The Smith Family: October 2009

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Just In Time...kind of

We finally have a completed bedroom for Kendyl and just in time too (for her actual due date that is). After several mishaps including paint that took 2 more coats than planned, chair rail that took several days longer than planned and a crib project from hell, we are finally DONE! Thank you SO much to my sisters and Ben who helped to get the room finished!

I am really happy with the way it turned out. We still need to put some stuff on the walls, but for now this will work just fine (considering she is still sleeping in our room).

No, this is not the crib that we sanded and repainted. We ended up having to buy this crib last minute because, let's just say the other one did not work out. Okay...it was my stupid idea and I have learned my lesson!

At least we didn't have to buy a glider or a dresser thanks to hand me downs from my parents and Lori! I think they turned out nicely.

And of course here are a couple pictures of Kendyl:

My cute little family :)

Relaxing in her la-z-boy

I really need to get better about taking more pictures. Since my last post this is all that I have taken!

Fireworks

Our friend Ben obtained some fireworks and had been wanting to set them off since this summer, but Matt and I always seemed to have something going on. Finally, we set a date to do it and drove out to the desert. Just for the record, I am the farthest thing from a thrill seeker and the idea of driving off road, in the desert, in total darkness, to illegally set off fireworks was not my idea of a good time. Not to mention, the road was extremely rough and being as pregnant as I was was not fun! With that said, I am glad I went because that may have been why I went into labor 12 days early? Anyway, here are some pictures from the night. I hope these can't be used as evidence...

Meeting Amare

This is kind of out of order, but oh well. About a week or 2 before I had Kendyl Matt and I went to the Cardinal's game with our friends Meghan and James. I had never been inside the new stadium so I was excited to see it, but I was a little worried about being 9 months pregnant and having to sit for a long period of time. Not to mention, at this time my feet were swelling up to the size of princess Fiona's (when she was the ogre) as one of my sweet colleagues so kindly pointed out. We got there shortly before the game started so naturally parking was an nightmare. After many failed attempts to find parking in our assigned lot the lot attendants eventually told us to go over to another lot. It is pretty safe to say that we were pretty frustrated at this point. Fortunately, there was plenty of parking in the other lot so we parked and began walking in the stifling heat to the stadium. As we were walking James hears one of the lot attendants say "That's Amare" (referring to a black SUV). Naturally, our interest was piqued! We picked up the pace a little only to see Amare Stoudemire and his family piling out of their car. A few people shouted to him, but overall I was very surprised at the lack of security he had. I mean, he parked in a regular lot (granted he got a front row spot), and just walked into the building like any normal Joe. I told Matt that I wanted to go say hi and get a picture with him. Matt told me to leave him alone, but I didn't listen. We walked right up to him and said hi. We told him we were big fans and we were looking forward to the season. I even told him he had very cute children. I asked if he would mind taking a picture and he said that was fine as long as one of us were in it. (I was 9 months pregnant and sweaty so I had Matt take the picture with him). All in all he was pretty decent, but not very talkative. Then again, I am not so sure I would be either if 2 strangers were bugging me to take pictures. Needless to say, it made the parking fiasco TOTALLY worth it!

As far as the game was concerned, the Cardinals lost to the 49ers, but really, who cares? We met Amare!

Getting out of the car with his kids

Matt and Amare

The halftime show. Pretty neat.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

All the details...

The moment we have been anticipating for 9 months has now come and gone and the good news is that we made it out with a beautiful baby girl! I had been feeling what I thought were contractions since Tuesday (Sept 29). Since I was still 2 weeks out from my due date I didn't give too much thought to them. Especially since they were not at all consistent. The contractions continued on into the next day, but again there was nothing consistent so I just went about my day. We went to bed that night and I joked to Matt that this may be the last night we get a full night’s sleep for a long time. Little did I know we were not even going to get that! Around 12:30 I was woken by another contraction. This one was stronger than the ones I had been feeling earlier. Although it hurt, it was nothing worse than a period cramp. This time though they continued coming and at pretty regular intervals. Matt eventually woke up because of my constant tossing and turning and I told him that I thought I was having contractions. We began timing them and almost like clockwork they were coming every 10 minutes. I called my doctor and asked her what we should do and she said to wait until they were about 5 minutes apart. We carried on for the rest of the night timing and by the end of the night we were around 7 minutes. We had a doctor's appointment at 3:00 that day, but I didn't think I would be able to wait that long. So as soon as they opened I called to see if I could get an earlier appointment. They scheduled us for 9:45. When we went in the doctor checked me and I was at 4cm, 100% effaced and the baby was at zero station. She told us that we could go over to the hospital now or we could go home and wait a little longer. Trying to put of the IV for as long as possible I opted to go home. We waited for 2 hours and my contractions started to slow down a little, but Matt didn't care. He was too excited and ready to go to the hospital.
When we finally got there I was still the same so they told me I needed to relax and take a walk (apparently the anxiety about the IV was slowing down the labor). A couple of hours rolled by and they decided they were going to have me stay. They started with the IV and some blood work (my FAVORITE!) and then the waiting games began. They gave me Pitocin and things started picking up quickly. I have to admit, the pain was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. I used to get pretty horrible cramps as a teenager which frankly, I thought were worse than the contractions (because you get a break in between). Unfortunately, I knew that the break was going to get shorter and shorter, and I did not want to feel the actual delivery so I opted to get the epidural around 6 cm. That was the WORST part of labor hands down (for both me and Matt. He got pretty nauseous when they were putting it in)!! It took the guy FOREVER! All the while I was having contractions. It did however, kick in very quickly and before I knew it I was high as a kite. Up next, more waiting... By this time I have several family members and friends starting to arrive. In total I think we had 12 people there which really helped keep me distracted. I am sure the nurses were slightly annoyed though. Finally, in the last hour my nurse told me everyone should probably leave because pushing was the hardest part and I needed all the rest I could get. As everyone headed to the waiting room I tried to get a little sleep (not happening). At about 9:30 we began pushing (just for the record, this was not the hardest part. Exhausting, yes, but I would have pushed for another hour before getting another epidural!). It took an hour and some throwing up, but I finally got her out. Matt even cut the umbilical cord, which he swore he wouldn't do. 22 hours of labor and Kendyl Morgan was here. 8lbs 2 oz and 20.5 in long. She was a perfectly healthy little baby girl. I don't think I will ever be able to explain the relief I felt. After everyone came in to meet her and things got settled down they took us over to the postpartum room. We had been told that there was a room called the "princess suite" and that if we wanted it we would have to ask. Naturally, we did. As luck would have it, it was available! This room is 3 times the size of their normal postpartum rooms and it has 2 walls of windows!
Anyway, back to the baby, I know a lot of women talk about this being the happiest moment in their life, but for me it was a sense of zen. I wasn't pregnant anymore! And I had a healthy baby :) The overwhelming feelings so many women describe came the next day when we found out she was borderline jaundice. I know that a lot of babies get it, but you never want to hear that something is wrong with your tiny little child. She had to stay under phototherapy lights for 3 hour increments coming out for 30 minutes to eat and get her diaper changed. When they first put her in there she cried her eyes out. I just sat there by her little crib and cried right along with her. It wasn't until Matt came and let her hold his finger that she stopped. I think she just wanted to know that someone was there with her. After 11 hours they came and tested her again and she passed. Once that happened we were able to get checked out and go home!! We could not wait to get home in our own bed.
It has been a week and 3 days now and I think we are getting things down. To be honest, it is not as bad as I was prepared for. This is probably because I have the best baby EVER! She is so easy going. She loves to sleep and after getting a little help she is finally nursing. She rarely fusses and when she does it is usually one of 3 things that she wants so we can easily calm her back down. I feel rested, relaxed and happy. Matt has been an amazing help and I am so grateful that he was able to get 2 weeks off of work. It has been so much fun getting to hang out with my little family every day. I have always considered us very lucky people and this little baby is just another example of that. Now, here are the pictures...and there are A LOT of them...