Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Kaitlyn is One Week Old!

Kaitlyn had her first doctor's appointment this morning. Everything checked out perfectly, and she's weighing in at exactly 8 pounds and is 20 inches long (born at 8 pounds, 3 ounces). We go back on Friday to weigh her one more time to make sure she's still gaining weight (not concerned, just making sure).
First "tummy time" - she loved it :)

I caught her smiling in her sleep - this picture cracks me up :)

First bath last night


We are having so much fun being parents. We couldn't ask for anything more!



Monday, October 27, 2008

Day 5!

We got 5 straight hours of sleep last night! :) Here a few more pictures:

Sleeping on Grandma Bonnie
We went for our first walk today! Kaitlyn fell asleep the second we started rolling. We love our stroller!




Great Grandma Gertrude and her great granddaughter :)





Sunday, October 26, 2008

Day 4

Okay, I got a few more pictures uploaded. Our computer is sooo sloooowww! :(

Here I am with Kaitlyn - she's less than a day old, and I'm looking forward to a shower at this point. :)


He's a natural :)


So happy to be going home! Kaitlyn really liked her carseat. :)


Riley might be a little jealous...he's being a great big brother, but he makes sure to butt in to every cuddle session. :)



That's it for now - I'll post more pictures when I have more patience. :)



Saturday, October 25, 2008

Kaitlyn Donnell Collins

She's here! A couple of hours after writing the last blog (you know, the one about thinking that she'd definitely come late...), we went to bed. I started getting what I was pretty positive were mild contractions (up to that point, I hadn't "real" ones that I knew of). I told Jeff, and we started trying to time them, thinking that it was nothing. They were coming about every 5 or 6 minutes or so. About 20 minutes later (at about 10:50p.m.), as Jeff was just rolling over to go to sleep, I felt and heard a pop and a "gush." I turned to Jeff and said I think my water just broke. I wish we had a picture of what I'm sure both of our faces looked like because I'm sure it was pretty funny. We both got up and started aimlessly going around the bedroom trying to figure out what to do. Jeff called the hospital and they told us to come in to see if my water had really broken.
We got to the hospital at about 11:45 or so and checked in. They didn't even end up checking; just asked me some questions, decided that, yes, this was "it," and they checked us in to our room.
Long story longer, we went through about 9 hours of early labor and 7 hours of active labor before I decided I'd had enough and wanted an epidural. I wasn't progressing very quickly, and I came to the realization that I could be going through several more hours of the worst pain I'd ever felt, and it would only get worse. I have to say, though, that Jeff was the most amazing "coach" I could have asked for. He kept me focused, talked me through each contraction, and breathed through them with me when they were the worst. The epidural was the best decision I'd ever made -what a relief. :) I finally got to relax for a couple of hours. The right side started wearing off so I started feeling very strong contractions in my back - about an hour later I got a bit more of the meds and was ready to start pushing. Two hours of pushing later, the doctor informed me that she didn't think that more of my pushing was going to get this baby out. We opted to try the "vaccum" with the understanding that the doctor would not keep going if she thought it wasn't going to work or that it wasn't safe. It took me 45 minutes to get her out after that. I got a fever partway through, so they got concerned about me getting her out quickly. It was a scary half hour or so because I just didn't think I could do it and I was worried that Kaitlyn wasn't going to be okay. When she finally came out, they put her right up on my chest, and it was by far the most amazing, surreal, and relieving moment of my life. All three of us were crying, and the 10 nurses and doctors who had accumulated in our room and out in the hall were cheering. We will never forget that moment.
Kaitlyn had a fever when she was born, so they had to do some additional bloodwork to be sure that she hadn't developed an infection, and I had to be on antibiotics for two days. We are both doing just fine now. :) We got to come home last night, and are so happy to be here.
Whew! That's our very long-winded story. :)
We could not be happier - we have our little baby girl, and she's healthy and the most perfect thing we have ever seen. Good thing, because she's got a good set of lungs that will keep us from many, many nights of good sleep. :)
Here she is: Kaitlyn Donnell Collins - born Wednesday, October 22nd, 8 pounds 3 ounces.
We have a tone more pictures, but our computer is slow and time is limited, so we'll post more later :)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Breaks for the Collins Family

Jeff had his last night of class last night, and is now taking a six week break. Thank goodness! He needs it. Although this will mean going a bit longer in the end, it will be worth taking a breather and spending quality time with his daughter when she arrives. :)
I am taking my maternity leave three days early, so my last day of work will be Friday! My blood pressure has been up at my last two appointments, and both the nurse and the doctor asked me if I would be able to take time this week to relax. Not with teaching! For my health and for Kaitlyn's, I am going to just be done a bit earlier. I will still go back to work on February 12th, as originally planned. I will honestly be sad to leave my kids on Friday, but won't complaining about some R&R before all heck breaks loose. :) Apparently I have been overdoing it. :) So, these next few days will be probably be long ones, making sure that I am as prepared as possible for the long-term sub, but after Friday I am LETTING GO!
There isn't much else to report. Not really any more progress, but I keep telling myself that doesn't mean anything. However, I am beginning to believe that I will be joining the "late club." Oh, well! She'll be here when she's ready, and we can't wait. :) I am 39 weeks tomorrow; one week from our due date. Our bags are packed and the carseat is in the car. C'mon, Kaitlyn!
We'll keep everyone posted!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Picture Update

I was finally able to borrow my mom's camera to get pictures from this summer and a few more recent ones (I don't bring my camera anywhere anymore for some reason...)Here are some random pictures...

The fam in Chelan
A pretty standard sight for that week...
After a morning "walk-jog" (my term for what I do now since I have to switch between walking and jogging:)) My mom got these matching outfits for Payton, Paige, and Kaitlyn.


My aunt Debbie and cousin Caiti threw a really nice baby shower for me this past weekend. I was forcing Caiti to feel Kaitlyn move...
She was a little unsure...
2 and a 1/2 more weeks until we're due!! :)






Thursday, October 9, 2008

Update

We had a doctor's appointment today, and I am currently 1cm dilated and 70% effaced, and Kaitlyn's head is low. The doctor says that this is great progress for 37 weeks. I know from talking to many others that this most likely means absolutely nothing in terms of when she'll make her arrival, but it's still exciting to know that my body is doing what it's supposed to. :) I have been wondering if she was dropping pretty low because of how I've been feeling, but wasn't sure.
Everything is looking great - her heartbeat is great, and the doctor thinks that her size is right where it should be. So apparently she's evened out since 19 weeks when they told us that she was in the 94th percentile for size. :)
Here's hoping!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Yep, I'm huge!!

Kaitlyn and I are officially full term! I am 37 weeks, with 3 weeks to go until our due date. Of course, she could wait until after that, but do me a favor and send some "early" or "on time" vibes...I feel like I am getting bigger every day, and most of the time it feels like she is trying to bust right out of my belly. She's running out of room! My next appointment is tomorrow, then I start going every week. I have been feeling really good, considering the situation. :) It helps to stay active. I am dealing with some pretty attractive swelling in my ankles and feet, but other than that things are not that bad. Teaching is keeping me extremely busy, so time is flying. Jeff is, of course, still very busy with his masters work, so I think we'll both be shocked when Kaitlyn decides to make her appearance because we are so distracted.

Aside from our jobs and school work, we have been working non-stop on "projects" around the house to get ready. I don't remember what it feels like to sit and relax in front of a movie or just relax for that matter! We finally have the nursery pretty much finished, we are just waiting for the glider chair to arrive. It will go in the corner here:

Here is one of the shelves (by the door):
I had these shelves in my room growing up, and I painted them white to match Katilyn's room.
Jeff put in a closet organizer last weekend, and I had fun organizing and doing TONS of laundry!! It's so nice to have a place for everything, and have space left over. I'm sure we will have no problem filling it!

I hope their "90 percent" is accurate, because if she comes out a boy, she's going to be wearing a lot of pink!! :)
The crib...the bag is from Mollie, Kara, and Jenni. I'll be bringing it with me to the hospital. :)

And that's it for now!