is 50cm (20in) long.  She is perfectly healthy and of course beautiful like her mother.  I have attached a photo of her at about 12 hours old in her Clemson Hat.  We will follow up with a more detailed blog when Erica returns from the hospital. 

I am very proud of both Erica and Kylie.  It was a long day for both of them and they both slept like rocks last night.  In the end, all of the trouble was well worth it although it will be a while before she is interested in doing it again!

Pregnancy Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago Jamie and I had a photographer come out to the house and take pictures.  I am happy to say that our photos are FINALLY finished!  We had a lot of fun taking them and are happy with the way they turned out.  She will also be coming out after Kylie is born to take some newborn photos as well.  Here are some of our favorites from the day.

     

Jamie had a long weekend off of work (due to Good Friday and Easter Monday) so we spent the 4 days hanging out and working on our list.  We were able to cross a bunch of things off and I can now say that I am ready for Kylie to join us, whenever she chooses too!

Monday was our 7 year wedding anniversary!  When we first noticed that Jamie would have a long weekend we thought about taking a trip somewhere close by that we could drive to.  Jamie then decided that it was too close to our due date and thought that we should just play it safe and maybe save the trip for a little later.  Even though we didn't do anything fancy it was still a great day!  7 years down, 70 + to go!