Life Lately

Happy November everyone! I can't believe it has already been 6 weeks since Kendall was born! The time is FLYING by. In six short weeks she is already smiling, celebrated her first holiday, and had her first over night trip to Nonni and Papa's house in Modesto.

Kendall and I have been having a great time together! At six weeks, we are starting to get in to more of a routine. She is a great sleeper- goes down at night around 8-8:30, wakes up for one feeding, the sleeps again till 8 or 9am (knocking on wood!). Once she eats, we get her ready for the day (I try to get things done for myself when she is still sleeping in the morning), and run any errands that need to be done. We get out of the house once a day or so. I think it is good for her to be used to her car seat, the car, etc.  After we run our errands, we come home where she eats again, we play (tummy time!), she goes down for a nap, and then we do it all over again until Daddy comes home after football. She loves watching him do his Insanity work out DVD's, and then while they play together, I get dinner going.  Sometimes she lets me eat in peace, other times I'm multitasking to keep her happy while I scarf down dinner. After dinner is her bath time which she LOVES, then we brush her hair, read a book and she gets a bottle of pumped milk, then she is down for the night. She has this great pillow that she sleeps on in our room called the Nap Nanny - ever since we got it, she has slept for at least 6 hours at night. The first night she slept 6 hours I felt like a new woman! It's a MUST HAVE for any new parents out there.

I will put up some pictures later :)

Happy November everyone! I can't believe it has already been 6 weeks since Kendall was born! The time is FLYING by. In six short weeks she is already smiling, celebrated her first holiday, and had her first over night trip to Nonni and Papa's house in Modesto.

Kendall and I have been having a great time together! At six weeks, we are starting to get in to more of a routine. She is a great sleeper- goes down at night around 8-8:30, wakes up for one feeding, the sleeps again till 8 or 9am (knocking on wood!). Once she eats, we get her ready for the day (I try to get things done for myself when she is still sleeping in the morning), and run any errands that need to be done. We get out of the house once a day or so. I think it is good for her to be used to her car seat, the car, etc.  After we run our errands, we come home where she eats again, we play (tummy time!), she goes down for a nap, and then we do it all over again until Daddy comes home after football. She loves watching him do his Insanity work out DVD's, and then while they play together, I get dinner going.  Sometimes she lets me eat in peace, other times I'm multitasking to keep her happy while I scarf down dinner. After dinner is her bath time which she LOVES, then we brush her hair, read a book and she gets a bottle of pumped milk, then she is down for the night. She has this great pillow that she sleeps on in our room called the Nap Nanny - ever since we got it, she has slept for at least 6 hours at night. The first night she slept 6 hours I felt like a new woman! It's a MUST HAVE for any new parents out there.

I will put up some pictures later :)

Pictures Galore

I could post hundreds of pictures of our sweet baby girl, but I wont bore you all. Here are a few of my favorites...

Our first famiy photo

Kendall sleeping in her crib for the first time

 

 

Photographs from our newborn photo shoot. Can't wait to see the rest of the images!

 

I could post hundreds of pictures of our sweet baby girl, but I wont bore you all. Here are a few of my favorites...

Our first famiy photo

Kendall sleeping in her crib for the first time

 

 

Photographs from our newborn photo shoot. Can't wait to see the rest of the images!

 

Bringing Kendall Home

Below are the pictures we took the morning we got to bring Kendall home from the hospital...

Below are the pictures we took the morning we got to bring Kendall home from the hospital...

Introducing Kendall Marie Danielson

Little Baby Danielson is here! We welcomed her in to this world on September 19th, 2012 at 5:43pm. Her labor and birth were a looooooooooong process.

Kendall's Birth story:

My labor with Kendall started on Tuesday September 18th at about 6pm. I was making dinner and kept feeling this cramping in my lower abdomen that was different from the Braxton Hicks contractions I had felt on and off the last half of my pregnancy. However, considering I was already overdue, I didnt want to get my hopes up thinking I really could be in labor. After dinner, David and I took a walk, and the contractions didnt go away. I started timing them (thank you free iPhone app), and when they were five minutes apart, we called my OBGYN, Dr Chan. After talking with the Dr, he thought I should go in to be checked at the hospital to be on the safe side. He didnt think I was in active labor, since I was able to talk to him on the phone, but because I was already at 3cm, it was best to go in. So, off we went to the hospital, arriving at about 10pm. They took us to the triage side of labor and delivery, and checked me, and sure enough I was at 4cm and contracting. We stayed in the triage room most of the night (all the delivery rooms were full- September is the most popular month for babies to be born, something about Christmas and New Years wink wink) and were finally moved in to a delivery room at 5am. I had progressed well all night, and was at 6cm when they moved us in to the delivery room.  Based on my dilating, the Doctor and nurses thought Baby Danielson would arrive between 6:45am and 10:45am. David was in contact with our parents throughout the night, keeping them updated, and by 7:30am, both sets of future grandparents were at the hospital, and my sister and brother in law were on their way in from the bay area.  Up until this point, I had been managing my contractions with slow, rhythmic breathing, and silence in the room.  It was the weirdest thing, any time I felt a contraction coming on, I got into a semi squat position, tightened my muscles and just rocked back and forth. After leaking a little fluid (TMI sorry) they didnt want to check me anymore to avoid introducing an infection if my water had in fact broke.  However, after being at 6cm for 6hrs (yes, 6 hrs!), the Doctor finally checked, and sure enough, my water hadnt broken.  He went ahead and broke my water, and that brought on MAJOR back labor, but no further dilation.  Finally at 1pm, after checking again and seeing that I hadnt reached 7cm yet, I decided to have an epidural. At that point, I had been awake for close to 36 hours, and Little Baby Danielson was showing no signs of arriving any time soon.  I got the epidural and was able to relax a bit, and an hour later, I was at 10cm! Since I hadnt slept, the Doctor had me rest for a few hours, and I started pushing at 4pm.  It was strange pushing while still feeling the effects of the epidural, because it's hard to know if you are pushing the right way. Finally, after almost 2 hours of pushing, Little Baby Danielson arrived, and Daddy David was the one to tell me LBD was a girl. Unfortunately, our joy was short lived, because after they placed her on my chest and David cut her cord, the doctors and nurses had to take her away because she wasnt breathing well or handling the "transition" well. They took her out of the delivery room, and David had to watch while they hooked her up to breathing assistance (a CPAP machine) and they took her to the NICU. I was unaware of what was going on, still in the delivery room. After a while, they told me what was going on, and after getting up to my recovery room, I was finally able to go down and see her in the NICU. It was hard to see her in the NICU, hooked up to the CPAP machine, with IV's in her tiny little hand, but she was so healthy compared to other babies in the NICU. At 8lbs, Kendall was 4x the size of most of the babies in the NICU. 

The next three days were hard on us. We spent all of our time in the NICU, or in the hospital room waiting for her to wake up to feed. We had to leave on Friday night, and Kendall had to stay one more night. Leaving her was one of the hardest things we have had to do, but knew it was for her best interest. We called the NICU the next morning, and she was cleared to come home! We brought her home Saturday morning, and it has been a whirlwind every since! It is hard to imagine what life was like before she was here, she is already so ingrained in our lives. I love my little pal, and girls officially outnumber boys in our house!

Pictures to come, I'm having difficulty uploading right now

Little Baby Danielson is here! We welcomed her in to this world on September 19th, 2012 at 5:43pm. Her labor and birth were a looooooooooong process.

Kendall's Birth story:

My labor with Kendall started on Tuesday September 18th at about 6pm. I was making dinner and kept feeling this cramping in my lower abdomen that was different from the Braxton Hicks contractions I had felt on and off the last half of my pregnancy. However, considering I was already overdue, I didnt want to get my hopes up thinking I really could be in labor. After dinner, David and I took a walk, and the contractions didnt go away. I started timing them (thank you free iPhone app), and when they were five minutes apart, we called my OBGYN, Dr Chan. After talking with the Dr, he thought I should go in to be checked at the hospital to be on the safe side. He didnt think I was in active labor, since I was able to talk to him on the phone, but because I was already at 3cm, it was best to go in. So, off we went to the hospital, arriving at about 10pm. They took us to the triage side of labor and delivery, and checked me, and sure enough I was at 4cm and contracting. We stayed in the triage room most of the night (all the delivery rooms were full- September is the most popular month for babies to be born, something about Christmas and New Years wink wink) and were finally moved in to a delivery room at 5am. I had progressed well all night, and was at 6cm when they moved us in to the delivery room.  Based on my dilating, the Doctor and nurses thought Baby Danielson would arrive between 6:45am and 10:45am. David was in contact with our parents throughout the night, keeping them updated, and by 7:30am, both sets of future grandparents were at the hospital, and my sister and brother in law were on their way in from the bay area.  Up until this point, I had been managing my contractions with slow, rhythmic breathing, and silence in the room.  It was the weirdest thing, any time I felt a contraction coming on, I got into a semi squat position, tightened my muscles and just rocked back and forth. After leaking a little fluid (TMI sorry) they didnt want to check me anymore to avoid introducing an infection if my water had in fact broke.  However, after being at 6cm for 6hrs (yes, 6 hrs!), the Doctor finally checked, and sure enough, my water hadnt broken.  He went ahead and broke my water, and that brought on MAJOR back labor, but no further dilation.  Finally at 1pm, after checking again and seeing that I hadnt reached 7cm yet, I decided to have an epidural. At that point, I had been awake for close to 36 hours, and Little Baby Danielson was showing no signs of arriving any time soon.  I got the epidural and was able to relax a bit, and an hour later, I was at 10cm! Since I hadnt slept, the Doctor had me rest for a few hours, and I started pushing at 4pm.  It was strange pushing while still feeling the effects of the epidural, because it's hard to know if you are pushing the right way. Finally, after almost 2 hours of pushing, Little Baby Danielson arrived, and Daddy David was the one to tell me LBD was a girl. Unfortunately, our joy was short lived, because after they placed her on my chest and David cut her cord, the doctors and nurses had to take her away because she wasnt breathing well or handling the "transition" well. They took her out of the delivery room, and David had to watch while they hooked her up to breathing assistance (a CPAP machine) and they took her to the NICU. I was unaware of what was going on, still in the delivery room. After a while, they told me what was going on, and after getting up to my recovery room, I was finally able to go down and see her in the NICU. It was hard to see her in the NICU, hooked up to the CPAP machine, with IV's in her tiny little hand, but she was so healthy compared to other babies in the NICU. At 8lbs, Kendall was 4x the size of most of the babies in the NICU. 

The next three days were hard on us. We spent all of our time in the NICU, or in the hospital room waiting for her to wake up to feed. We had to leave on Friday night, and Kendall had to stay one more night. Leaving her was one of the hardest things we have had to do, but knew it was for her best interest. We called the NICU the next morning, and she was cleared to come home! We brought her home Saturday morning, and it has been a whirlwind every since! It is hard to imagine what life was like before she was here, she is already so ingrained in our lives. I love my little pal, and girls officially outnumber boys in our house!

Pictures to come, I'm having difficulty uploading right now

What, no baby yet?!

I can't believe I am writing this, but LBD (little baby Danielson) has yet to grace the world with his/her presence. We are now less than 6 hours away from the end of the day, and with that, the end of our "due date". Baby Danielson will officially be born past his/her due date. I never in a million years thought that would be the case, but I guess this baby is showing me whose boss already! Did you know that 80% of babies are born within 10 days of their due date (the 5 days before and the 5 days after) but that only 5% are born on their actual due date? Pretty crazy. Any it isnt looking like my baby will be one of them! As much as I have loved being pregnant, I am ready for baby to be here! Not only to meet this little bugger that has been rolling around inside of me for the last 10 months, but to be able to put a face to the feelings, a face to the names we have picked, and just to meet this little bundle that we already love so much.

Hopefully the next time I post it is with baby delivery news! XO!!

I can't believe I am writing this, but LBD (little baby Danielson) has yet to grace the world with his/her presence. We are now less than 6 hours away from the end of the day, and with that, the end of our "due date". Baby Danielson will officially be born past his/her due date. I never in a million years thought that would be the case, but I guess this baby is showing me whose boss already! Did you know that 80% of babies are born within 10 days of their due date (the 5 days before and the 5 days after) but that only 5% are born on their actual due date? Pretty crazy. Any it isnt looking like my baby will be one of them! As much as I have loved being pregnant, I am ready for baby to be here! Not only to meet this little bugger that has been rolling around inside of me for the last 10 months, but to be able to put a face to the feelings, a face to the names we have picked, and just to meet this little bundle that we already love so much.

Hopefully the next time I post it is with baby delivery news! XO!!

Ready, set, go!

I am ready to have this baby. More than ready. DESPERATE is more like it. I don't think there is anything else to do to get ready for the little one. Our bags are packed for the hospital (snack bag included), the car seat is installed, stroller is ready and waiting, the nursery is all done, the co sleeper is set up in our room (pretty sure the cats think it is for them), the pack n play was put together today by yours truly... what else? I'm at the point where I am creating projects for myself to keep myself busy. I guess it is good, but at the same time, I am ready to meet him/her!! I want to know if it is a boy or girl, and experience waht being a mommy is all about.

The doctor said it could be any day now. At my appointment last week, the baby's head was down, so we will see if I have made any progress tomorrow when I go in for my appointment. Keep us all in your prayers that Baby Danielson decides to grace us all with his/her presence sooner than later! 

I am ready to have this baby. More than ready. DESPERATE is more like it. I don't think there is anything else to do to get ready for the little one. Our bags are packed for the hospital (snack bag included), the car seat is installed, stroller is ready and waiting, the nursery is all done, the co sleeper is set up in our room (pretty sure the cats think it is for them), the pack n play was put together today by yours truly... what else? I'm at the point where I am creating projects for myself to keep myself busy. I guess it is good, but at the same time, I am ready to meet him/her!! I want to know if it is a boy or girl, and experience waht being a mommy is all about.

The doctor said it could be any day now. At my appointment last week, the baby's head was down, so we will see if I have made any progress tomorrow when I go in for my appointment. Keep us all in your prayers that Baby Danielson decides to grace us all with his/her presence sooner than later! 

Nesting

Now that I am on maternity leave, I have been able to work on all the little projects I had planned. One of the main things I wanted to do was reorganize (who am I kidding, I wanted to just get them ORGANIZED not "re-organize") our kitchen pantry and cabinets. After putting it off the last few days, I finally bit the bullet and got it all done. Wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and it felt great to get rid of all the old food we had in there.

I have also knitted a hat for the baby to wear in the hospital, as well as a prop for the newborn pictures we are having done. On the list for tomorrow- clean out the freezer!

Now that I am on maternity leave, I have been able to work on all the little projects I had planned. One of the main things I wanted to do was reorganize (who am I kidding, I wanted to just get them ORGANIZED not "re-organize") our kitchen pantry and cabinets. After putting it off the last few days, I finally bit the bullet and got it all done. Wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and it felt great to get rid of all the old food we had in there.

I have also knitted a hat for the baby to wear in the hospital, as well as a prop for the newborn pictures we are having done. On the list for tomorrow- clean out the freezer!