Josh & Kate

Smilie Kylie

2012-01-30T13:41:00.003-05:00

She was giving us huge smiles, of course not as big when we got the camera out. :P But still pretty cute.

7 weeks

2012-01-27T14:10:00.000-05:00

I had fully intended to do a 6 week post, but that was in the middle of the worst of her tummy troubles and I didn't have the heart. And a photo shoot would have mostly looked like this:

But now we have our easy baby back! Seriously, I think we have been blessed with an easy one.

At the doctor yesterday she was 9lbs 9oz and 22in. I think she is perfectly normal - not very skinny or chunky. I had to put away 3 more newborn outfits yesterday. We currently have 2 newborn and 2 0-3 outfits that fit perfectly.

The night after we had given her formula for 24 hours, I fed her at 9:30pm and woke her up at 6:30am! She then slept all day. Poor thing had been exhausted.

Since then (for the past week) she has mostly slept through the night. From 3:30am - 5:30am she grunts and squeaks, and then gets hungry and cries at 5:30 (exactly those times, every morning). Wednesday night I put her in the crib for the first time with the monitor, but still couldn't sleep through the two hours of grunting. So last night we did the crib with no monitor and she woke us up at 5:30. So right now she goes from 9:30 - 5:30 and my goal for the next two weeks is to get her to go from 9-6 so I can get 8 hours of sleep (since the feeding and getting ready for bed process takes about an hour). And yes, I do realize how fortunate I am to be talking about getting 8 hours of sleep with a 7 week old. I can't take any credit - she's been a great sleeper from the start.

But before I work on her going 9 hours at night we are working on naps. We started out doing the Babywise thing, but with her tummy troubles everything went out the window. Plus formula changes everything. I was stressed at first about figuring out a new schedule, but I'm very happy with where we've landed. She still eats every three hours during the day (except the first cycle is 4, which will hopefully change if she goes 9 hours at night) but the new timing is even better for church, piano lessons and our dinner!

The Babywise plan is eat - wake - sleep - repeat. But I THINK I've decided that we prefer eat - wake - sleep - wake - repeat. I put her down for a nap right when she starts getting sleepy instead of trying to keep her up longer, and she almost never cries when I put her in her crib. I like that she doesn't expect to eat right when she wakes up. And I don't know if it's in my head, but it seems like she eats more and her reflux isn't as bad if she's not eating right when she wakes up.

So ideally, our cycle would be eat - wake time for 1 hour (including eating) - nap time for 1.5 hours - wake time for .5 hours. But, she had only been sleeping for 30 or 45 minutes. I was pretty sure it was the reflux because she sleeps great in her car seat. Propping the mattress didn't work, so today I've been putting her on her belly and just swaddling her lower body. So far she's slept 1.5 and 2 hours. I know it's not kosher, but I also know most of you have done it. :P I will still put her on her back in the Halo at night.

She is such a happy baby. She's content wherever I put her. I've been trying to be more purposeful about putting her on the floor to let her stretch and roll around. On Sunday I saw her roll up on her left side for the first time and now she does it every time. She is kind of lazy with tummy time. She doesn't protest it, but she usually finds her fist with her mouth and then that's all she cares about. But she seems to be doing well with her neck strength when I hold her.

She does have her tiny little cranky time, between the 6:30 and 9:30pm feedings. Which is a bummer because that's when Josh is home, but I know it's typical. I just plan on holding her or putting her in the carrier during that time. She has yet to cry while in the carrier! I'm hoping that she might be a little happier if she starts napping better, because it's obvious that she's overly tired.

She will suck or eat anything I put in her mouth. She's never protested the formula and I give it to her straight from the fridge. She gets maaaaaaaad when I take it away to burp her and I think it's a little hilarious :) Her little arms flail all over and she does does this drawn out mmmmmmmaaaaaa cry.

She definitely smiles now, particularly when I'm changing her diaper right after feeding her. Of course she never does it when I'm trying to video her.

Her reflux gets a little better every day. I'm getting better at getting her to swallow all of the Zantac. I keep her upright in my lap for at least 15 minutes after she eats and I burp her A LOT. Once before she eats, about every .75oz when she eats, once after she eats, once after I've held her upright for 15 and changed her diaper, anytime I move her around while she's awake, and before I put her down for a nap. She usually gives me a good one every time! While she eats I don't even have to pat her back - just sit her up. And the other times I just put her on my shoulder and give her a few pats.

So that's our easy happy gorgeous baby at 7 weeks! (seriously, is she not the prettiest baby ever? She doesn't even have any bald spots - yet) The next update will be 2 months - wow!

Favorite Baby Stuff

2012-01-25T15:26:00.000-05:00

In all my 6 weeks of experience, these are my favorite baby things so far! I'm pretty proud of myself that I already had pictures of all these things...

Fisher-Price - My Little Snugabunny Cradle 'n Swing
This swing is crazy expensive, but it's the BEST. Mostly we tried to be reasonable and not get top of the line things, but we love this swing. It's so cozy. It plugs in and has batteries, it swings multiple ways, it can lie flat or sit up, and it's pretty :) She LOVES to watch the birds.

Velcro Swaddlers
We use a fleece Halo swaddler every night, and I was using cotton Swaddlemes during the day before she grew out of them. It's soo much easier than messing with a blanket.

Sleep and Plays with cuffs
She pretty much only wears sleep and plays right now. They're just easier than messing with pants or dresses. She only has 2 with cuffs and they were great the first two weeks when she was cold all the time. Trying to keep mittens on is a pain! I also thought I would prefer fleece ones, but she does get too hot. It's better to have cotton ones and just layer her with blankets.

Hats and Mittens from the hospital
The nurse threw them in my bag and I wouldn't have thought we'd want them - but they stay on better than anything we had! When she was so cold and had to sleep with a hat I always used the hospital ones. Take anything the hospital will give you! My friend even went home with some receiving blankets.

Front Carrier
I know some people swear by the Moby Wrap or a sling, but I haven't tried either so I can't say. But we love our carrier - I use it everyday. Definitely get something to carry your baby in. I don't know how I'd grocery shop without it and it's great for when she's having reflux. Sometimes I even sit down with her in it just so she can be held upright. Ours is the Infantino one you can get at Walmart or Target. I will say that my back gets tired and the lumbar support strap does nothing. Maybe a wrap or more expensive carrier would be better for that. And I think a sling would be faster and more convenient for errands. But I like that Josh can use the carrier too - I've never seen a man wearing a wrap or a sling.

Fleece Blankets
This is something I would have never thought of, but I got a number for showers and I use them all the time. It's so much easier to throw a blanket over a baby than to worry about bundling her up. And they're a cozy spit up catcher to throw over the swing or Boppy. And they're great for when she has to sit around naked at the doctor's office.

The Boppy
Everyone already knows the Boppy is a must-have. I actually didn't use it much for nursing, but I lay her in it a lot. She even takes naps in it on the sanctuary floor when we're practicing music at church. I do wonder if they make water proof covers for them. I always put a towel or blanket over it.

Bibs
I specifically love these Green Sprouts bibs my mom bought. They are solid colored - so they match and don't say something strange. They are huge and have the waterproof inside. She also got these ones with a special milk absorbing neck. Though I do also like just cotton bibs for her to wear between feedings.

Dog gate
We don't have stairs, so I didn't register for a child gate, but we got one for the dog her first week home. Even the nicest dog can accidentally step on a baby playing on the floor. Plus you can never really trust an animal.

Pampers Swaddlers
I did not want to be a diaper snob, but they really are superior in snug fit and absorbancy. The only time she leaked out of one was when she was growing out of newborns. Parents Choice have leaked up the back and Huggies leaked out the legs. I don't know if I'd spend the money myself (we haven't had to buy diapers yet - thank you everyone) but I would definitely get them for other people.

These are the things I don't like/use as much as I thought I would:

Two piece outfits or gowns - Have I said I love sleep and plays? No messing with socks, no over the head change, and no weird bunching when you hold her. I think two piece outfits are so cute... on other people's babies ;)

Onesies - I don't put onesies under her sleep and plays. Again, I'm all about the easy change, and I'd rather just put a blanket on her if she gets cold.

Fleece Sleepers - These were great the first two weeks, but now she gets too hot in them. I think I will like them again when she grows out of being swaddled.

Hats and Bows - You cannot really understand this unless you live in the South, but every girl baby wears a bow to church. I love hats, but (if you're noticing a theme) I don't like messing with them. I think I might do more hats and bows when she's sitting up and not rubbing them off.

Changing pad cover - This went away pretty quickly because she pees or spits up so often when I change her. It would help absorb the pee and keep it from flowing up into her hair... babies are messy :) It might return when she grows out of spitting up. I do have friends that don't use their changing table at all and just keep diapers and wipes in their living room. Right now I like using our little station, but I'm guessing that changes when you have more kids.

Baby bath - the sling was nice before her cord fell off, but now we use the big tub so she can lie flat. I might try the bath again when she's sitting up so I don't have to fill up the tub or worry about her hitting her head.

Our Switch to Formula

2012-01-21T16:11:00.000-05:00

If you read my previous post, you know I was having a lot of trouble with breastfeeding. But we were determined to keep going, especially through the first 6 weeks (I kept hearing that 6 weeks was the time when it gets easier). But it turned out that Kylie herself became the reason to quit breastfeeding.

Kylie's first week home, she had the most perfect digestive system. She pooped everytime she ate and never spit up. Then after she spit up my blood, things started to change. (I'm sure the timing was a coincidence)

She started grunting and straining a lot and just pooping tiny bits all day long. At her two week appointment the pediatrician said it was normal - she was just learning how to poop.

When she was 3 weeks old she had started gagging and choking when we laid her flat, spitting up some, having at least one large (out the nose) spit up a day, and crying instead of just grunting with the gas. She also almost always had some diaper rash from what I'm going to call diarrhea.

At first I thought I found the answer by eliminating ALL sources of dairy protein. But then she started getting worse. I tried eliminating peanuts, tomatoes, citrus fruits, onions and garlic. And I already don't eat broccoli or cauliflower. I tried eliminating soy for 2 days and got frustrated.

This past Sunday (5 weeks 3 days old) she developed the worst diaper rash and spent hours crying on the couch with her naked butt up in the air, leaking liquid every 10 minutes.

Monday and Tuesday she pretty much screamed all the time. The only way I could get her comfortable was to put her on her belly over my knees or put her in the carrier. And she could fall asleep in the car. I was a mess. It was torture to watch her be in pain all the time. Somehow she kept sleeping well at night... maybe because she was so exhausted? But she did not nap during the day unless it was on my lap.

I finally decided that I could not find the answer by myself with my experimenting, so on Wednesday (5 weeks, 6 days old) we went to the pediatrician. I was SO scared that she was going to say it's just the mysterious colic and we just have to live with it. But she was very proactive. She gave us a prescription for Zantac and a sample of Similac Alimentum to try for 3 days. She said that she did not want to tell me to quit breastfeeding, but if it was this difficult for both of us I might want to consider it. (I think it was actually over for me that second. I had a reason to quit that wasn't just about me). I was wary about the Zantac until I read this post from Chronicles of a Babywise Mom.

It has been 3 days and we have a completely different baby. She still has a lot of reflux, and it upsets her, but nothing like the gas. She has been sleeping SO MUCH. The poor thing must have been so tired the past 3 weeks.

So now it's decision time. It's obviously something in my milk that's bothering her. Do I continue to eliminate soy, wheat, gluten, eggs, etc. until we figure it out? We decided that it's not worth it for us to go through all that effort and just be stabbing in the dark (I say "for us" because I know there are people who have done it and I give them huge credit).

So as of last night, Kylie is a formula baby. It does pain me to say that. But I am focusing on the positives and today I had a milkshake to celebrate.

It feels a little bit like starting over - all my research about feeding and sleeping was about breastfed babies. Feel free to comment with insight!

Breastfeeding

2012-01-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

This post has been 6 weeks in coming. But I wanted to write it when everything was resolved, because I knew in hindsight I would be more reasonable and less emotional.

When I was pregnant and someone asked me what I was most nervous about, I always said breastfeeding. Can you say self-fulfilling prophecy? I was nervous because I knew it was something you can easily do wrong, and I know people who were unable to breastfeed for one reason or another.

But even though I was already nervous, I was NOT mentally prepared for it. I thought "some" people have problems. Now I find out that most women I know cried through the first few weeks, or had mastitis, or had supply issues, or had to pump for a few days to give themselves a break, or or or. The books all say that if you're doing everything right, it won't hurt and you won't have supply issues. I am no longer convinced that's true. How can SO many women have problems? And how can women on their third or fourth kid suddenly have awful pain or bleeding cracks? And why does no one talk about this?

If you are not a mom yet and reading this, I don't want to scare you, but there are things I wish I knew.

1. Just because it hurts that does not mean you're doing it wrong. BUT definitely get help right away, just in case you are doing something wrong or there is something physically wrong.
2. Ask to see a lactation consultant BEFORE you leave the hospital. I cannot stress this enough. Even if you think you are doing everything right. The pain might not show up for a few days.
3. If you have problems, try everything. Lanolin, shells, shields, neosporin, pumping... it seems like something different works for everyone.

Alright, on to my story...

I wasn't SUPER excited about breastfeeding... I thought it was a little weird and icky, but I definitely was sold on all the benefits for mom and baby. The night Kylie was born we tried nursing, but she wasn't interested. Totally fine. When they brought her to my recovery room we tried again. It took a little bit to get her to open her mouth and they called in another nurse to help, but we were probably latched in less than 15 minutes. The nurse said, "See those dimples - that's a good thing." I was pretty sure I had read that dimples were not a good thing, but I didn't say anything. But sure enough, when I pulled her off there was a sore spot. They left me alone to do the other side and it went much better. She was burping, happy, and spitting up some and it seemed like everything was going fine. I thought I was in more pain than I should have been, and I told the nurses that a couple times. One offered to watch us, but she was never able to come at the right time. So no one ever watched me nurse while we were in the hospital (BIGGEST THING I WOULD CHANGE).

By the time we went home, I was already developing cracks and more pain. Before she was a week old, I had BAD cracks and a LOT of pain. It was horrible. I was so emotional and stressed out about it and I felt like I couldn't bond with her and I DREADED nursing her. When we went for her one week appointment I asked the pediatrician (on base) about seeing a lactation consultant. He told me I would have to talk to referral management. I planned on seeing how things went over the weekend and doing that on Monday. I had started using a shield and thought maybe that was helping.

When she was 8 days old, on a Friday night at 9pm she threw up blood. A lot of blood. It was terrifying... she hadn't even spit up since we brought her home. We knew it could be my blood, but as our new pediatrician later said, when an 8 day old baby spits up blood, you go to the ER. That night when we were in the ER, I started having a burning pain in the sides of my breasts and under my arms. I thought maybe it was muscular because I had started using the football hold to maybe help the cracks heal. At this point it looked like half my left nipple was gone and it was just raw.

Now I'm really freaking out. The ER doc said I could still feed her with the blood, but I was not comfortable with that. I decided to pump for a few days, so that I could see if there was blood and maybe give my nipples a chance to heal (I never have seen blood come out when I pump). Pumping also completely stressed me out. It was emotionally difficult and incredibly time consuming, and I was very nervous about my milk supply. It took me an hour and 15 minutes to feed her, pump, and wash everything. That's 10 hours a day. I was drained (no pun intended).

Saturday morning (9 days old) I called the hospital to ask about seeing a lactation consultant. They said I could only see her through one pediatrician's office in town. I called that office and they said I could only see her if we went to that pediatrician. And apparently she's the only one in town?

Monday morning (11 days old) I woke up feeling very nauseated, with a hard red section on my left breast. I knew to watch for mastitis because of my cracks, so I thought that's what it was. We rushed off to the OB and it turned out I was just engorged. Meanwhile, a nurse friend who knew the lactation consultant called her for me and I was able to speak to her on the phone. She said that it sounded like I was doing everything right, and I should stop using Lanolin and start using neosporin and just give it time. That Monday ended up being my lowest point. I got sicker throughout the day and ended up unable to eat, shaking uncontrollably, with a 101 fever. The OB suggested I pump and feed her simultaneously to fix the engorgement. Josh helped me do it once, but the next time I just couldn't do it. I stared at her little face in my lap but just couldn't work up the courage to go through the pain. So I just kept pumping. That night a friend (a mom-type friend who had nursed 4 kids and helped her daughter through nursing issues) came and brought dinner. I felt like I had to explain my appearance, so I told her everything that was going on. She offered to watch me nurse, but I only lasted about 2 minutes. But she thought we were latching OK.

The next day I was feeling better and went back to using the shield. I called referral management, as the pediatrician suggested, and they said a lactation consultant was an educational thing and Tricare doesn't cover it. At her two week appointment and ER follow-up we saw a different pediatrician (who we have now switched to be our primary). She was genuinely concerned about my issues and said that while they did not have a lactation consultant, the base did have a new parent support program with nurses who could help me. I called one of them and have talked with her many times since. Turns out it's a super small world - her kids went to Cedarville, I went to high school with her son-in-law, and her parents go to the church I grew up in and were good friends with my parents! She came over and watched us nurse with the shield and thought we were doing fine.

Over the next few weeks, everything just got worse - the sharp pain while nursing, the cracks, the burning pain in my sides. I did a mixture of the shield, pumping, and regular nursing. I would fight so hard with her to get her to open big. I felt like every nursing session was a frustrating painful battle. I just kept waiting, everyone said just give it time!

When she was 4 weeks old, the burning pain in the sides of my breasts and under my arms was bad enough that I was having a hard time going to sleep. My internet research said it was either my ducts refilling or thrush. I fit a lot of the symptoms of thrush, but Kylie had no white spots in her mouth. The next day I realized I had a vaginal yeast infection, so I became convinced it was thrush. I called the nurse (at home!) from the new parent support program and she agreed that the symptoms sounded like thrush. So Saturday morning (4 weeks, 2 days old) I went to Urgent Care (Murphy's law that these things happen on the weekend). They said it was mastitis, plus a vaginal yeast infection, plus a UTI. I went home with an anti fungal and two antibiotics. I was still convinced it was thrush - I had no fever, red spots, hardness, or any symptom of mastitis except pain. But I was glad they gave me an oral anti fungal, because that might help if it was thrush.

The night before I went to Urgent Care there had been blood dripping out of my shield. So I was pumping for a few days again. I boiled all of my pump parts and the bottles and her binkies every time we used them just in case it was thrush.

8 days later (5 weeks 3 days old) my cracks were starting to heal and my burning pain was lessening. But my ears started to itch, then my eyes, then my shoulders... I was having an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics. I did not want to go to Urgent Care/ER again, so I waited two days (Murphy's law about the weekend again) until I could get to my doctor. By the time I had my appointment I had hot itchy red bumps all over my body. They put me on a steroid and a new antibiotic, since I was still having some breast pain. I went home that night feeling like breastfeeding was sucking the life out of me (no pun intended, again).

The night of the rash Josh and I discussed for the first time in 5 weeks the possibility of me quitting. We decided that I should not quit just because it was hard. Because I tend to be a quitter and this was a growing opportunity. Plus, none of my issues were permanent and it had to get better eventually. Plus we did not want to pay for formula.

And now we are at today (6 weeks 2 days old). I am still finishing the steroid and new antibiotic. My cracks look much better and the burning pain in my sides is just about gone. I still have constant burning pain in my nipples and sharp pain when I pump. And I have a new pain that feels like there is a needle sticking in my right nipple 24/7. But all of this is liveable. The irony is, now that I'm getting better we have decided to give up breastfeeding because of Kylie's tummy troubles. (that will be my next post)

I'm sure that someday I would have grown to love nursing, just like everyone says. And I do feel like I'm depriving her of some emotional comfort. When I would nurse her without the shield, her eyes would get so big and it breaks my heart to think about that. Actually I'm going to try to never think about that again.

I know there will be times when I'll be embarrassed to say I don't breastfeed. But I am so grateful that my family and friends have made it a point to be supportive. I know that while I will receive judgement from strangers and acquaintances, I will not receive judgement from those close to me.

I still don't know what really happened. I never had a revelation of "oh this is what we've been doing wrong." I'm still kind of convinced I had thrush from the beginning and that's why my cracks wouldn't heal.

So that's my story. And I will add to my 3 points of advice from the beginning - do persevere. I'm glad I made it to the magical 6 week mark when everyone said it would get better. Life would have been easier if I quit weeks ago, but I would always wonder what if I hadn't.

Dairy Free and Soy Free?

2012-01-13T18:31:00.001-05:00

For the next two weeks I'm going dairy free and soy free to see if it will help with Kylie's tummy troubles. It's a little intimidating! I'm going to need to keep track of what I eat and how she reacts, so I might as well do it on here!

Today was a bust because I ate peanut butter for lunch without thinking. She is currently struggling with gas for the first time today, which makes sense with the timing.

Our first week home, her little digestive system was perfect. She never spit up - I didn't even use a burp cloth. She had a BM during every feeding. She had no problems with gas. Then around week 2 she started spitting up... normal. But then at night she was making choking noises and then swallowing and crying. And then she started having large spit ups out her nose with crying. And then she started having gas and tiny BMs all day with crying. I tried propping her bassinet mattress and that helped a little. I also started giving her Mylicon after every feeding (and still do) but I didn't notice a difference. Then she started having a hard time napping with the gas pain.

All of this could still be just her digestive system adjusting, but if there's something I can do I want to try!

We first suspected dairy when Josh's parents were here (3 weeks old). We realized that she was always having a large spit up in the late morning, and we thought maybe my morning bowl of cereal was to blame.

I first just eliminated the obvious sources of dairy (milk, cheese). The spitting up improved but the gas did not. After reading more about it and a bad morning following some granola bars, I decided I needed to eliminate all dairy protein (in bread, granola bars, margerine...) to do an accurate test. And after reading even more and a bad night following some edamame, I decided I also needed to eliminate soy to do an accurate test.

Eliminating dairy was bad, but eliminating soy is slightly horrifying. Vegetable oil is in EVERYTHING including... peanut butter. I have a PB sandwich almost every day for lunch.

So, basically I'm doing whole foods. And dry cereal! A lot of cereal has neither dairy or soy! There's a ton of info about eating dairy free... I particularly appreciate godairyfree.org. But no vegetable oil? I have no idea how I could eat out!

I'm going to give it two weeks... starting tomorrow. If it seems to be working I might test the soy, but I probably won't test the dairy again until she is 3 months. Meanwhile, I don't think I'm going to have any trouble losing the pregnancy weight. I've never done well with diets, but this is the strongest motivation I've ever had!

Baby Carrier

2012-01-11T10:56:00.000-05:00

We tried out our baby carrier for the first time on Monday and it was great! I was afraid she wouldn't like having her arms and legs hanging out lose, but she mostly kept her arms tucked in.

She slept the entire time we were in the grocery store. Yesterday I managed to get her in and out by myself (while kneeling on the bed, juuuuust in case) and it was perfect for warming her up after her bath. When not sleeping she puts her head back and stares at me.

1 month

2012-01-09T15:48:00.000-05:00

Kylie was 1 month old yesterday!

According to our home scale, she is about 9 lbs. She's in 1 diapers and kind of in between newborn and 0-3 clothes.

She nurses 8 times a day, and goes for 4 hours between feedings two times overnight. When we give her a bottle she drinks 2-4oz. She usually takes two 45 min naps in the morning and sleeps a lot in the afternoon and evening.

On her one month birthday we stayed home from morning church due to some issues I was having, she went to the nursery for evening church for the first time while Josh and I did music, and we cheered on the Steelers who lost the wild card game to Tim Tebow.

In the past week and a half she met her other grandparents...

had some good tummy time...

celebrated Daddy's birthday by wearing her first headband bow...

and thanks to suggestions from the Grandmas, took her first bath without crying (I put her in the regular tub so she could be submerged, put a towel under her in the tub, kept a warm wet washcloth covering her and used an actual baby towel. I'm still trying to figure out how to go from tub to towel without scaring her or getting me soaking wet)

a few days later she even fell asleep in the tub!

We're still trying to figure out if she's a spitter... she had a week with a lot of big ones, but she's barely spit up the past few days. She's having a lot of trouble with gas pain, but we're thinking (hoping!) that dairy is the culprit. I'm on antibiotics now, which I understand can also bother her stomach, so it will probably take us a few weeks to figure it out.

She's looking at us more. I love it when I give her a bottle and she watches me the whole time. She also likes to GRAB at me or the bottle (which ever one is feeding her).

She still loves her swing and binkie, and now that she's a little longer she loves laying in the boppy and stretching her arms and legs.

I use the Swaddleme for naps and fleece Halo swaddler for night. We don't use the binkie to sleep unless she's having bad gas pains. She's had a few rough nights and Daddy stayed up with her and let me sleep. But for the most part she goes down no problem!

I haven't seen any hair loss yet! Maybe she'll keep it! She did get cradle cap and baby acne, so she's a bit of a hot mess at the moment :) But we still think she's pretty cute.

Happy Birthday Josh

2012-01-07T18:43:00.001-05:00

Since I didn't made a Christmas turkey dinner, we had one for Josh's birthday. This time I used vegetable oil and no foil. Unlike my Thanksgiving turkey, the skin was PERFECT, but the meat was dry :( Someday I'll find the happy medium!

I think Josh always goes on a diet before his birthday, but he let me make a cake to take with him to work. I never did post about my cake decorating class, but this is definitely an improvement over my last cake! But yes, the colors are that bad. I didn't have the time/patience to get them right.

Because themes are fun, I put Kylie in her new PINK Steelers outfit. I have a pink jersey that I could not find :( But we'll have to take a picture before she grows out of this outfit!

And since I didn't get this posted last week, I've now opened myself up to all you Steeler haters/Tebow lovers. This is what Kylie has to say about that:

Actually, this is what she really thinks about football

Baby Faces

2012-01-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

I love these happy pictures of her playing on Grandma's lap

Kylie, you're so pretty

"hee hee I know"

"yay me!"

"alright, now I'm embarrassed"

Being very patient waiting to eat...

hungry bird

Kylie's Birth Story

2011-12-29T15:14:00.000-05:00

It's taken me a week to write this! And it's super long. Michelle, since we still haven't talked I know you'll be at least one person who will read the whole thing ;)

It's probably pretty obvious, but this post may be TMI for some people. But I really appreciated reading similar posts from my friends before I had a baby, so I'm writing one.

I do wish I had written this post in the hospital because I'm already forgetting some things, but I guess it was more important that I slept.

Some background info: We didn't make a birth plan, because we really didn't have strong opinions about a lot of things. I knew that I would love to have an epidural. However, because I have spinal fusion in my lower back I knew it would be unlikely that an anesthesiologist would even try. I also knew that I didn't want to be induced without an epidural, because everyone tells me that induced labor is much more painful. I was open to IV drugs, but skeptical about them working and concerned about how they would affect me and if they would be worth it.

On to the story...

So since I was scared to be induced, when I hit 40 weeks by my period due date (on the 1st) I started to get antsy. I did not like finding the balance between not wanting to be induced and not endangering the baby by waiting too long. But I was pretty much ok with letting my doctor make that decision. I had an appointment on the 5th (the day before my ultrasound due date) and I was still just 50% effaced and not dilated. So my doctor made an appointment for a non stress test (monitoring the baby's heart rate for an hour) on the 8th, which eased some of my worry. I'm pretty sure I lost my mucous plug when she examined me. I didn't see it until after she left the room, so I couldn't ask her about it, but it looked exactly like I've read it described.

All that evening and the next day, I just felt different. My stomach was tight all the time and I had a lot of brown discharge. We were pretty sure it was happening soon, but also didn't want to get our hopes up. The next day (the 7th) I really felt different. I was having a lot more contractions than usual and started having some watery discharge [MISTAKE - It occured to me that the watery discharge could be my water leaking, but I did not call my doctor. This was not smart, I didn't know the risks in having your water leak for a long period of time]. We were pretty sure it was going to happen that night, so Josh went to bed early. I couldn’t sleep because of reflux (with the earlier bedtime I had eaten too close to lying down - SO glad those days are over!). So I sat in the recliner and cried my eyes out to the Biggest Loser (that show kills me), while writing down my contractions. They were almost exactly 7 minutes apart between 10 and 11pm. I started to really think this is for real, but it could still be a while before I needed to go to the hospital. So I decided to try again to get some sleep. My contractions still weren't that painful, and I figured they would wake me up when things really got going. But when I used the bathroom, I found that my discharge has turned to pink. I thought this might be normal, but I wasn't sure so I decided to stay awake and keep an eye on that.

Now I really wasn't sure what to do. Do I wake Josh up? Do I pack and shower? I watched some more TV online, tried to sleep again, and then I decided to pack and shower and still time my contractions. By the time I was out of the shower they were 5 minutes apart but still not very painful. I still wasn't sure what to do. I had tested negative for Strep B, and I thought I couldn't have an epidural, so there was no reason to rush to the hospital. But I started having a lot of blood coming out and I really didn't know if that was normal, so I just decided to go.

I woke Josh up around 2:30am and he was soooo out of it. I told him he had plenty of time to shower if he wanted - he said "no that's ok" and got in the shower. I checked my packing list about 10 times, paced around the house while he got ready, got my towel and garbage bag to sit on in the car and off we went!

By the time we got in the car I started having some pain in my right hip with each contraction, but no pain in my abdomen. We got to the emergency room, I said "hi, I'm in labor" and everything gets a little blurry after that!

By the time I got to a room it was about 4am. I told them about the clear discharge and they did a test. Sure enough, it was amniotic fluid, but they felt my belly and said I must not be leaking very much. I think this was the point that Josh called my parents. We didn't want to wake them up until we were sure, and we didn't think it was necessary to wake anyone else up in the middle of the night.

My first nurse was not particularly talkative or informative. She came in and told me that they would start Pitocin at 6am. I asked why?? (remember - I was scared about induced labor) She just told me that's what the doctor said and couldn't tell me any more than that. By the time they started the Pitocin, my contractions had slowed way down (I thought I was just sleeping through them!). I was only 1cm, and I wonder if I hadn't been leaking if they would have just sent me home. Thankfully there was a shift change, and the nurse I had during the day (and most of my labor) was great. She answered all of my questions, but didn't put up with my "I can'ts" :). She explained that since my water had been leaking for so long the baby had to come out TODAY and that's why they were doing Pitocin.

Now I'm very fuzzy on the timeline for the rest of the day. They kept changing the Pitocin because the baby was not handling it well. Eventually they stopped it, I think around the time I got my epidural. When they stopped the Pitocin I thought for sure I would end up with a C-section. But my body got into gear - maybe the epidural helped relax me?

That's right... I said when I got my epidural! I asked to see the anesthesiologist right when I came in, and I think she came in around 8. She was so great. She was very blunt with us - she was willing to try the epidural, but half the time with fusion patients she can't get it in. And even if she can get it in, most of the time it doesn't work or is spotty. I was just excited that she was willing to try! Right when she came in, I started to get very nauseous and a little panicky. She suggested I take some Zofran (for the nausea) and IV pain meds to calm me down for the epidural. After she conferred with my OB and came back in, she pretty much told us that she would not give me the epidural unless I took something to calm me down. As I said before, I didn't have very strong opinions, and I was pretty much willing to do what the doctors suggested.

The IV drugs affected me exactly how I had feared. They did not do much for the pain, but they made me groggy, confused and whiny. I was SO out of it when she put the epidural in. It took her a long time, and at one point I heard her tell the nurse that she didn't think she could do it. But I was too confused to care - I was just frustrated trying to understand what the nurse was telling me to do with my feet and arms. I realized later that I never opened my eyes the entire time she was talking to me! WHY do people do narcotics for fun, ugh.

While she was putting in the epidural, the woman next door to us was screaming her head off! In my confused state I just thought it was funny, but Josh was begging God for my epidural to work :) And it did! It was so amazing... I felt NOTHING but could still move my legs. I was ecstatic. I told everyone who came in and asked how I was doing... my epidural worked! The anesthesiologist told me that she wanted me to feel no pain, and I took her up on that. I went through two bags and 4 of the extra syringe things. She came to check on me regularly, and made sure I was ok before she went into 2 C-sections. I could move my legs until the 4th extra syringe. I am SO grateful! I know women have been doing this with no meds for all of time, but I was so glad I didn't have to. I was only 3cm when I got my epidural, so I still don't really know what labor feels like!

My water did finally end up breaking on its own... I can't remember if it was before or after the epidural, but it was one of the times the nurse was checking me. I'm thinking it was before, because I definitely felt the pop! It was green, so we knew early on that there was meconium in there. After I got my epidural, I suddenly felt a flood and looked down to see a lot of yellow fluid. I called the nurses station and told them my cathedar had fallen out! Turns out it was just more amniotic fluid. It happened again a little later... I heard something dripping and there was a yellow puddle on the floor. Labor is gross :)

I think I slept a lot after the epidural because the rest of the day went by pretty fast. I was still expecting a C-section, but it seemed like I got to 8cm in a pretty short time. And then I was stuck. The doc kept coming in, the nurses kept checking me, and it was just 8. We hit the 7:00 shift change and I was sad to lose the nurse I'd had all day.

By 8pm I was still not completely dilated, but they decided to push anyway. They kept saying something about a lip that they could push around her head. The pushing did not go so well. I started getting very nauseated right before we started to push, and as I said - it makes me panic. I felt like I had NO idea what I was doing. They kept saying push toward the ceiling and I did not know what that meant. I was also stressed because they wanted me to tell them when it was time to push, and with the epidural I could barely feel my stomach tightening and was never really sure. They told me I was doing a good job - but I'm sure they tell everyone that. I was just confused. At one point they tried the tug of war thing. All I could think about was that my arms were too weak to hold onto the towel and I was going to let go and make the nurse fall on the floor.

About an hour into the pushing, the doctor said something about the cord being around her neck. I'm not sure if they had suspected that the whole time I was in labor or not - but it seemed that was why she was having a hard time coming out. She wasn't handling the pushing well, so they had me on oxygen between pushes. I was a total baby about that, because breathing in my own hot air made me way more nauseated. Josh ended up just holding the mask a few inches from my face.

About an hour and a half into pushing I lost it. My body seemed to be shutting down. I was incredibly nauseous and throwing up in my mouth, my face was on fire (they kept taking my temp but I never had a fever), I had gotten congested and was coughing through the pushing and I was shaking uncontrollably. But still felt very little pain! I was really starting to feel like I must be doing something wrong and I couldn't follow all of their instructions. A few tears came out and then I just couldn't stop them. I kept telling the nurses I was fine, I understood that the baby was fine, I wasn't scared, etc. Thankfully Josh knows that the flood of tears just happens sometimes and he ignored them. I kept crying and shaking like that until about 15 minutes after she was born.

After 2 hours of pushing, Josh says something suddenly changed - the doctor decided she had to come out NOW. We've never asked what happened. But suddenly there were about 8 people in the room, the doctor pulled out a suction (she called it a kiwi) and in 2 pushes she was out. I was too tired to understand what was going on or to be scared. I remember hearing her cough and knowing that was a good thing. The doctor said something about 2 necklaces and the nurses were talking about her hair and long legs. Right when she came out I did have the presence of mind to tell Josh to get the camera, so he captured the craziness.

I remember hearing her scream, but once they swaddled her and handed her to Josh she was quiet. Once I had stopped shaking and the doctor was done working on me, Josh handed her over. It was the most surreal moment. I couldn't believe how cute she was. I expected her to be purple and pruny!

We tried to nurse but she wasn't interested. Then they whisked her away for a blood test (because of the meconium) and whatever else they needed to do.

Those 15 minutes after she was born were probably the most confusing, overwhelming and emotional minutes of my life. Hearing my baby cry, watching my husband hold her, feeling the doctor sewing me, shaking and crying... it was really crazy and I felt completely helpless.

It seemed like the doctor was sewing me for a long time, so I asked how bad my tearing was. She said "third degree." I thought it was like burns... first is the worst. Nope, it's the opposite. When I got to the recovery room and a nurse came in to check my stitches she said "are you the one with the third degree tear that went all the way?" I said, "I don't know, am I???" I thought because of the long time pushing my tearing might not be too bad, but I guess because of the suction in the end I tore quite a bit. But it doesn't bother me too much now, so it definitely wasn't as bad as some people!

After they took her away, Josh brought me a Sierra Mist and it tasted and felt so good in my stomach. I could have drank 3 of them! Because of the time my only option for food was a box lunch. I was still feeling pretty icky, but I knew that I would feel better if I ate, so I finished every bit of it. It seemed like in no time at all my epidural had worn off, they were helping me use the restroom, and I was wheeled into the recovery room. I laid on my back for the first time in months and slept like a rock!

It all didn't seem real until they brought her back to me a few hours later. They helped me get started nursing and then left us alone. That is the time I will really remember.

And I have to add that Josh was great. Some of you know that he has a lot of anxiety about hospitals and we really weren't sure how he would do. I had some friends who would have come if we needed them. (I don't know if there's anything else that makes him anxious... maybe my driving? :) ) He said he was uncomfortable for the first few hours but got over it. I think he was even able to sleep a little bit. While I was pushing they had him hold my head up and hold the oxygen. No one was pushy about making him look or cut the cord. The doc just said "ooo I get to do one!" He's also not a baby person, so it's been so sweet/funny for me to watch him with her. You'd think he'd been taking care of newborns for years.

And that is how Kylie came to be! What a crazy terrifying awesome thing childbirth is!

Three Weeks

2011-12-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

The past three weeks have been both incredibly long and incredibly short. Having a baby is really something that cannot be described!

It's still so crazy to me how everything changes daily. I think I have her figured out, and then it's all different! One thing that has stayed pretty much the same is our schedule. The Babywise plan is still going pretty well. Before she was born, I had an ideal schedule in my head- knowing it probably wouldn't work. But she's fit into it well!

I believe she's started having reflux this week and its been pretty upsetting for both of us. I hate seeing her so uncomfortable and she's having a hard time falling asleep at night. She doesn't have a doctors appointment before two months, but I'm debating taking her in earlier to see if they have any suggestions. So far I'm burping her more, keeping her upright after she eats (except at night), propping the mattress in her bassinet, and we just bought some gas drops. So far the only thing that helps is the binky... but popping the binky back in her mouth until she falls asleep at night is not exactly ideal! And lets just say I'm doing a LOT of laundry.

With it being Christmas we had a lot of outings this week! On Christmas Eve we went to church and a party. She wore the sweater that Josh's mom made for her.

Christmas Day we went to church and another party! She wore the outfit my mom bought for her.

Monday was Josh's last day off and we went shopping in Columbia. This was before the spitting up had gotten bad and she was super easy! She didn't cry until we got home and it was time for dinner.

She's getting better about napping in her crib, and I think I've decided that swaddling is best.

She still loves her swing, and sometimes before her bedtime feeding she naps on Daddy.

I'm still finding nursing to be very difficult and painful, but she has no problem with it. The past few days she's been taking one side and not wanting the other. This made me very nervous until I started pumping the other side and getting 3oz - which is more than she would need. And she has plenty coming out the other end, which I'm told is the best sign that she's getting enough.

Other than her reflux discomfort, she's still a super happy baby! Even with the reflux, she only cries for about 15 seconds before settling herself down. But she is noisy! I'm so glad she takes a binky - otherwise I don't know what we would do about church.

And as far as I can tell she still has all of her hair....

Tummy Time

2011-12-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

We haven't started tummy time on the floor yet, but tummy time on Daddy is going very well.

Two Weeks

2011-12-22T09:57:00.000-05:00

Kylie is two weeks today! Today is also Josh's first day back to work, before he starts Christmas break tomorrow :) Baby girl decided to show her opinion of that by uncharacteristically refusing to sleep for about 3 hours last night.

A two week post is kind of hard because we are still figuring out EVERYTHING. And everything is completely different from week one!

At her two weeks appt. she weighed 7lbs 2oz which is 1oz more than her birth weight. I didn't catch her height, but Josh said it was less than her birth height, haha! It's hard to measure an infant.

NURSING: She is GREAT at nursing. A little too good maybe. I, on the other hand, have had some trouble. (a post for another day. Probably one that needs to be written in hindsight when its all resolved) She is amazing at switching between regular nursing, using a shield, and drinking a bottle. (first plan of mine to go down - not giving her a bottle in the first few weeks) For the first five days we were home, she didn't spit up once. I thought I had a miracle baby. But since my milk has really come in she's had some good ones. Last night she decided I needed a better initiation into mommyhood and got everything both of us were wearing and both of our hair. She spits up immediately after nursing, so I'm trying to figure out if she's getting too much or just getting it too fast. Right now she is only going 5 minutes on each side, which is actually pretty nice! When she has a bottle she needs exactly 2.25 oz. More and she'll spit up, less and she won't last 3 hours.

SLEEPING: The first two nights home were rough - she didn't sleep more than 1 hour or 45 minutes at a time. We finally figured out she was cold and kept adding layers until she slept for 3 hours! We ended up with: a fleece sleeper, mittens, a cotton Swaddleme, a fleece Halo swaddler, a fleece blanket and two hats. This week she's been getting hot, so I have reduced the layers. I usually have to wake her up to feed her which is SO great. If I wake her up before she cries, Josh can sleep through the whole thing. Two nights ago I turned off my alarm and went back to sleep and she went 5 hours between feedings, yikes! We are wanting to do the Babywise feed-wake-sleep thing. She currently sleeps a lot in the evening and not so much in the morning - I'm sure one is causing the other and I'm working on breaking the cycle. I try not to use the binkie for naps, because I think it's more trouble than it's worth. I'm still deciding whether or not to swaddle her for naps - she does love to sleep with her arms above her head. I'm thinking using the Halo with arms out might be a good option. The first week she slept a lot in her swing, but we're working on putting her in her crib more.

HEALTH: She's perfect. Even her skin still looks great. Also since my milk has come in she's been having some trouble with bowl movements. She struggles so hard for the tiniest bit. The pediatrician says its normal for them to have to learn which muscles to use. The first week she went like clockwork while I was feeding her, which was very convenient. :) Now she has very loose runny stuff (pediatrician also says is normal) many many times a day. I'm struggling with knowing how often to change her without going through 20 diapers a day! The first week we referred to her "happy awake time", because she was so content after I fed her. Unfortunately now, happy awake time is interrupted by a lot of grunting and some crying. But I know she'll get it figured out soon. According to the internet it actually has a name - "Grunting Baby Syndrome" ha!

DISPOSITION: Other than the pooping fussiness, she's the easiest baby. We've never had a time of inconsolable crying. The binkie ALWAYS works and she's also easily comforted by the swing, being swaddled, or being held - particularly by Daddy.

As I'm finishing typing this, she has gone down for a morning nap without a fuss. Maybe her lack of sleep last night will help us break the uneven napping pattern!

Kylie at Home

2011-12-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

First bath at home. She HATES them. Her shivery cry is so sad.

I love her hair when it's clean and fluffy! I can't wait until she doesn't have to wear hats all the time. But the girl is always cold!

She LOVES for Daddy to hold her. If she's upset she calms down right away for him.

I think the things she does with her hands and arms are so funny!

Found a fistful of hair!

When she's sound asleep and not swaddled, they usually end up above her head

Yesterday I heard loud sucking from her room and came in to find this

Christmas Card

2011-12-15T15:21:00.001-05:00

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I ordered our Christmas Cards today! I missed out on some good deals the week of Thanksgiving, but in one of my mailings of free baby stuff I got a $20 promo card for shutterfly, making them the best deal I could find. I've never ordered from them before, and I loved how customizable their cards were. This is a Christmas card, but I was able to change "Merry Christmas" to "Kylie Shaw". A lot of sites don't have that option! AND I will get $10 off my next order by doing this blog post!

Coming Home

2011-12-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

I've been writing blog posts in my head for the past few days, but haven't gotten them down! I need to be coordinated enough to blog and nurse at the same time - that would work!

So to catch up....

We were told we'd be going home around noon on Saturday. So after a 6ish feeding, I sent Kylie back to the nursery so I could shower. [if the hospital had me fill out a survey, my #1 suggestion would be a hand rail in the shower. I was really unsteady on my feet and it was a little scary] I actually put on a little make up and real clothes. Then, at 7, the night nursery nurse came in apologizing all over the place. She was one of the people who had told us we'd be going home on Saturday, but she wanted to give me the heads up that they may want to wait 48 hours for Kylie's blood cultures (because she swallowed meconium) before sending us home. I really wasn't that heartbroken. It gave Josh another good night's sleep, my parents got to be there when we discharged, and I had another day to figure out how to control the bleeding in a bed that someone else gets to clean!

I forgot AGAIN to take pictures of visitors! ARGH. But Ashley took this picture of me on Friday and I love it. It was exactly how I felt:

I did take pictures of my parents though! They came to the hospital Saturday evening, straight from the airport.

I took some pictures with a pink hat I made. I wanted to do diaper only pictures, but this was when I learned how much she hates to be naked and cold!

I tried the nuk I brought from home and she kept it in a long time! I like the idea of her using it when she's sleeping, especially because all of her blankets creep up around her mouth.

So we went home Sunday morning. Saturday night they had kept her in the nursery for 5 hours without waking me, and then when they finally brought her in the morning we could only nurse for 15 minutes before they took her away to see the doctor. When I got her back we nursed for almost an hour until we were both exhausted. All of this made me excited to go home!

Her going home outfit was from Great Grandma June. We couldn't believe how cute it was ON her!

I thought because of all the nursing craziness all of our going home pictures would be crying, but she calmed down so fast! I think she actually likes her car seat - being scrunched up like that.

When we got home I found some treats from Josh :)

She loved her swing instantly! She would sleep FOREVER in there without even moving.

My dad was only able to stay two nights, but he got some bonding time in.

She's here!

2011-12-10T01:00:00.000-05:00

Kylie Shaw Craig is here! Born December 8, 2011, 7oz 1lb, 21in. She is totally perfect. Everyone’s talking about her amazing hair, she’s completely healthy and she has the cutest long skinny legs.

I will eventually do a birth story post, but I’m more excited to record our first full day together. Our day started when they brought her back to me around 4am. The nurses gave me a fun surprise: a perfect mohawk! Her hair is even better when it’s clean and fluffy!

NURSING: I’ve been EXCITED all day, not just because I have a baby, but because nursing is going so well! It’s such a blessing and I’m so happy about it. She was not interested when she was first born, but I had two great nurses help me this morning. The first nurse and I struggled to get her interested, then she said that she’s never actually breastfed so she went to get someone who had (I loved that). And the second nurse got us going right away. I’m losing track a little bit, but as I’m writing this I believe we have nursed 6 times and almost every time has been 10 minutes on both sides! She latches on one side like she’s been doing it for months. I was having a little trouble with the other side, but the same first nurse from this morning was back again tonight and suggested I try the football hold. That has definitely helped – she said maybe Kylie has a soft spot that bothers her on that side. It does hurt, but lanolin definitely helps.

HER HEALTH: She swallowed a lot of gunk, but they got it all out and her blood work came back good! I am VERY glad that she doesn’t need an antibiotic and I don’t have to be walking back and forth to the nursery. And of course it’s best to have her in my room. Her temp was a little low for a while today, so we “had” to hold her constantly for a few hours wrapped in a ton of blankets. But she’s back up now. After the delivery, she did not need a diaper change all day. But sometime after 8pm she had 3 dirty diapers! (all for the nurses while I was sleeping haha!) They gave her a suppository anyway to help keep things moving.

MY HEALTH: Everything’s good – temp, blood pressure, etc. The nurses say my bleeding and swelling is pretty good considering I tore pretty badly. I’ve really been trying to mentally prepare myself for all of this – the pain of delivery, the sleep deprivation, the hormones. Um, I forgot to think about dealing with the trauma on my body. I will definitely be taking it easy for a while. For most of the day I was just taking Motrin, and they kept asking if I wanted a Percocet. I didn’t want to feel loopy or more tired, but I finally decided to take one to make showering easier. It made a huge difference in my pain. I’m really not too uncomfortable sitting in bed, but getting in and out of bed was difficult. It does make me feel funny and more unsteady on my feet, but it’s worth it at the moment.

PEOPLE: She has many facebook admirers and everyone is in love with the hair! It is, by the way, exactly like the hair I was born with. So maybe that means she’ll stay dark like me! We had 5 visitors today, and I’m kicking myself for not taking pictures. I do have one of Ashley that she took with her phone:

PERSONALITY: I don’t know what 1st day babies are usually like, but she has barely fussed at all. [added: the nurse that had her both nights said she is a particularly calm baby! whoo!] She loves being swaddled – fusses a tiny bit during the process, but calms down immediately. She always works her hands out of her blankets and holds them under her chin. She even worked off her hospital bracelet. She had a long period of awake time this afternoon and the other Ashley got her to take a binkie instead of sucking on her mitten. (would have been a good picture… bah! We should stage it later :)) She’s spit up a number of times – and always lets us know – but calms down immediately. She hasn’t christened either one of us yet, but she got a nurse. :) She is a very good sport while being burped and waiting for me to get situated when we switch sides. My best trick so far to keep her awake while nursing is tickling her ear, which makes me laugh. She makes super cute noises when she sleeps and sticks her tongue out a lot. We know she won’t always be this easy, so we’re definitely making sure to enjoy it!

I haven’t taken a ton of pictures, because she was in her cocoon most of the day. But this is my favorite one that I took this morning:

So far we’re thinking Josh’s chin, forehead, and nose and my eyes and hair. But everyone says something different!

Baby's Room

2011-12-06T10:10:00.001-05:00

We finally finished the last decorative piece of the baby's room, so here are the pictures!

I did not do a lot of decorating, mainly because of money and space. I knew it would be waaaaay too easy for me to go crazy with baby stuff, so I've been trying to spend the least amount possible! We bought the pack n play and stroller from a friend for $80, I've spent about $15 at Goodwill on clothes, and we bought an enormous elephant for $20. Everything else we got from showers, family, and gift cards!

So I also tried to keep it cheap with decorating. I was originally going to paint the room light yellow, but the original gold (there when we moved in) matched the bedding perfectly, so I didn't bother. It is a very harsh color, so I tried to do mostly white decorations to soften it.

I saw a picture of an open frame with letters on pinterest. I bought the biggest letters Michael's had, and Josh made the frame out of molding. I cannot remember exactly how much it cost, but I know it was under $20. (5 letters, molding, spray paint)

The bedding is from Target. I think I picked it out the day I found out I was pregnant and couldn't sleep. I've always had a thing for bedding, so that was really fun. I wanted modern, gender neutral, and white based so I could use white sheets. I also love polka dots!

And the huge elephant. I wanted a large stuffed animal for monthly growth pictures, and was actually having a hard time finding one I liked. We saw this guy and Sam's Club and I loved it. He's way too big, but it'll work.

Pom Poms are also all over pinterest. I made these Goodwill T-shirt pom poms using this tutorial. Hers look so much better, I think because I made mine too big. But I think if you haven't seen hers mine are pretty cute :)

I tried to garage sale a dresser/changing table, but had no luck. Josh's parents bought this one for us. The panels are reversible, so it doesn't always have to look like kids' furniture. Some of you may be thinking it would have made sense to get white to match the crib, but Josh despises painted furniture and wood will be more versatile for future use.

I bought some frames from Goodwill and painted them white. They will go above the changing table with pictures with parents and grandparents.

My Grandma made this blue painting which had been hanging in our guest bedroom. It also helps soften the gold.

This lazy boy was also in our guest bedroom, but should get a lot more use now!

On to the space issue. You would think that a three bedroom house would be plenty for two adults and a baby, but we have managed to fill every corner.

She currently has to share her closet, though that may change when I can pack up my maternity clothes.

And she will be sharing her room with my craft area. Normally I will have a card table set up and my craft stuff more organized/accessible, but right now it is shoved in a corner to make room for that tan arm chair. The arm chair will eventually go back into the living room where the swing is now.

And the swing will go in front of the front door where the Christmas tree is now.

Her room used to be a craft room/study, so now the guest bedroom is a guest bedroom/study/Josh's hobby room.

I think our problem might be too many hobbies!

9 months

2011-12-06T10:07:00.001-05:00

due date:

39 Weeks

2011-11-26T21:48:00.001-05:00

39 weeks: +29lbs, +8.5in.

The past two weeks I gained 5 lbs and then lost one. I'm quite sure it was from my feet and legs. It was 80 degrees earlier this week and my feet got HUGE. I only wear clogs now, and I had to loosen the buckle on one of them. I'm actually relieved it's not sandal season... the one day I wore flip flops I got a lot of comments. Even my doctor said "whoah" and started poking my legs.

Also, my belly looks huge in this picture! I couldn't believe it! I still measure the same around as 3 weeks ago, so I guess I'm just poking out more. Still no stretch marks though, whoo hoo! And my skin doesn't itch, but sometimes I get a strange burning sensation.

At the recommendation of my doctor I've been taking Prilosec for a little over two weeks and it's made a HUGE difference. Such a relief. I also try to eat rice 2 hours before I go to bed. I still wake up sometimes in the middle of the night feeling nauseous and hungry, but for the most part I'm sleeping better. Just one or two bathroom breaks.

My current problem is my back. I have a horrible sharp pain in my upper/middle back whenever I sit or lie down. It's been there for a few weeks but it's gotten a lot worse. At first I thought it was a muscle spasm, so I was trying heat and massage. Now we're thinking something is being pinched since it's worst when I sit. So I ice it all day and the numbing provides some relief. However, I'm a little nervous about getting through Sunday School and church tomorrow. I could bring my ice pack, but I hate the extra attention. :(

I have NO signs of going into labor any time soon. I keep telling myself that if she needs to be in there a long time to be perfectly ready for the world... that's what's best! And really, other than the back pain and some morning sickness, I'm not that miserable. I have started getting super emotional in the last two weeks. I've done pretty well for the whole pregnancy, but recently I've had some irrational crying days.

What I care about most right now is NOT being induced. I probably cannot have an epidural because of my spinal fusion, and I'm very nervous about being induced without one. My next doctor's appointment is the day before my due date, so I assume we will discuss my options then, especially if I still show no signs of progress. Right now I plan to wait as long as she'll let me! So, you just might be seeing a 41 week post. If my belly keeps growing like this I have no idea what I'll be wearing in two weeks!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T18:50:00.001-05:00

We are enjoying our first Thanksgiving all by ourselves! We had some kind invitations, but declined all of them to have a quiet day at home (enjoying our last kid free days).

I went shopping and then we took the fuzzy one for a short, slow walk. Poor thing has not gone for a walk in over a month and he was so excited.

And then the food! (this might be way too much detail, but I know I'm going to want to remember what I did and want to do differently) I made Josh's favorites: pie and mashed potatoes, my favorite: hot fruit compote, turkey of course and corn.

I made the pie yesterday and we dug into it last night. Two years ago I tried this recipe for eggnog pecan pumpkin pie, and it was instantly named a tradition. And since I have now mastered the pie crust, it was even better this year!

I keep reading that pumpkin pie is the "healthier" dessert option. I bet that is no longer true when you pile this much brown sugar and butter on it.

These are fresh pecans from our yard! I'm super slow at cracking them... it took me about an hour to get this many whole pieces. But they're so good! And free!

The crust is not pretty, but I just say that's how you can tell it's homemade. It's SOO much better than a pretty Pillsbury crust.

I think the pie would be great without the topping. I normally don't love pumpkin pie, but I really like what the eggnog adds to it.

I make the Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes. (with cream cheese and lowry's) I'm not normally a big fan of mashed potatoes, but these are winning me over. I made them earlier this week for Josh's squadron Thanksgiving and they were PERFECT. This time I didn't cook them quite long enough and there were some small lumps. Thankfully Josh is not picky.

I left some skin on, I think I will leave even more next time.

Hot fruit compote is just canned fruit, applesauce, brown sugar and butter. SO GOOD. And it's perfect for Thanksgiving because you can make it in the crockpot.

And the turkey. I need to make turkey more often. One, because Josh loves it, Two, so I can get it right. This time I tried doing it mostly the Alton Brown way. Except that he says to brine it. My fridge is not big enough and it's not cold enough outside to do that. To add moisture I took Sandra Lee's method of sticking butter under the skin.

I loved Alton Brown's aromatics: microwave apple and onion and water for 10 minutes. Add a cinnamon stick and stuff the turkey!

I didn't use any herbs. Just butter, salt and pepper.

And then the debate begins. I haven't (yet) had issues with dry turkeys, but I do have issues getting the skin to be crispy. Following Alton's instructions, I cooked it at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Then I put a foil triangle over the white meat and cooked it at 350 until it came to temp. The white meat was SO moist, but the skin was not crispy. :( I'm thinking I might try not using foil at all? eek! I did like that the turkey only took about 2 hours to cook.

The other thing I will do differently is NOT tuck the wings under. I love crunchy wings and these were soggy.

Best part: Josh did ALL the dishes :) Now we're just relaxing watching football. I've come so far when a good day includes watching football. Side note: I never noticed before that they show the cheerleaders a lot more often during Dallas games...

My Black Friday

2011-11-24T18:20:00.001-05:00

I have never gone black Friday shopping. Ever. But since I started couponing and playing the drugstore game this year, I decided to hit CVS and Walgreens for their black Friday (technically Thanksgiving Day) sales.

Because of the morning sickness, there's not much that can get me up early right now (have I mentioned that I'm so thankful to not have a job) but I decided all the free stuff was worth it. And by "early", I mean that I was at CVS at 7:50. For once I'm glad for the small town with the lack of 24 hour stores!. CVS and Walgreens opened at 8 and 9, and I didn't have to decide if I wanted to go at midnight!

So off I went, armed with my lists from couponing101.com and southernsavers.com. There were about 10 of us waiting outside CVS. Two with their binders and green bags like me, and I think the rest of the people were there for electronics.

At CVS I made 25 cents on all this (plus another 25 cents if you count my green bag tag):

At Walgreens I got these items for free:

And paid $10.50 for these:

Also at Walgreens I bought $30 of itunes giftcards and got a $10 Walgreens gift card back. This was a MESS because no one knew how to ring it up. The manager told me she couldn't fix it. I'm very proud of myself, because I stood my ground and wouldn't leave until she figured out a way to fix it!

So, that's the extent of my Black Friday :) I'm pretty happy with it!

Baby Clothes

2011-11-23T19:30:00.001-05:00

I have a lot of sewing and cooking posts that I had planned to do, but I've been too lazy. Yes, too lazy to sit down and type a blog post. That's where I'm at now. SO thankful I don't have a job!

I had an old red sweatshirt that I thought would be perfect for a Christmas outfit. I made it winter instead of Christmas in case it's too big. I figured a jumper would be something easy. I didn't have a pattern for this jumper, I tried to size it with some of her other clothes. I'm pretty sure it's too big, but I can shorten the straps if I need to. The buttons are fake. I spent an hour trying to make button holes that ended in a lot of tears and no success. Therefore, fake buttons! I'm still trying to figure out some good techniques for sewing knit fabric like this.

I had enough of the sweatshirt left to make some pants. These are actually made from the sleeves, which worked very well. I used this pattern and instructions. They were very easy! But I think the shape looks kind of funny. I'm going to see how they look on her before I use that pattern again. I love the idea of cuffs in the instructions, I will try that next time.

And then, my hardest and nicest project. One of my friends' daughters has a crossover pinafore that she got from Etsy and I really wanted to make one! I used this tutorial which is the best free sewing tutorial I've seen! I learned a lot. Since this is a harder dress, I wanted to use easy-to-work-with fabric. I used some of those $1 fabric squares you can get at Walmart. I also had to buy the buttons, so this dress cost about $4.50.

I forgot to take a close up, but sewing those little curves on the straps was HARD. I definitely need more practice with that. I might just square them off next time and make my life easier :) I also had to face button holes again. After another hour of frustration, I decided there is something wrong with my button hole foot. I figured out how to make them using the regular foot, and they turned out OK.

Once again, I'm not sure about the size. It should fit as a dress at 6 months and a shirt at 12 months. It looks a little short to me, so I'm going to wait before making another one.

I think I will make another pillowcase dress or two that will fit her right away. I have lots of cuddly outfits, but not a lot of church outfits. (not that a baby has to dress up to go to church, but it's a good excuse for more sewing). I think some pillowcase dresses will be great with a white onesie, stockings, and the white sweaters her grandmas bought/knitted.

37 weeks

2011-11-13T16:09:00.001-05:00

Soooo we didn't have internet for a while. Long story, let's just say Time Warner has probably forever lost us as customers and Josh made a report to the Better Business Bureau. And since we've gotten it back I've been playing catch up on all my computer stuff. So sorry no blog post in a long time!

Here are pictures from 34 and 36 weeks:

At 37 weeks I am +25lbs and +8.5in. I haven't gained weight in a month. Don't hate me, it actually makes me a little nervous, but my belly is growing so the doc is not concerned. Josh and I are pretty sure I look thinner on the sides. I'll take it!

This last stretch has been nothing like I expected. I expected to be miserable because I felt huge, the baby kicking was keeping me awake, I was exhausted, my clothes didn't fit, my feet hurt, or I couldn't breathe. I don't have any of those complaints. My complaints are morning sickness and reflux!

I posted on Facebook about how excited I was to not be pregnant and get rid of morning sickness. I said if nausea is a side effect of breast feeding - don't tell me! Lots of nice friends assured me that it was not. The reflux has been really driving me nuts at night. The last time I went to the doc she was very nice and sympathetic about the nausea and asked if I was eating enough. I told her I wasn't eating anything after about 5 because of the reflux. On her recommendation, I started taking Prilosec (specifically that because she said it helps with the acid AND speeds up digestion) and eating rice or something similar after dinner. Both the reflux and nausea have improved! I actually slept through the night 3 times this week, which I think is pretty amazing for any 37 week pregnant woman.

I also have positive or at least not so annoying symptoms like I haven't broken a nail in 8 months, my one foot is still huge (but I can still wear my wedding ring), mild leg cramps at night, and braxton hicks whenever I walk, bend, or lift.

I do have sharp pains where no one wants sharp pains and because of that my doc recommended I stop walking for exercise around week 34. I also get crampy if I do too much. It seems I have a sensitive cervix.

I also still HATE sleeping on my side and I have some upper back pain because of that. It helps to roll one of Beaker's tennis balls between my back and the wall, which drives him crazy.

It's crazy to think I could have a baby tomorrow, or in a month! I'm very thankful that everything has gone so well.

Goodwill Find

2011-10-12T17:57:00.001-04:00

My family's been buying lots of clothes, and I know I'll probably get a lot from showers (people love to buy girl clothes!).

One thing I knew I probably wouldn't get was a winter suit. I went to the Goodwill hoping to find one, and was so disappointed with the selection! I figured people would donate a lot of baby clothes, but there was only one rack and it was almost all boy clothes. So I couldn't believe it when I actually found what I was looking for! A 0-3 month snow suit. I know it's a little boyish, but that's what pink hats are for.

32 Weeks

2011-10-11T09:22:00.001-04:00

How Far Along: 32 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +24 lbs, +7in. broke my pound a week streak

Symptoms: I have good and bad days with the ickyness. We were traveling last weekend and I had some really bad days. But it's the reflux that's making me crazy! It wakes me up a couple times in the night. My foot still looks crazy, but it doesn't bother me.

Maternity Clothes: My pants are finally staying up! Which is good, because all of my borrowed jeans are way too long. Every week I have to put more of my non maternity shirts away.

Sleep: I'm waking up a couple times a night now with reflux, nausea or back pain. But I fall back asleep quickly. I think part of the problem is it takes so much effort to roll over to my other side that I can't just do it in my sleep haha!

Movement: Still not a lot, just some jabs or bouncing here and there.

I think I'm completely back to my normal eating habits. I'm not extra hungry, and I like all the same things. My sweet tooth is still not as strong - I'd definitely choose potato chips over cookies.

I had a surprise shower when we were in Ohio! They did a great job buying off my registry and picking out some cute clothes :) My church shower is on Sunday. After that we'll know what we still need to buy and we should be all set by the end of October!

30 weeks

2011-09-28T21:28:00.001-04:00

How Far Along: 30 weeks. In the 30's! whoo hoo!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +20 lbs, +6.5in. Still steadily gaining 1 lb a week

Symptoms: The ickyness comes and goes, and the acid reflux is in full force! I keep experimenting with night eating/not eating but can't tell a difference. If I don't eat close enough to bedtime I do wake up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous. I don't have an itchy stomach or stretch marks, but there is a spot on my stomach that burns. Yes, burns. I put aloe on it a couple times a day and that helps. I've had some swelling in my feet for about a month, but two weeks ago my left leg started swelling like crazy. It looks pretty gross, but the doctor's not worried about it so neither am I! I can still wear my wedding ring, it's just my feet. But my BP is still low and everything looks good.

Maternity Clothes: My stomach is really growing now, so I've had to put away a lot more non-maternity shirts. I have one pair of jeans with below the belly elastic, which I loved in the beginning, but it's getting uncomfortable now. I'm still annoyed that the full belly pants won't stay up!

Sleep: I wake just once every night for some tums and a potty break. I strongly dislike sleeping on my side! My shoulders and neck do not like it either.

Movement: She's not very active, I mostly just feel her shifting positions once in a while. She always moves when I lie down and I love it when I can see my whole belly bounce around.

I really don't think I have cravings. I wanted potato chips this week, but that's not unusual.

I had my glucose test last week and failed. TIP FOR ALL PREGNANT WOMEN: Even if they say you can eat an hour before, give it more time! Then you won't have to waste your time with the 3 hour. I ate 2 hours before and failed. The drink wasn't as bad as most people told me, it was a lot like koolaid. But it was hard to drink it so fast.

For the three hour you fast all night, and there's double the amount of sugar in the drink. I did have a hard time getting that one down, especially because I felt sick from not eating. I was glad they left me alone to drink it so no one had to see me gag! My numbers weren't even close, so I assume the first failure was from the food I ate that morning. I was very relieved that I didn't have to give up my carbs :)

We are almost done setting up her room. Josh is making a frame for me and then I will post pictures.

I Can't Cook: Sugar Cookies Pt. 2

2011-09-28T13:21:00.000-04:00

I needed to bring something to a friend's wedding shower this weekend, and it was a perfect opportunity to practice my sugar cookies again. I used the same recipe, and it FAILED. I have no idea what happened. It was just a sticky gooey mess and nothing Josh or I tried helped. I'm quite sure I didn't get any measurements wrong. It was super humid? I don't know. I was very upset. So the next day, I just got a Pillsbury pouch, which I've never tried before. I made the cookies pretty thin, and they spread a little, but tasted much better!

On to the fun part... the decorating! I found some designs online to copy. And this time I used this royal icing recipe. It was pretty easy to make them look like this, I think it would be pretty hard to make them perfect!

I'm still working on getting the right consistancy. My gray was too runny:

Rushing causes a lot of imperfections! I'm not sure what to do about the bubbles.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

2011-09-27T12:58:00.002-04:00

Pinterest is blowing up with pumpkin and apple recipes. I wish I had more reason to make desserts! To celebrate the first day of fall, I made a healthier recipe - whole wheat pumpkin pancakes. I like to make large batches of pancakes or waffles and freeze them for Josh's breakfasts.

This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light Magazine's "Our Favorite Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes." Definitely the best pancakes I've ever made! And don't forget you can freeze your leftover pumpkin instead of throwing it away.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

3 TBSP sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

pumpkin pie spice (I didn't measure)

1 cup buttermilk (I always just do the lemon juice thing)

1/2 cup pumpkin

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Combine first 7 ingredients, stirring with a whisk.

Combine the rest of the ingredients, stirring with a whisk.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture, stirring just until moist.

I made about 16 smallish pancakes.

Dog Training

2011-09-16T09:20:00.001-04:00

Before the baby comes, there are a few things I want to work on with Beaker. One is walking calmly, so that I'll feel comfortable walking with him and a stroller. I've been much better about walking him regularly and he is getting much less anxious about it!

The other thing is teaching him that all stuffed animals do not belong to him. One of his favorite things in the world is to tear up a "new toy". My mom sends him goodwill stuffed animals, regularly enough that he gets excited every time we get a box!

So I bought a stuffed animal from goodwill to work on teaching him to not touch it. He didn't whine, he didn't try to sneak it, he just sat next to it with the saddest ears I've ever seen. :(

When I finally gave it to him, he hid!

I Can't Cook: Sugar Cookies

2011-09-12T12:58:00.000-04:00

(I do realize that the lighting is bad in these pictures. And it would be good practice for me to fix it. But I'm not going to take the time!)

My story with sugar cookies is much like my story with pie crust. I just can't get it right, so I resort to buying premade dough. But the pie crust story finally ended happy, and I think the sugar cookie story will too!

I've often thought it would be great to make fun decorated sugar cookies for gifts or special occasions, but I just can't pull it off. My dough is too sticky, too dry, spreads too much, etc. etc. But last week I needed some sugar cookies for my cake decorating class (more on that later) and I figured it was as good a time as any to finally try and make a good sugar cookie.

I found this blog through pinterest, and she had a recipe with a lot of tips and details, which I thought was a good sign! Her biggest tip was to leave out the baking powder completely to keep the cookies from spreading. And it worked perfectly!

But, of course, before I ended up with the pretty cookies you see above, I had a number of messes. First, I rolled the dough in between parchment paper, like she said, and refridgerated it, like she said. HOW DOES THIS WORK FOR ANYONE. It stuck so badly I had to just scrape it off with a knife. So then I rolled the dough between two pieces of floured wax paper and that worked great.

When it came time to actually bake the cookies we had friends over, which meant I was not quite paying attention to what I was doing. (I really wish I took pictures of this part) I KNOW I set the oven to 350, but I must have bumped the knob. When I checked on the cookies after 8 minutes, they were just shiny, not cooked. When I finally realized what happened, I put the cookies back in the fridge. Well, the pan wasn't exactly level and they all slid off into a pile in the back of the fridge. So gross and messy.

ANYWAY. On to the icing. I've never worked with royal icing before, so I kept it simple. I did not have meringue power, as her recipe calls for, so I used a recipe with egg whites. (I knew I could keep the cookies refridgerated). I made a thicker consistancy for piping the outline and it worked perfectly!

I thought it would be easier to flood the cookies with a thinner consistancy. I initially made it too thin, which I thought would be ok, but then one spilled over.

So I made it thicker, and the rest of the cookies turned out great. However, those first ones with thin icing NEVER dried. And the water separated out and it was just bad. And the ones with thicker icing that did dry ended up being spongy because of over mixing (which she warns about in the blog). By the time I was ready to bring them to Bible study, I only had 12 good cookies. Thankfully there were only 4 of us there!

But I certainly learned a lot! And next time I THINK I can get it right.

28 weeks

2011-09-11T16:15:00.000-04:00

I think there's no question now that I look pregnant! Finally!

How Far Along: 28 weeks, third trimester!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +18 lbs, +5.5in. - I gained 4 lbs in my first trimester, and then 1 lb a week for the whole second trimester. So I guess that's not too bad.

Symptoms: The ickyness is definitely better again, as long as I watch how I eat. The acid reflux is annoying at night! My feet don't hurt as much, maybe I'm just getting used to it? Also in the past 2 weeks there's a big difference in my ability to get up off a couch haha!

Maternity Clothes: I thought I was done buying maternity clothes, but my white and black tank tops are just barely long enough now. Old Navy had them on sale this week!

Sleep: This past week I haven't woken up at all in the night

Movement: Josh finally felt the baby move last week! He felt a couple good kicks or punches. I'm feeling a lot of jabs to my bladder!

Gatlinburg Review Part 1

2011-09-08T11:02:00.000-04:00

We just spent a week in the Gatlinburg area for our 5 year anniversary. It was our first trip by ourselves since our honeymoon and we were very excited!!

I did a lot of research about what to do, and appreciated some blog posts that I found, so now I'm writing my own!

We spent a lot of time in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It's FREE and huge. You can get some information about trails and things to do from their website, but I found this app (thanks to a blog) and it was very helpful, especially in finding easier trails.

The first thing we did was Clingman's Dome. On the way, make sure to stop and Newfound Gap:

We went at 10am and were definitely wishing we brought jackets! The walk up to Clingman's Dome observation tower is 1/2 a mile and well paved, but it's very steep. There are a lot of benches, and I think just about anyone can do it if you stop enough! The view from the observation tower:

There are a couple of easy trails that start at the Sugarlands visitors center (at the Gatlinburg entrance), so they aren't a far drive into the park. This is along the Fighting Creek trail, a one mile loop with some small hills:

Cades Cove is another popular destination in the park. It's an hour from the Sugarlands visitors center, and then you drive an 11 mile loop. (there is another visitors center along the loop in case you need a bathroom break ;) ) We took the advice to go later in the evening to increase our chances of seeing animals. And it worked!

The only downside of going in the evening is that you miss the demonstrations at Cable Mill. But you can still walk around.

We saw a lot of deer and turkeys and 5 bears!

We discovered the Gatlinburg Trail a few days into our trip. You pay $10 to park in Gatlinburg, and nothing to park in the national park. The Gatlinburg Trail starts at the visitors center and comes out right in the middle of downtown Gatlinburg. It's 2 miles, gravel, shaded, and very level. And it follows a creek which is very pretty:

The Cataract Falls trail also starts from the visitor's center. It's about a mile round trip and very level. It's mostly gravel, but there are some stairs and rocks you have to cross. We saw some people there with a stroller and I'm not sure how they did it.

The Laurel Falls trail is 3.5 miles from the visitors center. It's 2.6 miles round trip and was the hardest trail we did. It is paved, but there are some bumpy spots that would be awkward with a stroller. It's shaded and uphill the whole way to the falls, but not as steep as Clingman's Dome. I had to stop a couple times on the way. (I'm super out of shape, it was very easy for Josh)

We loved the park! It was probably our favorite part of the trip!

26 weeks

2011-08-28T07:25:00.000-04:00

I thought I looked more pregnant than usual in this dress, so I took a picture.

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 16 lbs, I forgot to measure

Symptoms: My morning sickness has not been bad the past 3 days, hopefully that was just a phase! I still have a lot of acid reflux. I don't see a pattern with what I eat - only if I eat too much and when I lie down. And sometimes randomly. I got kicked in the bladder this week. I think she's moving around because I'm feeling kicks in new places, and not very many on the outside this week. Just in the past few days I'm noticing the belly button line appearing. I don't know if Josh knows about it, so I'm going to wait until he notices and see what he says, haha! My feet are definitely starting to swell and they hurt!

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much all maternity clothes except PJs, exercise short, Tshirts and some dresses. All the Tshirts I got for school or trips in the past few months I got a size bigger and I'm very glad! And I saved some of Josh's basketball shorts that were too small for when mine no longer fit! I'm still putting off buying br@s - I just got extenders for mine (Vict0ri@'s Secret, $12 for 3 if anyone is wondering) but they are driving me nuts!

Sleep: The acid reflux usually wakes me up once during the night, but I take a tums and prop myself up and it's ok.

Cravings: None. I don't think this is going to happen for me? I think I've been eating more dairy because of the reflux - which is weird because usually when I don't feel well I avoid dairy!

24 weeks

2011-08-18T12:57:00.001-04:00

I didn't realize until after I posted it on Facebook that this picture is on a really bad angle. And I don't know why I always choose to take these pictures when I have my hair up! Though I have to admit, I do get very lazy with long hair in the summer.

How Far Along: 24 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 14 lbs, + 4.5 in. I'm trying to find the balance between not worrying about it and worrying about it enough to make myself exercise. I'm really hating watching my thighs grow.

Symptoms: The morning sickness is back. yaaaaaaaaaaaay. It's not as bad as before, mainly because I can handle eating without gagging! And it comes and goes instead of being constant throughout the day. I do actually throw up sometimes though. I feel lots of movement, and in different places now. And I've seen my stomach jump a few times. I mainly feel it when I lie down in the evening or take a bath. Still getting used to not being able to lie on my back! And I have a lot of acid reflux. My blood pressure has been really low, but it was a little higher this week at the doctor. I think that's a sign that I've been better about my drinking.

Maternity Clothes: People are still telling me I don't look pregnant - depending on what I'm wearing. I still love all my maternity shirts and I'm still yanking up the pants. I have one pair of cropped lounge pants that actually stay up and I would live in them if I could.

Sleep: My current issue is waking up around 4 to use the bathroom and then getting sick. I need to remember to eat crackers immediately when I wake up, instead of waiting until I lie back down and start feeling bad.

Cravings: None. My eating has improved a lot. The fact that I don't feel well is making me eat healthier and the acid reflux is helping me remember to not over eat.

Pillowcase Dresses/Shirts

2011-08-10T21:40:00.001-04:00

The sewing has begun! I've been anxious to know what the baby was so that I could start making things. And I think girls are much easier. I am very much a beginner sewer, so it's going to be rough for a while.

I wanted to make baby clothes from our old clothes so that they would be free! I thought a pillowcase dress would be a simple place to start and this free pattern looked the easiest.

People say they can make these in 1/2 an hour! Not me! But maybe with some practice and easier fabric I could.

I had no idea what bias tape was, and I tried making my own. The armholes were HARD. They did not turn out very well. This is my first one from one of Josh's shirts. I couldn't get a long enough piece so I added the part on the bottom.

Out of Josh's old bathing suit. This time I skipped the bias tape and cut the armholes on a straight angle instead of curves. This will probably fit as a shirt in the summer.

Out of two of my old T shirts. I made an inside layer so my seams could be neater. This one is a little bigger and a little heavier.

23 weeks

2011-08-09T20:43:00.001-04:00

Size of baby at 5 months:

Everyone always says that my belly is more obvious in this shirt so here you go:

I think she may have moved in the past few days? I was feeling everything on my left side, and now I'm feeling little jabs in the middle. Could I be feeling arms now? She ALWAYS moves when I eat sugar which is fun.

I think I have a renewed bout of morning sickness. BUT this time, all the tricks actually work, unlike last time when nothing worked. And sometimes I'm actually able to throw up and feel better, again, unlike last time. But if I eat crackers IMMEDIATELY when I do my 6am bathroom run, and eat every 2 hours I seem to be OK.

Random pregnancy symptom - I am even more obsessed with my dog than usual. Maternal insticts setting in? Feeling bad that he's not going to be the only baby anymore? It doesn't help that he keeps getting little ailments so I have to torture him with ear cleaning and fur plucking and hot spot spraying all the time.

But just look at that sweet face

I Can't Cook: Cake

2011-08-05T11:58:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I did an "I Can't Cook" post, I've been doing pretty well...

I wanted to make an "It's a...." cake for Bible study last night. The first time I made this recipe, it turned out sooo well.

I was a little paranoid about it cooking all the way through, because the last time I made banana bread it did not cook all the way through. The toothpick kept coming out wet, so I kept the cakes in the oven. Finally realized that it was the chocolate chips making the toothpick wet, but by that time the cake was a little burnt.

So I cut off the edges and proceeded with the frosting. I made buttercream frosting for the first time and it was great. However, this was only the second time I attempted to frost a cake and that was not so great. Before you comment, I do know the trick about putting a thin layer on first, but I ended up not having enough frosting to pull that off. We're going to call it cookies and cream frosting. Tastes the same right?

Meet Kylie

2011-08-05T11:37:00.000-04:00

I FINALLY had my ultrasound this week! I've been so anxious to find out!

At my family shower my Grandma made her girl wish (my brother has 3 boys):

I would have been SO upset if we couldn't tell at my ultrasound, so I ate some chocolate to ensure movement! Baby moving pills:

She told us right away before showing us anything else

The nurse said she has big feet! It hadn't occured to me before, but our kids could be very short or very tall

This one is my favorite:

I made my Sumter friends wait a day, because I wanted a fun way to tell some people. So I wore pink and brought a cake and pink lemonade to Bible study last night.

Most were predicting girl, so a lot of people got to say "I was right" like Ashley :)

Now I'm off to look at baby girl clothing patterns!

22 weeks

2011-08-03T22:08:00.001-04:00

21 week banana

22 week bump

The pants I have been wearing for these pictures no longer fit, and I think the bump is a little more obvious in maternity pants

How Far Along: 22 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 11 lbs, + 4 in.

Symptoms: I think I've fixed the dehydrated issue because my stamina is much better. And I'm very excited that my gas seems so be gone. Sorry, awkward, but having it is REALLY awkward! I can no longer lie on my stomach and just starting yesterday its getting a little uncomfortable to lie on my back

Maternity Clothes: I am not enjoying maternity pants - hot and saggy! I definitely like the ones with smaller bands better. But I love maternity shirts! I love the looser empire waist style shirts anyway.

Sleep: It took the last two weeks, but I think I'm used to sleeping on my side. I kept waking myself up by rolling over on my stomach.

Cravings: I still love lemonade and fruit! And my sweet tooth has come back, which is not such a good thing haha! But I don't want anything out of the ordinary.

I forgot to mention in the last post that I had started feeling movement. At first I wasn't sure if it was just muscles spasms, but now it is very obvious. I don't feel anything regular like hiccups, but I feel kicks and pressure, like maybe when the baby is rolling? At first it was just in the evenings when I would lie down, but in the past few days I've been feeling more while standing up! I definitely feel a lot more when I eat sugar, especially chocolate! Josh hasn't been able to catch it yet :(

20 weeks

2011-07-20T09:27:00.001-04:00

No cantaloupe in the store this week. So, I think it's official that I'm going to be a wide pregnant lady. The reason people keep telling me that I have no belly is that I'm growing more to the sides than out :( I guess that's what happens when you have a short waist and not much room for everything to fit. It makes me feel a little better picturing a cantaloupe in my stomach... But I do think there is a big difference between my 18 week and 20 week pictures.

How Far Along: 20 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 10 lbs, + 3.5 in. Yikes! I started walking and eating better this week, so hopefully I'll keep that up.

Symptoms: About a week ago it was like a switch turned and I started feeling much better. I even ate shrimp! But I get out of breath soooo easily. Maybe because the doc said I was very dehydrated, hmm. And this week the bottoms of my feet have been hurting which never happens to me! Maybe it's those 10 lbs!

Maternity Clothes: The butt and thighs have continued to grow so I'm pretty much in all maternity pants with a mix of shirts. My mom bought me a ton of clothes last week and I'm much more comfortable.

Sleep: no problem

Cravings: now that I feel better I'm back to normal eating! I do usually need to eat 6 times a day.

I had a doctor's appt for the first time in 6 weeks. And yes, he said I was very dehydrated. And I thought I was doing well with my water! And he was surprised I hadn't had an ultrasound and said I needed one this week. I was so excited! THEN they told me they were full for ultrasounds for FOUR weeks and I was SO disappointed. Finally they made a big deal about squeezing me in in two weeks. This is why I was pushing them to schedule it 3 weeks ago. BAH! How can you find out if a doc has too many patients BEFORE you start going to them?

nursing cover

2011-07-19T08:13:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I was shopping with a pregnant friend for a nursing cover. We found one at Target that was so thin it was pointless, so we decided we could make a better one for cheaper. And then I found out I could make one for myself!

I just googled patterns and came up with a ton! Most of them call for boning, which I decided was more trouble than it's worth. The hard part was picking ONE fabric out of anything! I limited myself to the clearance rack and found this fun heavyish fabric. I think the whole cover was $6.

No, actually the hard part was sewing rectangles. not good.

17 and 18

2011-07-06T08:17:00.001-04:00

17 week onion

18 week bump

How Far Along: 18 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 7 lbs, + 2.5 in. The holiday weekend was baaaaad. I definitely need to start eating better. As I leave to go on vacation...

Symptoms: A lot of pain the past two weeks with the muscle and ligament stretching. And my back is acting up because I've still been bad about exercising. I still feel icky on and off, especially when I eat too big of a meal (like this weekend)

Maternity Clothes: Well my hips or butt are definitely bigger because the only pants that are still comfortable rubber banded are ones that were a little loose before. I have two pairs of maternity cropped jeans that I wear a lot, but my belly's not big enough so they get saggy. So I've got too tight or saggy right now :)

Sleep: no problem

Cravings: still fruit and lemonade. I think it may be time to give up the lemonade and all its sugar though. :(And I finally got my bagel and cream cheese (not from Tim Hortons though) and it was soooooo good

16 week avacado

2011-06-23T10:21:00.002-04:00

So, it seems that I've been a week and a half off in my weeks counting. I didn't count back from my due date, I just went with what they told me from my ultra sound. And I guess I have two due dates with my period and my ultra sound. I'm very confused about the whole thing. But anyway, skipping ahead to 16 weeks!

How Far Along: 16 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 3 lbs, + 2 in. I still can't believe I haven't gained more weight! I just started exercising again this week, and barely. I am feeling very squishy.

Symptoms: I have good days and bad days with the ickyness. This sounds very lame, but if I can sleep in and get ready slowly I'm usually fine. But I always feel bad on Sundays. I haven't been as tired this week! Thank goodness! I'm still having various digestive issues which are unpredictable and uncomfortable.

Maternity Clothes: I bought some maternity jeans this week and they are sooo comfortable. And I've been wearing work out shorts for the past few days because I've been painting. But I feel like my stomach is sticking out a LOT more this week.

Sleep: I'm having some back pain which is interfering a bit, but I sleep a lot.

Cravings: still fruit and lemonade. And the other night I wanted a bagel with cream cheese from Tim Hortons. Which is very random.

AM's Corn Salsa

2011-06-21T09:40:00.000-04:00

This is a recipe I would have NEVER tried, because it sounds gross. But I ate some at AM's house, and it was so good! And it's full of things that are good for you! Now it's one of our favorites.

1 can yellow corn, drain

1 can black beans, drain and rinse

1 small red tomatoe, chopped

1 avacado, peel and chop

few green chives, chopped

1 small yellow, red, orange or green pepper chopped

1 tbs lemon juice

3/4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp frank's hot sauce

3/4 tsp sugar

1/2 cup Italian dressing

Mix together - let sit an hour or so. Serve with blue taco chips, scoops, or your choice. Double if serving more than 4-5 people.

Great Customer Service

2011-06-14T22:23:00.000-04:00

It's a hard decision to drop a lot of money on something like a coffee maker or trash can. But sometimes we've decided it's worth it. This week we discovered that sometimes you're not just paying for a great product, but also great customer service!

Last Valentine's Day, we got Josh a Keurig machine. He LOVED it. However, just after the one year warrenty expired, it broke. We finally got around to calling about it this week. They did some trouble shooting on the phone and then decided to send us a brand new one! Even without a warrenty! So I'm thanking them by blogging about it and telling you all how awesome Keurig is. :) (side note: always register your products! It makes this process so much easier)

Our Simple Human trash can also broke this week - the foot pedal snapped off. One month after the 5 year warrenty expired. I love having a nice trashcan, it does a great job keeping odors in. We were just going to buy a new one (fingerprint proof this time) but thankfully it occured to me to look at their warrenty policy on their website. They had a very user friendly form on their website, I filled it out, they emailed me back the same day, and they're sending us a new pedal! I never registered it, so they don't even have any proof that I purchased one. I'm so impressed!

Week 13 Peach

2011-06-11T21:18:00.002-04:00

How Far Along: 13 weeks. Second trimester!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 2 lbs, + 1.5 in.

Symptoms: the ickyness is still getting better, but I'm tiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrd. I even ate cereal with milk for breakfast a couple days! I had a McDonald's Frappe this week, which was my first caffine in 2 months. Oh my goodness I felt like a new person! Gotta be careful not to get addicted to that!

Maternity Clothes: definitely unbuttoning most of my pants! I'm wearing looser shirts to hide the pooch.

Sleep: I usually wake up to pee around 5 or 6. One day I could not fall back asleep. That was not happy.

Cravings: fruit! peaches, berries, watermelon. And lemonade.

And the belly pictures are starting. Here's 5 weeks and 13 weeks:

I had another doctor's appointment this week. The baby's heartbeat is still on the high side, which apparently means it's a girl :)

Week 12 Plum

2011-06-01T15:06:00.002-04:00

I spent wayyyy too much time today reading about blog design html. But I love it. I wish I could go to college for craftyness and homemaking and just take classes on photography, sewing, cooking, graphic design, organizing, etc. I probably could, but it also would probably be a big waste of money. Yay internet and free information.

Well, I looked in 2 stores, couldn't find a plum, and gave up. So no picture.

How Far Along: 12 Weeks. I keep reading different things about when I hit the 2nd trimester, but I think it's when week 12 is over.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 1 lb, + 1 in.

Symptoms: the ickyness has been better this week because I get to sleep in every day. It seriously helps sooo much.

Maternity Clothes: I have worn my pants unbuttoned for the past few days. It will soon be time to start taking belly pics

Sleep: I was super anxious one day this week and couldn't sleep, but every other day is good. When I can't sleep in I usually end up taking a nap which is weird for me.

What I miss: Eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

Cravings: I like fruit and potatoes. And lemonade, but not diet lemonade, which may become a problem.

In other news, my good friend had her baby yesterday and I'm so excited! Everyone is perfect and now I get to bother her with awkward questions about birth and breastfeeding.

Crunchy Ranch Chicken

2011-05-31T10:36:00.001-04:00

This is my go-to company recipe, since I've never messed it up :) It's also super easy, cheap, and uses ingredients I always have on hand.

The recipe is from this book which I highly recommend:

Crush 1 1/2 cups of corn flakes

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 (1 oz) package dry ranch dressing mix. Or you can go the Sam's Club bulk way and estimate like I do.

1 stick melted margerine

The recipe calls for 2 lbs chicken drumsticks, but I use breasts cut into nuggets. I always use a bag for crushing the cornflakes, but this was the first time I tried the shake and bake method with the chicken. It was fast and easy, but did not work as well as dredging the chicken in a bowl.

Bake uncovered at 350 for about 20 minutes

Week 11 Lime

2011-05-30T15:56:00.002-04:00

I'm switching to a more structured pregnancy update post....

How Far Along: 11Weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 1 lb... and as of today, which is actually week 12, + 1 in. !

Symptoms: ickyness for most of the day, digestive issues, I think the fatigue is gone

Maternity Clothes: My pants still fit. Sometimes I unbutton them when I'm feeling really icky. I am wearing my looser shirts to hide what currently looks like a muffin top

Sleep: Like a rock. Except that I wake up in PAIN because I have to pee so badly.

What I miss: Enjoying food. Sometimes I can...

Cravings: Everyday something different sounds best to me. A couple days ago it was Fritos. Today it's granola bars. And the only way I can do chicken is if it's in small breaded pieces. And I like lemon flavored things.

hats

2011-05-24T21:05:00.000-04:00

I definitely want to get some knit hats for newborn pictures. I like to make things, but I do NOT knit (know how, just hate it). If I have a girl, someone buy me this please :)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73088006/ready-to-ship-cute-little-bear-hat-you?ref=cat3_gallery_1

Week 10 Prune

2011-05-24T20:58:00.000-04:00

I kept forgetting to take a picture last week! I even had some prunes at home. You all will have to use your imagination.

Week 10 started out with me feeling much better! And ended with me feeling much worse. :( I was pretty disappointed - I was hoping the ickyness was ending. BUT a lot of my other first trimester symptoms are going away... I'm much less bloated and gassy which is very nice. :)

Last week I also definitely could tell a difference in my waistline. All my pants still fit, but I've got a pooch.

Week 9 Green Olive

2011-05-15T13:58:00.000-04:00

Week 9! I'm actually 10 weeks today. So close to the end of the first trimester. I'm so hoping that means the ickyness and fatigue will go away.

We met our OB this week. I did NOT know that I would be having a pap smear at this appointment. Poor Josh. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was 175, which I'm told means it's a girl. I'm waiting for all the predictions to start coming in!

My blood pressure was lower than I've ever seen it, probably because I haven't been drinking enough.

This week I've been a little less tired, and the past two days my stomach has felt much better. Crossing my fingers it's almost over!

I'm not showing yet, and I haven't gained any weight, but just in the past few days my stomach has felt a little harder and is maybe poking out a bit.

In other news, this is my last week of classes and my last week at my office job! I think this will be a great summer. I have a lot of projects I want to do and I definitely need to start exercising again.

And finally, here is probably my last picture with a semi-flat stomach. I was a judge for our school's talent show this past week and I went as J Lo - Jenny From the Block style.

Pie

2011-05-10T18:22:00.000-04:00

I have now mastered the perfect pie crust, thanks to a friend from school who gave me her mom's "secret" recipe. But I can NOT get my fruit pies to gel together. With fresh or frozen fruit. Any suggestions???

I may just have to stick with pumpkin and coconut.

8 Week Raspberry

2011-05-10T18:13:00.000-04:00

Well I'm already getting behind. This is because last week I pretty much did nothing but go to work and go to bed. SO TIRED. Definitely count that as the major 8 week symptom.

I'm still feeling icky, but getting used to it. Usually I can eat normal food for dinner. But sadly, on our anniversary I was NOT feeling well and barely ate my dinner. :( I'm working on eating sandwiches for lunch. They are very hard to get down, but usually I feel so much better afterward.

No sign of a bump yet! I'm not complaining!

As for other symptoms.... I've never burped so much in my life! And I always feel like I need to pee but often can't. And other things that are not blog appropriate. And I have a lot of extra spit. I pretty much have every first trimester symptom I've read is normal, but I have them all mildly! So.... so far we're perfect. :)

Week 7 Blueberry

2011-05-03T20:28:00.000-04:00

Last week was Week 7, blueberry sized baby!

This was the week that we saw the baby for the first time and told the world! I was really bummed that they wouldn't let me video the ultrasound... I wanted to get that little heartbeat! It's so crazy that you can see it.

I asked her to label everything so I wouldn't forget! I was very relieved to learn that the second blob was a yolk sac and not a second baby.

the week we found out

2011-04-25T17:48:00.001-04:00

After 10 months of trying to get pregnant, I had started preparing myself for the worst. I knew most likely we were fine and that it was just taking a while, but I had stopped hoping each month. I honestly wasn't worried or stressed, just trying to be realistic.

In March I started taking my temperature, just to make sure that I actually was ovulating. It went very well - I had a very clear spike one day.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 - I start Spaz Week. I have a MAJOR (even for me) melt down for no reason and I pour boiling water on myself.

Monday, March 28, 2011 - I break my toe by walking into a wall.

Thursday, March 31, 2011 - I post this facebook status: "I'm just a spaz this week! Today I called 4 kids by the wrong name :("

Friday, April 1, 2011 - I expect my monthly friend because of the day my temperature spiked. I'm not that surprised when it doesn't come because I am very irregular. I do begin having my normal PMS symptoms.

Sunday, April 3, 2011 - My toe has gotten worse, so I decide that I will go to the doctor. In case they want to do an x-ray I decide to take a pregnancy test so I can tell them for sure that I'm not pregnant. Dollar General was out of their dollar tests so I buy a two pack.

I am SHOCKED when it's positive. Out of the probably 10 tests I've taken, I was least hopeful for this one! We're not even sure if we should believe it, but two hours later I take another test and it's positive too!

Neither of us could sleep that night, and I had a blood test confirm it the next day!

I always thought that when I was pregnant I would know somehow-- I would feel different. Other than Spaz Week, I just had normal PMS symptoms!

Oxo chopper

2011-04-11T18:30:00.003-04:00

Normally commercials aren't too effective on me, but one I've always loved is the Slap Chop. A fast way to chop vegetables! Yay! So I've wanted a chopper for a long time, and Josh convinced me to spend the extra $5 on the Oxo brand instead of getting the Slap Chop. And I'm so glad! I didn't realize until I got home how awesome it is!

It comes apart into a ton of pieces so it's super easy to wash.

And it's got this little scraper thing so the food doesn't stick to the sides.

And the bottom part comes with a lid. So you can chop your veggies for your omelet and just stick the lid on and put it in the fridge until morning.

Love it!

Chocolate Waffles

2011-03-28T16:35:00.000-04:00

This Saturday I woke up early (ok, waiting for you all to fall out of your chairs. Back with me now?) so I decided to make Alton's chocolate pancakes. The whole recipe only has 1.5 TBSP of sugar!

What makes this an "I Can't Cook" post? My waffle iron. When we registered for it, we did not realize the importance of having a lip around the waffle iron.

Because I can either make super thin waffles...

... or clean up the mess.

Or maybe I just need to stick to pancakes!

Angel Food Cake

2011-03-27T15:26:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I made my first angel food cake. It was fairly easy and definitely better than store bought! I used the Betty Crocker recipe, because Betty Crocker hasn't failed me yet!

The only trouble is... what to do with all the leftover yolks! Thankfully it occured to me to freeze them! I always forget about freezing things. I guess I'll need to be making some custard soon...

Poached Eggs

2011-02-19T14:22:00.000-05:00

Ever since I watched Julie and Julia I've wanted to try poached eggs.

So so so gross!

Mexican Pizza

2011-01-17T23:48:00.001-05:00

Usually if I try to improvise with a recipe, it does not go well. And forget just making something up completely. But this month I had a success! I'd seen an idea for Mexican pizza in a magazine, so I just threw together a bunch of healthy things that we liked and they turned out really well!

Wheat pitas, split in half, sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with seasoned salt. Topped with beans, corn, green pepper, fire roasted tomatoes and cheese. Broiled in the oven until brown. Topped with avocado.

The fire roasted tomatoes are the key. LOVE those things! So much flavor. And of course cheese always helps everything...

Coconut Cream Pie

2011-01-17T23:19:00.001-05:00

I had great plans for recording all of my Christmas cooking, but I've tried a lot of new recipes in the past few weeks that I'm anxious to share. So I'm going to put a quick end to Christmas by sharing my greatest cooking achievement yet. Coconut Cream Pie.

I had been working on perfecting homemade pie crust for months, and it was not going very well. But a friend from school gave me her mom's "no fail" recipe, and this was my first time trying it. It was great! I will definitely use it again.

For the actual pie I used this Betty Crocker recipe. I LOVE BETTY CROCKER. I don't know if I've ever found a bad Betty Crocker recipe. And usually they use cheap, normal ingredients. Except, of course, for this pie.

I was SO happy to have my new Cuisinart mixer for this pie. It's the first time I ever successfully tempered eggs, and I don't think I could have done it without an extra arm running the wisk! It's also so nice to be able to walk away from it and just let it keep whipping cream.

The homemade whipped cream was AMAZING. All it is is whipping cream and sugar, but it's so so so good.

And here is my pie! I added another special touch by lining the crust with white chocolate before putting in the filling, and shaving white chocolate on top of the pie.

It's a lot of work! But it was really worth it. I believe I have a new Christmas tradition.

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

2011-01-11T21:25:00.000-05:00

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cherry-mini-cakes/81125efc-7c82-4b40-a69b-cb9f27cea7ca

I'm not sure if I'm totally back to blogging, but I do miss blogging about my cooking adventures. And I like having a record of what I've tried and what works! So here we go with some Christmas cooking...

When I got this cupcake pan I knew I wanted to use it to make Christmas trees.

However, when I try to make things up... there are always some issues...

THINGS THAT WENT RIGHT:

- Not just normal cupcakes. I'm in love with this recipe and using just egg whites when making cupcakes.

- The stars on top. I literally jumped up and down and clapped when I realized I had star sprinkles to put on them.

THINGS THAT WENT WRONG:

- The color. Yes, there were comments. The real trouble was that I glazed them a day before serving them. So the glaze soaked in, and so did all the color.

- The peppermint. So, I couldn't find red sprinkles at the grocery store. So I thought it would be great to crush candy canes and sprinkle them on. Again, I did them a day ahead and they dissolved. So everyone just got a surprise when they bit into a minty cupcake. And I really don't know why I thought minty cupcakes were a good idea.

I think I definitely do better next time. Too bad I have to wait a year!

MOH Cam Thursday

2010-08-12T22:53:00.000-04:00

the rehearsal day! not sure if I can figure out how to make a good rehearsal video in imovie, but we'll find out...

MOH Cam Wednesday

2010-08-11T23:18:00.000-04:00

MOH Cam Tuesday - the House!

2010-08-10T23:55:00.002-04:00

Tuesday MOH Cam from Kate Craig on Vimeo.

MOH Cam Monday

2010-08-09T21:16:00.000-04:00

to clarify, while I think Tim's idea is a little crazy, it's also very cute!

MOH Cam Sunday

2010-08-08T21:18:00.001-04:00

I forgot to say yesterday that I have a LOT more Polish Horseshoes clips. I'll make a good video when I'm home with my own software. I'm really struggling using a Mac! My name is Kate and I'm a PC.

MOH Cam Saturday

2010-08-08T00:03:00.001-04:00

Friday MOH Cam

2010-08-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

Birthday Video

2010-07-20T09:39:00.001-04:00

My 25th Birthday from Kate Craig on Vimeo.

Josh's Garden

2010-07-19T19:51:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-07-19T09:54:00.001-04:00

Josh actually does like picking out presents for me, but I stole his thunder this year by asking for a new camera. I'm SO excited about it. I've been taking a ton of pictures of my favorite subject

So all he had left to do was plan a special day. He used to be terrible at planning special days. But I really can't say that anymore!

First he got muffins

and flowers (I have very cheap taste in flowers by the way)

Lunch at Subway (the new chicken salad sandwich... try it! it's really good)...

...on our way to Myrtle Beach! We've never been, so we didn't exactly go to the beach. We just kind of explored. We got into the Ripley's Aquarium with an awesome military discount.

It's more interactive than impressive (not worth the normal admission price if you're wondering)

I loved all the funny little shops. Especially this (kind of inappropriate) candy store.

If I knew what to do with this twizzlers pillow I would so get it

Make your own pixie sticks

Lots of fun jelly beans. The pop ones are really good!

When I have kids, I'm getting one of these

The ultimate you might be a redneck if...

Funny Tshirt store

It's a spray on. I fooled some people tho!

We did go check out the beach for a few minutes

Dinner at the Melting Pot! We discovered if you just get cheese and chocolate, it's really not that expensive. It's a very fun place to go.

No free dessert, but they gave me a birthday card

words are not necessary

yes I did actually eat that spoonful of chocolate

I'm too old for this...

2010-07-12T22:53:00.000-04:00

What, may you ask, could a 25 year old possibly be too old for? (my birthday's on Saturday, I'm saying I'm 25 now)

We did an all-nighter with the Youth on Friday. Enough said?

I've learned that I'm too old for...

Staying up all night. I'm definitely a night owl, but staying up after 1 is stupid and staying up all night is suicidal
Putting alka selzer and pop in my mouth. This was at about 4 in the morning and I did not participate
Refusing to play sports so that I won't embarass myself. It seems I've grown in this area because I let them talk me into playing soccer. They were very patient.

But I'm never too old for...

Girl talk. Which is always best after 10pm
Boy bands. Yes we did blast my Backstreet Boys and *Nsync CDs at 5am
Eating way too much junk food. Though I wish that was on the previous list

Duh

2010-07-09T11:17:00.001-04:00

This summer I'm working as a receptionist at a place that does a lot of hiring. So I get a lot of phone calls about applications.

First, there are the ones that don't need anything and I have NO clue why they call.

[company name], This is Kate, how may I direct your call?
-- I'd like to put in an application to be a [position name]
Ok, I'll give you the address for the website where you can download our application.
-- Oh I already have that
Ok, what can I help you with?
-- So I just send it in?
Yes, you can email, fax, or mail it.
-- Yeah I see that on the website
Ok, did you have any other questions?
-- Nope, thanks, bye

Maybe they just want to see that we're real? I have nooo idea.

Then there are the calls asking us for our fax number.

[company name], This is Kate, how may I direct your call?
-- Can I have your fax number?
Sure, it's 803...
-- Oh wait, I have to get a pen

No joke. It's happened multiple times. One lady took 5 minutes to find a pen.

But here is my favorite that I get all the time. Our application not on our main site, so we get a lot of calls about that.

[company name], This is Kate, how may I direct your call?
-- I'd like to put in an application to be a [position name]
Ok, I'll give you the address for the website where you can download our application
-- Ok, thanks
It's www.training...
-- Is that all lowercase?

ALL THE TIME. I don't even know what to say. If I say it doesn't matter, they don't believe me! So I started just saying, yes, it's all lowercase. I'm tempted to ask for their names because they would be the same people who call 15 times because they can't figure out how to make their timesheet. :)

Why didn't I think of that?

2010-07-09T07:13:00.001-04:00

I recently came across one of those recipes that is so obvious, but so good!

Fruit-Filled French Toast Wraps.

French toast wraps! Why didn't I think of that! The idea is that they are like healthy crepes. We LOVED them.

It didn't occur to me to take a picture, but JOSH reminded me! It seems I have trained him well. :) Or he just didn't want to hear me whine later about forgetting...

(turkey bacon, of course. which I now like better than regular bacon)

Here's the recipe, though like I said, it's super obvious!

1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
(I never actually measure all that stuff)
2 whole wheat tortillas (8 in)
2 teaspoons butter (I did use margarine, though I would try Pam to make it even healthier)
2/3 c sliced strawberries
2/3 c blueberries
2/3 c sliced banana
1 carton vanilla yogurt
1/4 c granola (I omitted the granola because it's expensive, and I wasn't sure I wanted the crunch anyway)
1 tsp confectioners' sugar

In a shallow bowl, whisk the egg, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg. Dip both sides of tortillas in egg mixture. In a non-stick skillet, cook tortillas in butter over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

In a small bowl, combine the berries, banana, yogurt and granola. Spoon down the center of tortillas. Roll up; sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

From Cooking for 2 magazine, submitted by Dawn Jarvis. I'm not sure if my mom cut out the recipe, or just gave me the magazine, but she deserves some credit in there somewhere :)

On the unhealthy end, I made this gooey thing for Sunday School and it was a big hit. It's so easy that we sang special music in the first service, came home, and had it finished by Sunday School.

Crazy Childrens Songs

2010-07-07T08:54:00.000-04:00

So, by demand of my sister-in-law and M, I'm making an effort to blog again. :) I've been busier than what's normal for me, so I just haven't been doing it!

Right now I'm preparing for school, so my head and ears are full of children's music. I've found some great stuff, but I've also found some really weird stuff.

We always use the example of Ring Around the Rosie as an awful children's song, but check out this one...

In the Land of Oz where the ladies smoke cigars,
Every puff they take is enough to kill a snake.
When the snakes are dead, they put roses on their heads.
When the roses dies, they put diamonds in their eyes.
When the diamond break, it is 1998!

WHAT in the world?!

I Can Cook

2010-06-11T23:33:00.001-04:00

So, we tried this recipe from Josh's Men's Health magazine that sounds awful, but it's crazy healthy! You put old-fashioned oats, cottage cheese, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a blender and make pancakes. I know, it sounds crazy, but it actually tastes just like bread pudding, only way healthier!

It's defnitely one of my new favorite ways to sneak protein into my diet!

Here are the actual measurements:

1/2 c old fashioned oats

1/4 c cottage cheese

2 eggs

vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon

That amount makes about what you see in the picture on the plate.

*********

I also tried another awesome recipe that I got forever ago off Big Mama's blog. I just don't have many reasons to make a cake. So I just made it for Josh to take to work. It was AWESOME! You could probably find a better frosting recipe, depending on what your frosting preference is, but the cake was so good. And I'm not even a cake person. This is halfway through the process... you just need to try it to understand how good it is!

Shower details

2010-06-08T21:14:00.002-04:00

I had so much fun planning MOH's shower! I love planning parties! Before you see these pictures and think I'm totally insane, you have to know that the girl loves all things pink and sparkly. Just take a look at the presents everyone brought...

AM spent a crazy amount of time making these paper purses for favors...

and Mom bought all kinds of pink things to stuff inside!

Grandma's Basement of Wonders produced a lifesize bride...

And a teddy bear bride!

I went a leeettle crazy with the table

And with the bedazzling

I was so excited when I found these enormous plastic rings at Walmart

The Basement of Wonders produced exactly the right amount of pretty dish sets

And my favorite part... the food! This party was perfect for feeding my baking bug. These little brownies are fun. They're just regular brownies made in muffin cups (Grandma made them in foil which made them crinkly). You put a heart shaped paper on them and sprinkle with powdered sugar!

These are fun, but maybe a little too unique. The frosting is cinnamon, which is great for my family, who loves cinnamon, but might take some people by surprise. But they're fun little bite sized things that are too cute!

These are a favorite family recipe - Raspberry Squares. (actually, raspberry diamonds on this occasion). They're kind of like a shortbread with rasberry jelly baked into them.

These were Grandma's suggestion and I'm so glad she did them, because MOH loves them! They're oreos covered in a chocolate mold. You can get the molds at Michaels.

These were a huge hit. They are pretty simple, and don't seem like anything special when you read the recipe. But people LOVE them! You all have to try them! They're a Betty Crocker recipe.

And this was the biggest hit of all. Coffee punch! Apparently it's a Southern thing, because my Northern family hadn't had it before.

And finally, our poor little merignes. Also a family recipe, and one of my absolute favorites. But they turned to mush in the humidity. :(

We played the clothespin game, except with BLING!

The centerpiece was "wife advice," inspired by a centerpiece at one of M's babyshowers that she posted on Facebook :)

And for a final bit of pink and sparkle... tiaras for the bridal party!

I almost forgot to give credit for the amazing picture to AM and her awesome camera which I am badley coveting. They less amazing pics are mine.

MOH's Shower

2010-06-06T00:34:00.000-04:00

She is so cute in these videos...
Andrea's Shower from Kate Craig on Vimeo.

shuffle off to Buffalo

2010-05-31T12:24:00.001-04:00

I went to Buffalo this past week for MOH's first shower! I will probably post extensively about the shower, but for now I'm at work (on lunch break!) and I have no pictures, so you'll have to settle for travel stories.

I flew out of Charlotte which is a pretty nice airport. There's a bathroom attendant. Seriously. I think she cleans the toilets every time someone uses them. And she makes small talk with you and offers you mouthwash and lotion.

And then there's Newark. Dirtiest bathrooms ever! And super confusing. For some gates, you actually have to go out and back through security to get to your next gate! Thankfully I could take a shuttle to mine. But what if you only had 30 minutes between flights!?

Airport restaurant workers crack me up. There's the Detroit ones, that tend to be incredibly rude and act like it's the biggest inconvenience in the world that you'd like to order a toasted bagel.

And then there's Newark. On Saturday it was crazy busy and I went to McDonald's. The menu is very small, so you kind of have to know what to ask for. Which I didn't. Which was a problem.

"Can I have the smallest size Chicken Selects?"
ummmm (guy at register next to him pokes the button)
"With ranch?"
ummmm
"And, I'm sorry, I can't remember what they're called... the frozen yogurt with oreos mixed in?" (I can see the soft serve machine with the oreos on top of it, so I know they have them)
ummmm you mean a frappe?
"no, the frozen yogurt with the oreos mixed in"
ummmm you mean the parfait?
"no, the thing with the oreos mixed in"
(asks manager) we don't have frozen yogurt. We have ice cream
"ok, can I have the ice cream with the oreos mixed in"
(asks manager) that's a McFlurry
"ok, can I have one?"
you want the oreo one?

(I get my bag, there's no ranch) "Could I have some ranch?"
ummm I don't know where it is
"Could you ask someone?"

It was all I could do not to crack up!!

Happy 4 years to us!

2010-05-06T23:53:00.005-04:00

made with "Ties that Bind" by Creations by Rachael

the birds hate me

2010-05-05T11:31:00.000-04:00

Every morning I go out to find some new presents on my car.

and Josh's truck gets nothing.

what's up with that??

I have one thing to say

2010-05-04T20:49:00.002-04:00

BIG

MIKE

I feel guilty

2010-05-04T00:20:00.000-04:00

My favorite grocery store down here is Bi-Lo. The employees are generally pretty nice, but not very knowledgable.

This week in the ad, it said if you bought 4 GM cereals, you got $6 at the register. I didn't know if that meant the register took $6 off my sale, or I got a coupon, or what. So when I got to the register I asked the cashiers. They had no idea.

I showed them the ad, and they still had no idea. One went and asked a manager. The cashier came back and said the register should print a coupon that they could scan with that order. The register did not print a coupon.

Now, one of them went to the shelves to make sure I bought the right cereal. I did buy the right cereal. By now I'm SO embarassed. I hate being the demanding person at the register, but $6 is kind of a lot!

So the went and got the manager. He came and took $4 off my sale. Except it's supposed to be $6. So they went and got him again and he took $2 off.

I get to my car and look at my receipt. The register had taken $1.50 off the price of each of my cereals. So I got TWELVE dollars back. I feel like I stole $6 from Bi-Lo! I debated going back in, but decided against it.

What would you have done?

my new favorite things

2010-04-29T23:50:00.000-04:00

Starburst all REDS! I've always said they should do this!! Just another thing to tempt me.

I just bought this cartigan from Old Navy. I know it doesn't look like anything special, but I LOVE it. (I've already worn it twice this week, ha) It's so soft and flattering and practical!

Special K protein bars. I've been really trying to eat more protein since starting P90X. I'm not a big meat eater, so I have to be very purposeful about it. Protein bars are very helpful and these are SO GOOD.

I Can't Cook: Baking

2010-04-25T17:18:00.000-04:00

Week before last was not such a good cooking week for me. I made the worst dinner ever. I don't even want to tell you what it was. But I put a bunch of things together in a pot that should never be put together. I also needed to make things for the school bake sale. I couldn't decide what to make, so I polled facebook. The general consensus was that cookies were more popular than pies or cakes. So I decided to do one normal cookie, and one special cookie.

For the normal cookie I just made PB brownies with frosting, which turned out fine. But the special cookie...

I was trying out a new recipe, Mocha Toffee Truffle Bars. Unfortunately, I think I had too much cookie
dough and didn't let it bake long enough, so it was just a pan of goo. It tasted AMAZING, but I would have had to change the name to Mocha Toffee Mush if I wanted to sell it.

So I didn't show up to the bake sale with very much. At least they looked cute!

This week was totally different! Since I didn't sub all week, I had some extra time to experiment. I made some things for Josh's shop (to help cheer them up on their icky shift!). I tried another new recipe, Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookes, and they were great! If you like oatmeal cookies, you have to try it. Just use your favorite recipe and sub dried apples and caramel bits for the rasins. I'm thinking they may also be a good cookie to send to Iraq.

I also tried a recipe for MOH's shower (which is in a month!) that turned out even better than I expected! When I went to have dinner with Josh on Friday, some guys referred to me as "the master cook." If only they knew... poor guys have been eating cafeteria style for too long.

ALSO I made cinnamon rolls for church. I have had ISSUES with my yeast baked goods rising ever since I got here. I think it's because I'm buying different yeast than I did in Ohio. But with the help of Alton Brown, these were the best yet. Except one pan rose better than the other. I don't even know how that's possible!

(I forgot to take a picture)

This Week

2010-04-24T23:48:00.001-04:00

This Week...

Josh got put on seconds AND 12 hours... so 3pm to 3am. UGH! It should be temporary. And he still has weekends. We've been very fortunate with his schedule, so I guess it's our turn for an icky one. I go and have dinner with him. On Thursday we had a pretty picnic dinner...

This was the first week I didn't get called to sub. :(

I had a good cooking week! (more to come on that later) Including the best turkey breast I've ever done... crispy and juicy!

Our (or, um, Josh's) first attempt at a veggie garden is progressing. I'm super excited about saving $$$ on produce!

Josh won an award at work. It's specific to his job, which I'm not allowed to talk about, but he was excited about it! And it's an award for Airmen AND NCO's (non-commissioned officers) so that's pretty cool. He got a mug and a day off (days off are the reward for EVERYTHING)

I got two new piano students! Both little boys... one I already know and love!

P90X

2010-04-21T17:08:00.001-04:00

It has been a while since a P90X post!

In case you're counting (which I assume you aren't) the 90 days are up. I did really well the first month... and not so well the other months. However, I did manage to lose 1.5 inches off my waist and I can definitely do more push ups.

Josh looks awesome! HE'S been working very hard. And his last PT (physical training) test showed it. So does the fit of his pants!

Of course, this just means we are starting ALL OVER. Hopefully I will be more motivated. I still really like the workouts and seriously struggle with the diet.

However, P90X has definitely changed the way I think about food. (and Biggest Loser has helped a little too :) ) It's not just about eating the smallest amount of calories and fat, it's about giving your body fuel. For example, nuts are a better afternoon snack than pretzels, even though they have more fat and calories. You have to EAT to lose weight! That is defnintely not the way I used to think!

So... P90X... TOTALLY recommended. And hopefully you have more discipline than I do!

Murphy's Law

2010-04-20T18:20:00.000-04:00

Here's a quiz. How well do you know Murphy's law?

If I forget my green bags and get two bottles of juice from the grocery store, where will the plastic bag break?
A. in the store
B. in the parking lot
C. in my driveway
D. in my kitchen

Which juice bottle will fall on the floor and explode everywhere?
A. the red one
B. the yellow one

*I am pleased to tell you that at this point Murphy's law failed. The juice flood did not go under the oven, fridge, or anything that would be very difficult for me to move*

The next day, what will happen?
A. I spill nothing
B. I buy more juice
C. I spill some dry cereal
D. I spill half a pitcher of Crystal Light in the fridge

If D is the correct answer, what color would the Crystal Light be?
A. yellow
B. pink
C. orange
D. red

Still going with D, when would this happen?
A. in the morning when I had plenty of time to clean it up
B. in the evening when I had plenty of time to clean it up
C. right before I had to go to tutoring

gotta love it!

Vacation Photos: The Beach

2010-04-16T21:15:00.000-04:00

We went to Edisto Island, which is near Charleston. There's not a lot of "stuff" to do on the island. It's a place you go if you just want to enjoy the beach and nature. Which we did! The weather was great - high 70's, low 80's. The house we rented was just across the street from the beach. We walked this short pretty path to get there.

Our beach was on a gulf area, so the "waves" were very small. Which was perfect for the kids!

Sadie is very good at clapping on cue :)

We met a friend on the beach! He wanted some of the bread we were feeding the birds. He was so sweet.

When you're two, you don't care that they're just seagulls!

Zoo

2010-04-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

Before we went on vacation, one of Josh's sisters and her family came and stayed with us. We went to the Columbia zoo. It was really great! Usually I've been to zoos when it's quite hot. But the weather was super nice and all the animals were out and entertaining.

Doesn't this baby girl have the best smile?

This elephant kindly played with a stick for our amusment.

The giraffes are always my favorite, and I was so excited to see them this close! People were feeding them, so they came right up to us.

I wish I was funny and could come up with a caption for this one:

I made everyone wait 30 minutes so that I could ride the kiddie train.

Just kidding! Avery chose me to ride with him (yay!). But unfortunately, a moving train and a moving 2-year-old does not make a great picture.

So adorable

Vacation Preview

2010-04-10T21:58:00.000-04:00

We've been on vacation with Josh's family this week. We didn't have internet, and I have a ton of pictures to post! here's a preview:

Happy Easter!

2010-04-01T23:57:00.000-04:00

I always have mixed feelings about Easter.

It is SO important to maker sure we remember and celebrate what Christ did for us, but I often find it all to be very overwhelming. Especially if there's a graphic retelling of what He went through.

I'm having a hard time having a good attitude about this Sunday because of the marathon of services that starts at SEVEN A.M. That's a lot of singing and piano playing very early in the morning.

Today I went to chapel at school... there's nothing like little kids singing to remind you what's really important!

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

this cornerstone, this solid ground

firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

when fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones he came to save

Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave he rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

- Stuart Townend

When you wonder what you have done to your poor husband.

2010-03-29T21:53:00.000-04:00

While watching a commercial today....

Me: "What is that kid from?"

Josh's immediate response: "iCarly"

I guess I really can't complain about basketball season.