a JoURnEy tO foRevEr

Happy 1st Birthday Kinley!

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy 1st birthday to our sweet baby girl!

A year ago...

To our magnificent 1 year old,

Where do I even begin?! This has been the most amazing year of my life. You have inspired me to be a better person. You have truly filled a gap in my heart that I never knew could be filled. You have given me passion to live every day to the fullest. You have truly given me the opportunity to fill a calling that only God could have placed on my heart, to be your mother.

I thank God every day for you and the happiness that you have brought to your daddy and me. You won’t understand for a long time what I mean, but just know that you have changed our lives in an undreamed of way.

Thank you for the bottom of your belly giggles that you let me hear every day, for your Popeye face that brings tears to my eyes, for letting me hear “momma” at just the right times, for snuggling on my chest when I’ve lost my patience and need a rest, for the biggest most sincere smiles when I walk in to get you out of your crib, and for the sweetest little kisses, and occasional lick, that make me know that I will forever be a changed person because of you.

Even though I find myself weepy and sad that this day has come, I know that it’s happy tears that fall on my cheeks. Happy tears that symbolize all of the love and joy that you have given us during the last 12 months. Thankful tears for having the opportunity to watch you grow and learn and love… something that we prayed for for so long. It is so clear that God had a plan all along for us, and unmistakably that plan was you. How could we have ever doubted His plan, you are more than we could have ever hoped for.

Happy first birthday our sweet Looney... may this second year be just as amazing as the first. May you continue to learn, laugh and love each and every day. Thank you for being an incredible gift to us.

We love you sweet girl.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Kinley's 1 year photos to come this week, for now I'm off to enjoy our sweet girl on her birthday!

It's been a while... ha!

2011-12-06T15:19:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I'll be the first to admit that it's been a while, can five months even be categorized as "a while"?! Anyway, we are alive, doing amazingly well, and as would be expected, we have a lot to get caught up on.

I'll attempt to back log a few blogs as the weeks pass on, but today's post is going to be short and sweet, because I have other big things to say in tomorrow's blog. What's so big about tomorrow's blog you might be wondering... only the FIRST BIRTHDAY OF OUR BABY GIRL!!! Can you even believe that it's been an entire year since Kinley was born?! I can't. So before I get all sappy on you (because I will, and I plan to tomorrow) I'll just say that it's nice to be back. I've missed the blogging world and the support that it offers, but darnit I had ZERO time for it... which is a good thing because it meant that we were living it up with our baby girl, and swamped with our blooming photography business.

See you tomorrow for the big "1 year old" blog (and lots of updated pictures of our cutie pie!)

cloth switcheroo??

2011-07-04T20:26:00.000-05:00

I've had this crazy thought in my head for the last few weeks... I'm not sure why I suddenly have this nagging feeling/interest to switch over, but I definitely do!! So, any suggestions or things to consider if we do switch? I don't know much about cloth diapers, but I do have several friends that use cloth and I think it may be worth it, especially if we are able to have more kids.

I know that we certainly can't handle switching until we move in 6'ish weeks. So we have time to research and would love some advice!

6 Months Old!

2011-06-07T15:18:00.003-05:00

Dear Kin-
You are becoming quite the little lady these days! Your laugh is contagious! Daddy can make you laugh so hard, which then makes me laugh... there is nothing better in the world than all three of us laughing. You are starting to know what you want and don't want, it makes for some interesting situations, especially when you have decided that you don't want in your car seat. =) Your daddy and I still can't believe that your ours, and that we love you SO much! Thank you for being such an amazing little girl.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

And now for your latest stats:

Weight: 16 lbs 9 oz : 50tht percentile

Length: 24 1/4 inches : 10th Percentile (Not sure how she LOST an inch, I swear the measure SO different each time... oh well)

Diaper size: Size 3

Clothes size: You are wearing 6-9 month clothes.

Sleep: You are still consistently sleeping 10 hours each night.

Favorite activities/things: Playing with the cats and grandpa's dog, Wilson. You also love it when we hold your hands so that you can "walk".

Eating: You are nursing every 3-4 hours during the day and are now eating homemade baby food twice a day, breakfast and supper. You usually eat 2 veggies, a fruit, and some baby cereal each day.

Nicknames: LooLoo

Talking: I LOVE hearing you babble and "talk", you make a lot of little sounds. You can hold quite the conversation with us now. =)

New adventures: You got to go to Chicago with mommy and daddy for a weekend. You had your very first full day with just daddy while mommy was at a photography conference, and you guys did awesome together! You were a trooper in the car and slept nearly the entire 6 hours that it took us! While you were at the hotel in Chicago you also got to take your first swim in an indoor pool, you loved sitting in the baby float that we got for you!

New Skills You can now sit up completely on your own, although we still keep a watchful eye on you since you occasionally tip over if you get really excited about something, like the cat coming close enough to you to grab (not pet- just grab). =)

Still alive...

2011-06-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

We are still alive, I promise. We are in the middle of moving (to somewhere with dialup internet), finishing our new house plans, and trying to update some photography stuff. To say I've been swamped is an understatement.

I promise to get Kinley's 6 month post up soon!

5 Months Old

2011-05-07T10:30:00.009-05:00

Dear Kinley-
You are such a happy, fun little girl. You are such a blessing to your daddy and I. You have the sweetest laugh EVER! There are nights that we can tickle and play with you and get you to laugh for 10 minutes straight, your laugh makes me smile so much that my cheeks hurt. Thank you for making my first first Mother's day amazing, it is truly amazing to be your mommy.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

And now for your latest stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz : 51st percentile

Length: 25 3/4 inches : 65th Percentile

Diaper size: Size 2 (you are on the last box and will be in size 3's next week!)

Clothes size: You are mostly wearing 3-6 month clothes, and just a few 6 month outfits.

Sleep: You are still consistently sleeping 10 hours each night.

Favorite activities/things: Playing on the floor, holding your toys and chewing on them, jumping in your excersaucer, smiling and laughing at daddy, reading "touch and feel" books, and "talking" with mommy.

Eating: You are eating every 3-4 hours during the day.

Nicknames: Sweet Pea

Talking: I LOVE hearing your happy little squeal, it went missing for a few weeks and is back, louder than ever. =)

New adventures: You got to go on your first vacation, and first flight! You were a champ! You slept almost the entire flight, both ways. You had a blast with Aunt Keri in Florida and enjoyed the warm weather.

New Skills You just started to sit up all on your own!! I love watching you sit and learn about your new surroundigns and view. A few weeks ago you began to roll from your back to tummy, you've only done it a few times and only when it's been just you and daddy. It's ok... I KNOW it will be my turn to see something first next, and that means I'll see the first crawl. =)

Your photoshoot this month was painful. You wanted nothing to do with pictuers. I'm not sure if you are afraid of my new camera, just hated the wind outside, or were not a fan of the fluffy blanket I tried to put you on, but no matter what it was you were not into pictures this month.

Here are a few of the pictures that are decent, although to be honest, as a photographer these really frustrate me to look at because the focus is off, the exposure was off, but it was all we could do just to snap a few between the crying- we did it without really even checking settings. Oh well, it will make us laugh someday. =)

Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye

2011-04-29T14:51:00.002-05:00

See ya later Cherrywood Dr!

That's right, we're moving!! We (finally) sold our house today! We close on June 16th, so now we begin the race to get everything moved, find a place to live, and get our new house plans finalized. We are super excited and thankful that everything is coming together. I CAN NOT WAIT to be sitting in our new living room, looking out the windows at an amazing sunset over the fields in about 5 months!

Kinley's 1st Easter

2011-04-29T12:55:00.006-05:00

We had a great first Easter with Kinley! We weren't going to do a fancy Easter dress, and then last minute decided we really did want to. So off to Kohl's with Matt and my mom we went, we FINALLY all decided on this dress, I think it was darn cute!

We went to my Aunt's house, and of course, Kinley needed to nap just as we were about to start the egg hunt, so we put her in the carrier (the one that straps to me) and then she slept through every single minute of her 1st Easter egg hunt, oh well. By the time we got to our 2nd Easter she was wide awake and ready to go!

Here she is picking up her very first Easter egg- I think her daddy might have helped eat the candy this year. =)

Our first family Easter picture! It's so weird to see this, I remember being barely pregnant last year at Easter wondering what this Easter would be like.

Florida Vacation

2011-04-25T16:00:00.009-05:00

We had an amazing time in Florida last week! We got to stay with my sister Keri, meet her boyfriend Mike, see lots of great things and enjoy 85 degree weather! Here are few highlights from our trip.

Kinley and I with my sister Keri, this is the best we could get =-/

Kinley's first trip to the ocean.

A little dip in the water, she wasn't sure what to think of it.

Then she decided she hated it, I think it was a bit too cold.

A trip to sea world to see where my sister works. This is the best picture we got the entire day of the 3 of us. oh well.

Here is an alligator topiary that my sister created.

And this manatee really wanted to see us!

The dolphin show was great, Kinley LOVED watching them jump! Here she is ready for the show to start.

The dolphins pushing the trainer with their noses under the water while spinning, so cool!

Kinley getting ready for the shamu show.

The MASSIVE "shamu", or Tilikum is his actual name, this is the same whale that tragically killed the trainer last year. It was so surreal to see how big he really is!

We thought we'd try the pool to see if kinley liked that better than the ocean (she LOVES baths so we thought she'd love the pool)... NOPE!

Our last day in Florida we decided that we needed to get 007 (my sisters dog) and Kinley to take an Easter picture together, I don't think we did too bad!

Now we are back in the 45 degree rainy weather. Keri and Mike are coming back in May and Kinley CAN'T WAIT to see them again! Thanks for a great trip sis!

On our way home from vacation!

2011-04-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

We are on our way home from our vacation to Florida. We had a great time, saw lots of neat things, and Kinley LOVED spending time with her aunt Keri. TONS of pictures to come later this week!

Day 30

2011-04-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 30 — A motto or philosophy

Everything happens for a reason, God is in control.

Oh how true this is, and oh how many times I've had to remind myself of this(or my husband does it for me). =)

Day 29

2011-04-17T05:00:00.002-05:00

Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

I hope that we are able to sell our house and move into our new house. I dream that we can get pregnant with another baby. And I plan to continue to live a very happy and blessed life with an amazing husband, our beautiful baby girl, and great friends and family.

Day 28

2011-04-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 28 — A scar you have, and its story

I often find myself staring at this scar. I acquired this lovely lady a few years ago on a girls weekend trip. A bunch of us headed to a local river and went tubing down the river for a day, it was a blast! Sometime during the day I got a tiny scrape on my hand from the rocks. By the time the float was over and I could wash my hand I had a big nasty, red and infected looking cut. After lots of neosporin and bandaids, this is the beauty I ended up with.

Day 27

2011-04-15T05:00:00.002-05:00

Day 27 — A physical feature you love

Since this doesn't say that it has to be about me, I'm going to share my favorite physical feature of my husband. Matt has the most amazing calves! I've loved them since the first time I actually saw him in shorts. There's something about his muscular calves that make him look super athletic and strong, I love it!

Now for your viewing pleasure, a picture of my husband's awesome calves:

Day 26

2011-04-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 26 — A childhood memory

I have lots of great childhood memories, but one that stands out in my mind is participating in 4-H for many years. My sister and I were in a 4-H club with lots of other farm kids. We did community service, tours, etc, but nothing was as big as preparing our projects for the fair. We brought vegetables, sewed clothes, baked, took pictures, but the biggest project of all was our sheep. We kept them on a strict diet, walked them to get their muscles toned, and worked with them so that they wouldn't freak at the show.

The one memory that stands out the most was walking the sheep. We have some VERY hot summers in Iowa, mix that with high humidity and it can be darn right miserable outside. On a side note, I'm always hot, and I HATE being hot. So walking those stinking sheep up and down the dirt road in the field was basically my defintion of misery. Eventually the sheep knew that once we got to the end of the road they got to go back to their pens, in the cool barn. Once they had the route down we would take their ropes off and they would run at full speed back to their pens. It was pretty awesome.

Although I may have hated walking the sheep, the 4-H fair is something that will always stick in my mind as a fond childhood memory. Spending time gardeing with my Grandma Maxine, sewing with my mom, and raising the sheep with my dad and sister are all amazaing memories.

Day 25

2011-04-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 25 — A recipe

One of my favorite, simple, makes me feel like I'm 8 years old, foods is jello cake. It's so easy and so darn good!

From Cooks.com

STRAWBERRY JELLO CAKE

Ingredients:
1 white cake mix
1 3 oz. package strawberry Jell-O
1 package frozen strawberries
1 container topping like Cool Whip

Bake cake according to directions on box. Mix Jell-o with 1 cup warm water. Make several holes in top of cake without going through and then pour Jell-o over cake.
Microwave strawberries until thawed and pour on cake.

Add Cool Whip over all and refrigerate until chilled.

Serve.

Dday 24

2011-04-12T12:53:00.003-05:00

Day 24 — A movie no one would expect you to love

A movie that I USED to love, that might be a surprise, is Kiss the Girls. I currently HATE scary movies, but back in the day I totally loved them. If you are into thrillers, and don't mind an oldie, you may want to check this movie out.

Here's the info from wikipedia.com:
Washington, D.C. detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) heads to Durham, North Carolina when his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera), a college student, is reported missing. He learns from the local police, including Nick Ruskin (Cary Elwes), that Naomi is the latest in a series of young women who have vanished. Soon after his arrival, one of the missing women is found dead, bound to a tree in a desolate forest, and shortly after that, intern Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is kidnapped from her home.

When she awakens from a drugged state, Kate discovers she is being held captive by a masked man calling himself Casanova, and she is one of several prisoners trapped in his lair. She manages to escape and is severely injured when she jumps from a cliff and into a river to escape from his clutches. After she recuperates, she joins forces with Cross to track down her sadomasochist captor, who Cross concludes is a collector, not a killer, unless his victims fail to follow his rules. This means there is time to rescue the other imprisoned women, just as long as they remain subservient.

Clues lead them to Los Angeles, where a series of gruesome kidnappings and murders have been credited to a man known as the Gentleman Caller. Cross deduces he is working in collusion with rather than imitating his East Coast counterpart, but his efforts to capture and question him are foiled and the man escapes. Upon returning to North Carolina, he eventually discovers the underground hideaway used by, as well as the true identity of, the man who calls himself Casanova.

4 Months Old

2011-04-07T15:58:00.001-05:00

Dear Kinners,
You absolutely complete us. Every day is a new adventure with you, we look forward to each and every day with you. You are starting to interact more and are also becoming more playful, before we know it we won't be able to keep up with you! We love you with our whole hearts!
Love,
Daddy & Mommy

And now for your latest stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz : 70th percentile
(3 Months - 13lbs 5oz : 64th percentile, At 2 months: 12lbs 0oz : 75-80th percentile)

Length: 24 inches : 45th Percentile
(3 Months - 24 1/4 inches : 67th percentile (At 2 months: 22 3/4 inches: 50th percentile)

Diaper size: Size 2

Clothes size: You are mostly wearing 3-6 month clothes.

Sleep: You are still an amazing sleeper, you have no idea how happy that makes mommy and daddy!! You are consistently sleeping 10-12 hours each night.

Favorite activities/things: Sleeping, rolling over, standing and jumping in your excersaucer, smiling and laughing at daddy, reading "touch and feel" books, and "talking".

Eating: You are eating every 3 hours, except for the day we tried to get you to eat out of a bottle, and then you refused to eat for 6 hours, I think you were trying to make a point. Point taken, we gave completely up on bottles.

Nicknames: Sweet girl and still using Kinners.

Talking: You have started to really have conversations with us! We mimic the sounds you make and you get so excited, your sounds are starting to get much louder too!

New adventures: You got to experience your very first garage sale this month! You slept quietly in your new baby carrier for most of it while mommy picked out some cute clothes for you. You also got to experience your first cold this month, you looked so pathetic as you sat and sneezed and coughed while mommy held you. Daddy and grandpa were thrilled to take you on your first gator ride around the farm. You rode in your baby carrier strapped tightly to mommy's chest, and had mommy's watchful eye as she made sure that daddy and grandpa drove extra slow.

New Skills Rolling from tummy to back, laughing out loud, biting your tongue (which then ends in screams), standing while we hold your hands, and having "conversations".

Your new favorite way to soothe is to suck your lower lip, makes me laugh.

You finally got a bracelet, aka a fat roll. =) Love it, and so does the doctor, he says your extra healthy!

And I'll leave you with my favorite picture, how can you not love this face?!

What a difference a year can make

2011-04-06T11:12:00.003-05:00

One year ago today I sat and nervously looked at a positive pregnancy test. I fought feelings of nervousness with hopes and excitement that this was "the one" that would stick. I still have the 10+ positive pregnancy tests in a drawer in our bedroom, I even have the last vial of hormones in our fridge. I know, I really should get rid of all of it, but something about seeing those things still makes me ridiculously happy, and maybe a bit hopeful that we'll get to do it all again sometime.

I can't even begin to explain the joys that this last year has brought for me, and Matt too. I loved nearly every minute of the last year, being pregnant, learning about what was going on with our baby, delivering our baby, and now getting to spend every single day talking to, playing with, and loving on our sweet Kinley.

I cannot thank God enough for all that he put us through, and brought us through, to get to this amazing point in our lives... what a year.

Make sure to check back tomorrow afternoon for Kinley's 4 month update and updated pictures!

Day 23

2011-04-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 23 — A way in which you want to be remembered

I would like to be remembered for being a great wife and mother. Especially now that I have resigned from my teaching position, I feel even more passionate about being a good wife to Matt and a good mother to Kinley. I truly hope people can look back someday and say that I did my best to be there for Matt and Kinley.

My two loves

Day 22

2011-04-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 22 — A website

I love the internet, I spend way too much time on it, especially lately as I investigate getting some new photography equipment. So narrowing my favorite websites down to just one to share is quite hard. I guess I'll share one of my most "useful" websites. One of our friends, Shane, shared this website with me a while back and I have used it daily since.

Google Reader

This website allows you to put all of the blogs that you read into it, and everyday it will put all of the new blogs that were written on your favorite blogs into a list for you, so no more visiting every single blog every day just to see that nothing new has been added.

If you read several blogs and haven't heard of google reader, you can thank me later for telling you all about it. Enjoy!

Day 21

2011-04-04T11:24:00.002-05:00

Day 21 — Something you know you do differently than most people

I can't really come up with anything too spectacular, but Matt thinks the fact that I still use a paper planner is different than most people who now use an electronic version. I love my planner dearly. I LOVE crossing off all of the things in my planner that I've done. I attempted to switch to an online planner and I thoroughly missed my paper version, so now it's back, and I'm happy. =)

Day 20

2011-04-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 20 — A hobby of yours

This is going to be a lame blog today, because besides photography I truly don't think I have any other hobbies. So why don't you tell me what your hobby is, and maybe I'll get inspired to try something new! Go ahead, share with me! =)

Day 19

2011-03-30T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 19 — A talent of yours

I wouldn't have said this a few years ago, but I believe that photography is now my talent. Lately I've had several friends tell me how much they have enjoyed watching my photography skills progress into what they are today. It means a lot to me that other people enjoy the photos that we take.

I am thrilled to be attending a weekend long photography workshop in May with an incredibly well known photographer Me Ra Koh (she lives in California but will be in Chicago, and she's even currently teaching some techniques, etc on the Nate Berkus show!). I am also excited that my husband has agreed to build me my very own studio in our new house, which we will hopefully be building in the next few months as an offer on our current house is supposedly "in the works"!

A few of the pictures that a lot of people have continued to make comments about to me:

You can see more at http://www.BaileyKingPhotography.com

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me during this past year!

Day 18

2011-03-29T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 18 — A time when you felt passionate and alive

I feel like all I talk about is Kinley, but I don't think there has been a time in my life when I felt more passionate and alive as I did when Kinley was born. It was the most invigorating experience of my life. Matt by my side, our midwife encouraging me to keep going through the pain... and then it was all over and I saw our midwife lift Kinley up to put her on my chest.

I could cry just thinking about that moment. It was unreal, surreal. I had just birthed a human being, a live, breathing amazing little human being. I felt so alive and yet so out of the moment all at the same time. Life had changed as we knew it, forever.

Right after Kinley was born:

A day to remember...

2011-03-28T10:48:00.005-05:00

I'm taking a break from the 30 day challenge today to remember a very special anniversary. One year ago today our sweet baby Kinley was conceived. I remember the nerves as we went into out very last IUI knowing that we would only have one option left (IVF) if it didn't work.

I also remember feeling distinctly different; hopeful, peaceful, content. I just knew this was the month, this was going to be the month our sweet baby would be conceived, and sure enough, it was.

As I sit here and watch our sweet baby girl on the video monitor, she is sound asleep, looking as peaceful as ever and not having a clue how very, very happy her mother is to remember this day and the amazing little girl that has blessed our lives thanks to God and his great miracles one year ago today.

We love you sweet Kinley and can not believe you have "been in our lives" for one year.

Matt & I with nurse Lois, God's helper in creating Kinley =)

Our most recent family picture with our precious little girl, I'm pretty sure I still need to blog the rest of these pictures, oops! =)

Day 17

2011-03-26T05:00:00.001-05:00

Day 17 — An art piece

While I was living in Germany my dad and sister came to visit and we took a train to Amsterdam. While we were there we got to go to the Vincent Van Gogh musuem. While I'm not a huge art person, it was ridicuously cool to see his work in person, and I'm fairly certain we got to see Starry Night which is one of his most well known paintings.

Day 16

2011-03-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 16 — A song that makes you cry

Every time I hear this song I am immediately taken back to my grandma's funeral, and can almost instantly be brought to tears by it. I still think about my grandma often (Grandma Maxine, who Kinley's middle name is after) and I hope someday this song won't be so hard to listen to.

Day 15

2011-03-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 15 — A person you admire

I know this sounds weird, but I am in awe of Jesus. What he endured for each and every one of us has to be the most admirable thing in the history of the world! I often think of how amazing it would be for Jesus to be alive today and to sit and learn from him about today's topics... oh the things we could learn.

Day 14

2011-03-23T05:00:00.001-05:00

Day 14 — A vacation you would like to take
I can't really nail this down to one answer. I love all things traveling, so really just to travel is on my list. I was lucky enough to live in Europe for 5 months and got to visit many countries while there, so Europe isn't on the top of my list anymore. I've been fascinated with Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Turks & Caicos for a while, so I guess those would be the vacations that I would like to take.

What about you? Where would you recommend, or where do you want to go?

Day 13

2011-03-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 13 — A guilty pleasure

I LOVE reality TV. I can remember watching Real World as a young kid (before it got SO nasty). I know that I could/should be using my time on something better, but I just love getting into a silly reality show. I have always loved the Bachelor and have even gotten a competition going where some of my friends and I (and Matt ;-) choose our top contestants and then we keep score throughout the season on different things that they do. I am the 2 year, undefeated, champion of the Bachelor game. I was completely in love with this season, so here is a picture of Brad as he proposed to Emily... ahhh, how I love "love", I can't wait for the next season to start!

**And on a side note- Happy Birthday Dad, we hope you have a GREAT day!!!

Day 12

2011-03-21T05:00:00.002-05:00

Day 12 — A song that you want played, or was played, at your wedding

The song that our wedding party, and then myself, walked down the aisle to is one of my all time favorite songs! I heard the song before Matt and I were engaged and I KNEW I had to walk down the aisle to it. In the middle of the song the instruments get quite loud and that's when I walked down the aisle with my dad, it was perfect! Enjoy.

Day 11 - Happy Baptism Kinley Maxine!

2011-03-20T05:00:00.005-05:00

Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently

I'm using this day to accomplish two things, my day 11 requirement, and to blog Kinley's baptism.

Kinley was baptized at our church on March 6th. There were 18 babies baptized on that particular Sunday so no "god parents" or sponsors are really involved, it was a pretty low key event for us. My parents go to the same church as us so they were there to witness the baptism, and my grandpa and his wife Mary also came to watch.

Kinley was a champ! She didn't cry at all during the baptism and then fell asleep as soon as it was over and slept quietly for the entire church service. I like how our church approaches baptism, they use it more as a declaration of the parents saying they will raise their child knowing Christ, and that at some point Kinley will still have to proclaim Jesus as her savior in order to be saved.

Matt, Kinley & I right after her baptism.

Sweet baby Kinley with her baptism dress (that my sister and I were also baptized in) and her necklace from Grandma.

Kinley with her great grandpa, Mary and Matt & I

My parents with Kinley

Day 10

2011-03-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
My dad stumbled across this picture the other day and gave it to me...made me laugh. This is my junior year tennis picture from 2001. It was the first year I played tennis, after stopping soccer, and I LOVED it!

Day 9

2011-03-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

Day 9 — A photo you took

This is an easy one for me (or maybe not, maybe it's harder because I have SO many!), especially since I took around 15,000 pictures last year! Since I don't want to have to choose my favorite all time picture, I'll go with the most recent photo that I've shot. Kynslie's 6 month photos were a blast, here's three of my favorites from the day. Enjoy!

Day 8

2011-03-17T15:45:00.000-05:00

(So I realize that there has been a MAJOR break since day 7, an apology is in order. I got crazy sick, lost my voice, had a horrible headache and had a cough like a lifetime smoker, that I'm actually STILL dealing with, so blogging went on the back burner, sorry... I'm back)

Day 8 — A thank you letter to someone who has changed your life

(*Erin and her husband Paul taught our Bradley Birthing classes, the ENTIRE reason we were able to have Kinley naturally*)

Dear Erin,

I sat and thought about who I should write this letter to, and you and Paul kept coming back to mind, so here it is. Thank you for all that you did and gave me in the short 12 weeks I spent with you during our Sunday classes. I arrived at our first class a bit nervous that I may experience severe backlash from my husband for signing us up for 12 weeks of nonsense... that wasn't the case. Each week you intrigued me with the information and advice that you gave us on everything from how to have a baby naturally, to the best way to let "guests" know that it's time to leave after they've been at your house too long. =) You somehow managed to make each 2 hour session fly by and left me leaving each Sunday afternoon refreshed and confident in what I was going to attempt to take on.

Thank you. Thank you for providing us with the knowledge and skills that allowed us to enjoy the most memorable and amazing experience of our lives. I know in the deepest parts of my soul that I could not have accomplished a natural childbirth without everything that you taught us.

I know that to some this may not seem like it was anything worth "gushing" over, but they don't know how amazing it really is to be completely present, in control, and aware of each and every second that ticked by as I brought out precious babe into the world. So thank you... I am beyond thankful for all that you have done for us and can't wait for baby number two so that I can do it all over again (now how many people can say that?!) =)

From,
Bailey

Day 7

2011-03-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

Day 7 — 5 things you could not possibly live without

This one took some thinking. And just so everyone knows, I took "things" literally and therefore did not include people or God on this list. =)

#1 My phone/blackberry - I would be miserable if I couldn't talk to family and friends daily, or text, or send adorable pictures of Kinley to Matt, or check my email on my phone. I know, it's a horrible addiction, but I can honestly say that since Kinley has been born I've been much less attached to my phone, so I am making progress. =)

#2 My camera - I truly find joy in photography. I love to see the smiles on people's faces when they see an image that I've shot that shows a "feeling" that they will be able to cherish for life. I also love to take pictures of my sweet baby girl, speaking of, did you see her new 3 month pictures that were posted yesterday?! =)

#3 My planner - I tried to go digital and use an online calendar and it drove me nuts. So I have returned to my trusty paper planner and feel SO MUCH BETTER! I am obsessed with having things planned and scheduled, especially with our photography business it's essential!

#4 Sugar/sweets - If I could change one thing about me it would be my intense desire for sweets. I am always in a constant inner struggle in an attempt to not eat candy at every moment. I LOVE candy! So far I'm doing pretty good, especially for me, staying away from sugar and candy since Kinley was born. Which has probably been a big factor in my ability to lose weight, so far I'm about 20 pounds less than when I got pregnant, that's definitely a mini victory in my book!

#5 TV - Another guilty pleasure in my life is TV. I have a few shows that I just love to watch, The Bachelor, Grey's Anatomy, Oprah, & Bethenny Ever After are my current favorites.

3 Months Old

2011-03-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

Dear sweet pea,
How has 1/4 of your first year of life already passed us by?! We are ridiculously in love with you and every little thing that you do! Our favorite time of the week is sitting in bed with you on Saturday mornings watching you smile and squeak at us, it truly melts our hearts! Thank you for being the light of our lives!
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

And now for your latest stats:

Weight: 13lbs 5oz : 64th percentile (At 2 months: 12lbs 0oz : 75-80th percentile)

Length: 24 1/4 inches : 67th percentile (At 2 months: 22 3/4 inches: 50th percentile)

Diaper size: Size 1, moving to size 2's as soon as this box is empty!

Clothes size: You are mostly wearing 3 month clothes, and some 3-6 month things too.

Sleep: You are an amazing sleeper!! You are consistently sleeping 9 to 9 1/2 hours straight each night, and then go back to sleep for another 2 hours, you are such a good sleeper!

Favorite activities/things: Sleeping, KICKING- you love to kick at your gym toys and you learned how to kick in the tub now too! Sucking on things, especially blankets and tags, pretty much everything EXCEPT for a bottle, which you basically are still refusing. =(

Eating: You still are eating like a champ! You had a few weeks this month of needing to eat every 2 hours, but you are making your way back to every 3 hours right now.

Nicknames: My love, and "Buddy Boy" which grandpa calls you

Talking: You have started to make some new sounds, you can make a "m" sound and a few others too.

New adventures: You were baptized the day before you turned 3 months old. You were such a sweet girl, wide awake and quiet during your baptism and then quietly slept for the rest of the service. You went to your first wedding and apparently weren't too impressed, after about 3 minutes of the wedding you went to the lobby to hang out with daddy. You also went to your first UNI basketball game with mommy, daddy and papa. And last, but certainly not least... you attempted to take a bottle, with ZERO success (ok, you took maybe 3 sips). You basically refuse to even have it near your lips, guess we'll keep trying. =)

Love this shirt! "It's good to be king"

Don't you just love this face?!

And then she got tired of pictures and fell asleep... while touching daddy's face. Priceless.

Day 6

2011-03-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

Day 6 — A moment you wish you could relive

Today's topic is a tie between the two most amazing days of my life!! I'm sure they aren't a surprise to anyone.

Moment #1:

I often tell Matt that I would do anything (well, hypothetically) to do our wedding day over again, not because I would change anything, but because it was ridiculously amazing! I had so much fun, and couldn't have been any happier to be marrying my best friend with our closest friends and family around to support us. I was in love with my dress, my bouquet, and everything about the day was perfect... ahhh, just thinking about it makes me giddy again.

Moment #2:

If you haven't been living under a rock, it's probably no shock that the day Kinley was born is a tie for the best moment ever! Not only was it exhilarating beyond words to give birth to her naturally, but it was TRULY indescribable to finally meet the baby girl that we had put so many tears, sweat, blood and prayers into. It was beyond words to hold her on my chest when she was just born... the moment in this picture still seems surreal looking at it.

All in all these two moments pretty much make me the happiest girl ever!

Day 5

2011-03-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

Day 5 — A favorite quote

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

I've had this verse saved on a sticky note on my computer for quite awhile. I think it truly fits our lives and the roller coaster ride we have been on the last few years
as we tried to conceive. We learned to trust in God's plan and let go of our own plans as we went through our infertility treatments. Now as I sit and wonder about baby number 2, and if we will be blessed with another baby, I try to focus on this verse once again.

Day 4

2011-03-04T05:00:00.000-06:00

Day 4 — A favorite television program

I didn't even have to THINK to come up with my answer on this one! She's the greatest talk show host to ever grace this planet, she's intriguing, intelligent and amazing. She is also about to end the greatest streak of shows, ever! Who am I talking about... Oprah. I record her show daily and nearly everyday I sit in amazement of how great her show really is. I am devastated that her show will be ending soon and would do just about anything to get to see her in this final season... guess I'll just keep dreaming.

What's your favorite t.v. program?

Day 3

2011-03-03T05:00:00.001-06:00

3/3/11 Day 3 — A favorite book
I can't pinpoint a favorite book, but I definitely have a favorite author, Nicholas Sparks. His most famous book, turned into a movie later on, was The Notebook . He is most well known for his romance novels that can melt just about any woman's heart. His love stories are so well written you can almost feel yourself melting as the stories unfold. If you have never read his books I would highly recommend Dear John or The Wedding. Enjoy!

Got any good book recommendations for me?

Day 2

2011-03-02T05:00:00.001-06:00

3/2/11 Day 2 — A favorite movie

I first fell in love with the movie Love And Basketball when I was in high school. I'm not sure if it is because I played basketball and loved the love story in the movie that was centered around basketball, or if I just thought it was truly that good of a movie. Either way this movie never fails to put me in a good mood. I highly recommend seeing this movie if you've never had the pleasure of viewing it. =)

30 Day Challenge- Day 1

2011-03-01T05:00:00.002-06:00

Sorry that I have been so MIA on our blog lately. I haven't had much to write about other than the fact that I am ridiculously happy, falling more in love with our precious baby girl every day, and beyond words happy to be home and enjoying each day with her- but really, how much can I write about that without everyone getting sick of hearing how happy I am over and over??

So I thought I would take a 30 day challenge to get me writing about non-Kinley topics again (don't worry Mom, I'll still throw adorable picture of Kinley in every few days for you to stare at). I will be writing a blog every day for the next 30 days. So today is day 1, and I will write each day in March, except on March 7th I'll do Kinley's monthly blog. So here goes... feel free to join in on this challenge with me, leave me a comment if you do so I can follow your posts too!

Here's the schedule:
Day 1 — A favorite song
Day 2 — A favorite movie
Day 3 — A favorite book
Day 4 — A favorite television program
Day 5 — A favorite quote
Day 6 — A moment you wish you could relive
Day 7 — 5 things you could not possibly live without
Day 8 — A thank you letter to someone who has changed your life
Day 9 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — A song that you want played, or was played, at your wedding
Day 13 — A guilty pleasure
Day 14 — A vacation you would like to take
Day 15 — A person you admire
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry
Day 17 — An art piece
Day 18 — A time when you felt passionate and alive
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — Something you know you do differently than most people
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A way in which you want to be remembered
Day 24 — A movie no one would expect you to love
Day 25 — A recipe
Day 26 — A childhood memory
Day 27 — A physical feature you love
Day 28 — A scar you have, and its story
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — A motto or philosophy

3/1/11 Day 1 — A favorite song

My two best friends from high school and I used to be IN LOVE with Jessica Simpson. We watched her reality tv show religiously, and were heart broken when Nick and Jessica got divorced. During her reality show they showed part of her wedding, and showed her father daughter dance. Jessica had written a song to dance to with her dad. I completely fell in love with the song the first time I heard it. When Matt and I got engaged I knew I wanted to dance to her song with my dad. The song is called You Don't Have To Let Go. It meant a lot to me on my wedding day, and it means even more to me now as I look at our sweet baby girl and think about the day that she will get married. Here is one of my all time favorite songs:

I don't need your strength anymore
cause you've made me strong
You may not see the woman in me
That you dreamed of
Holding in your arms

All the days that you gave
All the moments you've saved me,
Praying for my life
Sacrificed, just to make me who I am on my own
You don't have to let go

You don't say it
But it's in your eyes
All the fears of good-bye
But I can promise
You'll always have a place, and a way to my heart

All the days that you gave
All the moments you've saved me,
Praying for my life
Sacrificed, just to make me who I am on my own
You don't have to let go

I can live
Cause you lived for me
And I can love
Because you loved me.

All the days that you gave
All the moments you've saved me,
Praying for my life
Sacrificed, just to make me who I am on my own
You don't have to let go

Amazon Mom - You NEED to know about this!

2011-02-28T05:00:00.001-06:00

For all the moms out there, you definitely need to read this blog. I stumbled across Amazon Mom a few months before Kinley was born and I've never looked back since! Amazon Mom gives you 15% off for shopping for "baby" things, and then you get another 15% off for using the "subscribe and save" feature, which means that you have your diapers sent on a schedule automatically, like once every month, two months, three months, etc. So you get 30% off of diapers, wipes, all things baby related!!! IT IS AWESOME!! We are getting our pampers diapers for about HALF of what we would pay at Target, it's great! (And no, we are not getting paid, compensated, or anything for this blog, I just think other people deserve to save money too!) And on top of it, for signing up for amazon mom you get 3 free months of amazon prime shipping (2 day shipping!) and each time you make a $25 purchase in the amazon "baby" store, you earn another free month of shipping!

Here is the info from Amazon:
Amazon Mom is a free membership program aimed at helping parents and caretakers, from the prenatal days through the toddler years, use Amazon to find all the products their family needs. To join, simply sign into your Amazon account and tell us whether you are a Mom, Dad, or other caretaker of a child. By providing information about your family, you can help us personalize offers, e-mails, and product recommendations to help you find exactly what you need at just the right time. Your kids are older than toddlers? No problem, you can still join Amazon Mom, just understand that some of the key benefits are specifically aimed at younger children (such as the 30% off diapers promotion).

Here's the link to sign up: Amazon Mom Sign Up

Enjoy the extra money that you'll have in your pocket!

Happy Birthday Daddy (Matt)!

2011-02-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Daddy-
I know it's your birthday today, so I convinced mommy to write this for me. Happy Birthday Daddy!!

You are the best dad in the whole world! You are such an amazing dad and I am so glad that you are my dad!
Thank you for taking care of mommy and me, we are both so lucky to have you in our lives.
Thank you for reading books to me, dancing with me, snuggling with me, and for making me smile and laugh everyday... you are the best daddy a girl could ask for!

Love,
Kinley Maxine

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T10:17:00.002-06:00

"Happy Valentine's Day everyone!"
- Love, Kinley

Bailey King Photography contest!

2011-02-10T17:07:00.003-06:00

Since I know a lot of you read this blog, but don't "follow" me on facebook, I thought I'd give you an extra incentive to do so. =)

We are running a contest on facebook for the next week and giving away a FREE photography session, so I wanted to make sure you non-facebook users had a good reason to give facebook a try. =) So here is the information from our photography blog:

We have our spring and summer schedules set, so now we are ready to start filling up the remaining available dates! Send us an email at baileykingphotography@hotmail.com, or go to our website: baileykingphotography.com and contact me there, to get your session booked before our open dates are full.

AND... because everyone loves to win FREE things, we are having a Facebook Referral Contest! You could be the lucky winner of a FREE session by following the steps outlined below!

**Click on our facebook fan page LOCATED HERE.

**Have your friends "LIKE" the page and then leave a comment on our wall titled “Referred by (your name)”.

**Each person can only vote ONCE.

**Once the contest is over all of the names will be numbered, and then we will use a random number generator to pick the winning number for a FREE session. AND... the person who refers the most people will also be getting a session 50% off!!!

**The contest will go on for ONE WEEK starting today and will end at midnight on Thursday, February 17th.

**The winner will be announced Friday, February 18th and contacted personally after the announcement is made.

So there you have it. The contest is starting NOW! So call your friends and family, and READY, SET, GO!

(All sessions must be booked and held within 4 months of this contest and must be shot in the Cedar Valley. This contest does not include Weddings.)

2 Months Old

2011-02-07T15:16:00.010-06:00

Our sweet Kinley,
You are truly amazing. You continue to make us smile each and every day. Your smiles every morning absolutely melt our hearts. We can't wait to continue to watch you grow and develop your sweet personality. Thank you for making our dreams come true.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

And now for your latest stats:

Weight: 12lbs 0oz : 75-80th percentile (At 1 month: 9lbs 3oz 50th percentile)

Length: 22 3/4 inches: 50th percentile (At 1 month: 21 1/2 inches 75th percentile)

Diaper size: Size 1

Clothes size: You still fit into a few of your 0-3 month clothes, but you are mostly wearing 3 month outfits now.

Sleep: You are an amazing sleeper!! You are consistently sleeping 8 to 8 1/2 hours straight each night, and then go back to sleep for another 2 hours, which makes Mommy very very happy!

Favorite activities/things: You still really like to lay in your play gym, you can now kick the music box to make it play songs, and can even bat at the toys that are dangling. You love to sleep in the moby (a type of baby carrier). You also love to lay on the bed next to mommy and daddy after you are done eating at 6am and smile and squirm around.

Eating: You still are eating like a champ! You eat about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day and only take about 5 minutes to eat!

Nicknames:Kinners, Kin, Sweet baby girl, Kinny

Talking: You have just started to make some new noises. We love to hear your new squeaks and coos.

New adventures: This month you learned how to SMILE!! It is the best thing in the world to wake up and see every day! This past month you got to go out to eat with us for the first time, attended a couple breast feeding support group with mommy and met lots of new friends, and went to the mall for the first time. You also just recently outgrew the bassinet on the pack n' play, so you are now sleeping in the "big girl" part of it instead. You are getting so strong! You can now hold your head up and look around while we hold you upright, you LOVE watching the TV whenever you can get quick glimpses before mommy and daddy turn you away.

And your 2 month pictures:

This is my favorite picture, taken at exactly 2 months old on my cell phone

tummy time

"I HATE tummy time today!"

Look at those tears!

Unable to pull my thoughts together... let's call it mom-brain

2011-02-04T20:11:00.003-06:00

I haven't blogged in quite some time, maybe the longest length of time that I've gone in a year at least. I just haven't really been able to pull my thoughts together. I've got so many different things that I'd like to write about, but it's just not happening for me. So tonight I just feel like getting some things out of my brain, and maybe I'll go back later and write more about some of them... or maybe not.

*The love I feel for Kinley is completely indescribable. I NEVER would have guessed that I would feel this much love for her, or have no desire to ever leave her, not even for dinner out with my husband.

*I laugh out loud nearly every day at some face or noise that Kinley makes, and then I laugh at the fact that I'm laughing out loud at an 8 week old baby.

*Matt is beyond amazing... I've only made dinner twice (maybe) since Kinley was born. He has completely taken over so many household duties in an effort to make my life easier, or so that I can feed Kinley. I am amazed nearly every day at how lucky I am to be married to such an unselfish, amazing, Godly man.

*Tonight I took a pregnancy test. I know, crazy. Even though I have less than a 1% chance of conceiving while breastfeeding (for the first 6 months) I was almost certain that we actually had a chance at being pregnant... we're not. You would think that I wouldn't care, we have an amazing EIGHT WEEK OLD daughter. Bud I did. It was awful to see a blank pregnancy test, it truly brought back almost all of the awful feelings from the year and a half when we constantly had blank tests to look at. I was not expecting to feel so emotional at seeing the negative tonight. I HATE that we are already back in the grind of thinking about being pregnant again. We had six glorious weeks of not thinking about even trying to get pregnant, and now we are totally back where we started 2 years ago. I know, we're crazy wanting another baby already. But truthfully it's more like we'd be thrilled to get pregnant all on our own, but have almost zero expectations of that actually happening.

*I didn't think that my post-baby weight would worry me as much as it is. I've lost all of the weight I gained during pregnancy, plus another eleven pounds, but I still feel the need to lose a lot more in order to feel good about myself. I still have quite a bit of weight to lose before I get back to where I started at when we began treatments. I'd gain it all again, plus more, in order to have Kinley, but I still can't wait to get it off!

*I CAN NOT believe that Kinley was born 8 1/2 weeks ago!! My goodness how time flies!

*I feel guilty every single day that I don't take pictures of Kinley. For some reason I have this guilt hanging over me that because we have nice cameras, and now how to take good pictures, that we should be taking pictures to document Kinley's life on a daily basis... which is so not happening. I feel like I am going to look back in a few years with huge regrets that I didn't take enough pictures of every day life with Kinley.

*This week I totally wiped out going down our stairs... while holding Kinley. It was the scariest moment ever! Thank goodness I was holding Kinley in one hand against my chest, so as I fell I grasped her tighter, braced with my other hand, and she hardly even knew what happened. I have had the fear of falling down our stairs since I got pregnant, now I'm super petrified that it's going to happen again, ugh.

*We are taking Kinley's 2 month picture this weekend, and then we have her appointment Tuesday, so I promise to get a new post up Tuesday or Wednesday with her 2 month stats.

Thanks for checking in on us, sorry we haven't been updating much lately.

And since it would be just cruel to have a post without a picture, here you are: (Take from my phone this past week, so they are kind of crappy)

Our family picture!

2011-01-24T05:00:00.000-06:00

No real post today... just a new picture that I really like right now. =)

Good Luck Love!

2011-01-19T05:00:00.000-06:00

Today is a big day for Mr. King, this is his first day of grad school!!! Matt has enrolled in an online program to get his MBA. He starts classes tonight and will graduate next June.

We are so proud of you (even if you are goofy!) go get 'em hun! =)

Good luck daddy!!!

Today could have been an awful day...

2011-01-18T05:00:00.001-06:00

Today could have been an awful day, it could have been my first day back at work and therefore my first day away from my precious baby girl. I can't imagine if I had to leave her today for 8+ hours. My heart breaks thinking about dropping Kinley off at a daycare center.

But instead, it's an amazing day because I get to stare at this beautiful girl all day!!! And I get to do this as much as I want:

I know it's so cliche, but I don't remember what life was like before she came along. How can you not love this little face?!

So to the most amazing husband in the world... thank you. Thank you for providing for our family and making it possible for me to take care of our sweet baby girl each and every day. You are truly a spectacular father, more so than I could have ever imagined. We love you sooooo much!

A big thumbs up for mommy getting to stay home with me for at least 8 more months!

6 years ago today

2011-01-13T14:43:00.003-06:00

Six years ago today we said goodbye to an amazing woman, Maxine, my incredible grandma. Grandma Maxine and I had a special bond. My grandparents lived just a mile away from us so I was able to spend lots of time with grandma while grandpa and my dad were in the fields. She always made the most amazing lunches! She made great angel food cakes with homemade frosting for every birthday. She let us comb her hair and pretend to be beauticians, even though we would purposely shove the brush in her ear just so we could hear her scream, and then my sister and I would giggle uncontrollably. Grandma taught me the art of making no bake cookies and the art of loving unconditionally.

I will never forget the final moments and days in the hospital with my grandma after her stroke. She had full cognitive capabilities after her stroke, however her speech and other functions were impacted greatly. Although her speech was nearly nonexistent to most people, I was often able to make out what she was saying, probably thanks to many hours with children who are often hard to understand. One of the last things my grandma ever said before she passed away was when we were all alone in her room, she grabbed my hands and in as much of a voice as she could muster, she whispered "You will be a great wife someday."

I have never forgotten those words. I often thought of those words when matt and I were dating and discussing marriage. I know my grandma has been with me in some of my toughest days and helped me through. I still think about her nearly everyday...so when we found out we were pregnant with a girl I knew Maxine had to be her middle name.

As I sit today with Kinley Maxine asleep on my chest, I hope I'm being as good of a wife and mother as grandma would have wanted me to be. I still miss you grams.

Wiiiide awake!

2011-01-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

The other morning Kinley was snuggling in bed with us and was wide awake so I quick grabbed my camera. Here are a few of my favorites.

"Mom... really, I've had enough"

1 Month Old

2011-01-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

Our sweet baby Kinley,
My oh my how this first month has flown by! You will never know how much joy you have brought to our lives in such a short amount of time. You are truly the most precious baby. Your dad and I couldn't have asked for a better baby, you mean the world to us. I have enjoyed spending every single day with you and couldn't be happier now that I'm a stay at home mom. You are truly the joy of our lives, your dad and I stare at you and talk about you nonstop, we've never been this happy in our entire lives!
We love you more than you will ever know!
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

And now for your latest stats:

Weight: 9lbs 3oz 50th percentile

Length: 21 1/2 inches 75th percentile

Diaper size: Newborn (but this will probably be your last week in them)

Clothes size: Newborn clothes, but just this week you have outgrown a few of the smaller newborn onesies

Sleep: You are an awesome sleeper (thank you God!) You usually sleep 5 hours, and then 3-4 after that each night.

Favorite activities/things: You love laying in your play gym and looking at the dangling animals and shapes.

Eating: You are quite the little eater! You are eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day. The last two weeks you gained 2 oz a day, twice the "recommended" amount! The doctors are thrilled with how well you are eating/gaining, we think you're doing a darn good job too. =) You are quite the character when you eat, usually making a full range of noises from snorting to choking, yes... you've been known to try to eat a bit too fast.

Talking: You haven't started to make any new sounds this month, but you have definitely developed your lungs. You let us know with a loud cry if you need something, but then quickly go back to being calm as soon as we accommodate you.

New adventures: This month you have showed us just how strong you are! Since the first week you have been able to lift and turn your head from side to side. This past week you have started lifting your head straight up while on your stomach.

You also experienced your first Christmas! And you got to meet lots of new people, including your aunt Keri and uncle Ben!

We can't wait to see what month two has in store for you baby girl!

And a sneak peek at more pictures that are coming soon!

Pediatric Cardiologist Appointment news...

2011-01-05T11:58:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we had Kinley's appointment with the pediatric cardiologist. First off, the doctor was awesome, so kind and patient! Secondly, we got GREAT NEWS!!! The hole in Kinley's heart is in the best place that it can be. Her hole is in a spot that is surrounded by 4 walls (of muscle) and not any valves or other "parts". Basically that means that all 4 sides of muscle will, hopefully, continue to grow and close in on the hole. The doctor guessed that her hole will be completely closed by the time that she is a year old!!! We will have another appointment at 6 months so that the doctor can listen to her heart and she will have another EKG (she had her first today).

And, the other great news, Kinley won't have another echo cardiogram until she is a year old, yeah!!! We asked the doctor about the information we have been given, that they routinely sedate kids for the echos (which is why I was a WRECK during her first echo) and he said that it is an oral medicine that will make her drowsy, no oxygen or iv's, and we will still get to be with her the entire time, yeah! Not nearly as scary as I had imagined when I read "your baby may need to be sedated".

He also told us that this should not affect her growth, her level of activity, or her general health. There is a slightly higher risk of pneumonia from the common cold because she has extra fluid going to her lungs (through the hole) but he isn't really concerned about that.

Overall we had an amazing appointment and left feeling great about the situation and couldn't be more thankful for all of the prayers we know Kinley received.

Kinley's First Christmas

2010-12-30T05:00:00.006-06:00

We took a very low key approach to Christmas this year due to the fact that Kinley is still so young (and I swear EVERYONE is sick this year, and I'm totally THAT mom who is worried about people getting my baby sick!). We did decide that we wanted to attend the Christmas Eve service at our church since we had yet to brave the crowds and go to church. We got Kinley all decked out in her "My 1st Christmas" outfit and matching Christmas bow that Matt had picked out the day that we found out we were having a girl, and we headed off to church.

(You can't see it, but her shirt says "My 1st Christmas")

We definitely had our quietest Christmas ever, but it was absolutely perfect. We spent every minute soaking up our sweet pea and loving her to death! Matt has 11 days off for Christmas so we are still enjoying our time at home together, which is so nice as we are still learning how to function when Kinley and I are home alone together. I can't imagine what next year's Christmas will be like... a crawling/walking little girl might make things a bit different. =)

Here are our very first family Christmas pictures!

We got this bib as a gift and it is SO TRUE!

Kinley with her aunt Keri (my sister)

Newborn Pictures

2010-12-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Here are the rest of Kinley's newborn pictures that we took a few weeks ago, enjoy!

Kinley with her late great-grandma Maxine's wedding ring (who she was named after- my Grandpa gave me her wedding ring after she passed away, someday I'll pass it on to Kinley)

The best Christmas gift ever...

2010-12-25T04:00:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:27-28

We feel so thankful for the gift that God gave us this year that it is hard to articulate it in words. We have been beyond blessed this year to welcome Kinley Maxine into our lives. She has brought absoulte joy to our lives. We are constantly in awe of how beautiful and perfect she is...someday I'll get a post written that truly expresses how I feel.

As we celebrate the birth of Christ today and all that that means for us as Christians, it is unimaginable to think of the fact that God sent his only son to die to show us the love that He for each of us. The meaning of this holiday is totally different for us this year as we enjoy our beautiful baby girl...God has blessed us beyond measure this year.

Have a very merry Christmas and take a minute to enjoy your blessings today.

0 Months Old

2010-12-23T05:00:00.001-06:00

"I am 0 months old!"

Since Kinley is just a few weeks old now I don't have too many stories or specific things to write about yet, but I'll give this monthly post a go anyway.

Kinley,
You have absolutely flipped our lives upside down. We thought we knew what we were getting into, but we had no idea. We love you more than we ever dreamed possible. You are the center of our world and we think about you 24 hours a day. We could not imagine our lives without you, you are so perfect in every way! A few things you have already shown us:

*You MUST have your diaper changed before you will even think about eating.
*You love to make grunting noises while Daddy burps you, it makes us laugh.
*You LOVE baths! You could sit in the bath all night if we would let you.
*Your umbilical cord fell off after 12 days, we think you are going to have an "innie" but we aren't 100% sure yet.
*You are wearing size newborn diapers
*You are wearing newborn size clothes
*You can lift your head for 5-10 seconds at a time and can switch which side you are looking towards
*You can make eye contact and follow moving objects with your eyes
*You sleep best when you are swaddled in the miracle blanket.
*When you aren't in the miracle blanket you sleep with your hands up by your face
*You get hot when you sleep and need to be cooled off in order to get back to sleep just like your mom and dad.
*You do NOT like being stripped down and weighed by the nurses
*You enjoy peeing while mommy is changing your diaper.
*Daddy can put you to sleep quicker than anyone else can.

Thank you for being such an amazing little girl, we love you beyond words!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Kinley with her stuffed alligator. We are going to take her picture each month with this alligator to see how much she's growing, here's month 0!

Kinley's First Bath

2010-12-20T13:08:00.003-06:00

I never knew that babies could love bath time, I've only heard my friends talk about how rough bath time can be. I guess Kinley hadn't heard those rumors before because she LOVES baths!

Earlier this fall when we were registering for things we needed I had done some research on bathtubs for babies. I came across a very unique bathtub that had awesome reviews. Instead of filling the tub with water and then the baby sitting in the same water for their entire bath, this bathtub creates a little waterfall and then drains out the bottom as new water comes in the top- it's pretty awesome!

Kinley got a tid bit mad when we tried to sit her up out of the water for a picture- she seriously could have sat in the bath all day!

Matt & Kinley hanging out during Kinley's 1st bath:

"Ahh...life is good"

The best birthday present ever- Kinley's birth story

2010-12-17T05:00:00.003-06:00

Today is my birthday. It is the first year that I haven't acclaimed this as "my birthday month", and made my family well aware that this is MY month. It just doesn't mean as much this year. As I sit and type our beautiful, precious, amazing little girl is laying quietly asleep across my lap. My whole world is now revolving around this little girl and I couldn't imagine it any other way. It's amazing how a two year battle for something you really want makes you appreciate it so much more once it's finally here. She is everything to Matt and I. She is the only thing on my mind these days. So what if it's my birthday, the only gift I ever wanted is already here, and her name is Kinley.

So in honor of my birthday here is Kinley's birth story:

December 6th, 2010- We headed to our 38 week appointment Monday morning, secretly hoping that I would be 5cm dilated, which wasn’t asking for too much since I was 4 cm dilated at 37 weeks. Anne, one of our midwives, checked me and said that I was definitely 4-5cm dilated, and 90% effaced. I was thrilled! She then went on to strip my membranes, which is basically a really rough exam with the intent of “stirring things up”, something that is meant to give labor a “kick start”, it only works about 30% of the time, and will only start labor if your body is truly ready to go into labor; apparently I was ready.

I left the doctor’s office and headed to the mall to find one last Christmas present and do some walking, which is also supposed to help start labor. I noticed a few mild cramps while walking around, but our midwife had said that I would be crampy for a while, so I tried not to get too hopeful.

Around 4pm I met Matt at the eye doctor’s office to help him pick out some new glasses. On the drive to meet him I had a really strong “cramp”, which I eventually would figure out was a contraction. While we were looking at frames I had another strong “cramp”… this time I told Matt that he should get out his cell phone, to which he had downloaded a contraction counter application, and start timing how far apart they were… “just for fun”. After a quick scolding from Matt for not telling him that I had had a few contractions, he began timing. By the time we got home around 7 that night, I was starting to wonder if this was the real deal, or if the contractions would fade.

We kept timing the contractions even though they were pretty short and pretty far apart. By 8pm we looked through the history of the contractions on Matt’s phone and saw that they were pretty evenly spaced at 5 minutes apart, and lasting about 25 seconds long. I began to feel hopeful that this was really truly the beginning of labor. At this point I was still able to talk, move and overall was able to deal with the contractions just fine.

At about 9:30 Matt asked if I wanted to head to bed to try to rest a bit since we were feeling like this was definitely “it”. By 10pm my contractions had jumped to a minute long and about 2 ½-3 minutes apart. I told Matt that I thought it was time to call the doctor. I was uncomfortable during contractions and had to lay still and be quiet to help calm my body and get through each contraction. I remember telling Matt that I felt silly calling the midwife already since I had only really been in labor about 2 hours, but I just felt like I was already to a point that I needed to go to the hospital. As he talked with the midwife I remember laying there, eyes closed, totally in disbelief that we were going to be meeting our little girl shortly. The midwife told Matt it was time to get to the hospital, and she would meet us there once we were admitted.

We gathered the last few things that we needed and got in the van. The drive went pretty quickly as I sat quietly and endured each contraction, knowing that this really was the real thing, but still worried that we would be sent home from the hospital.

Once we arrived at the hospital it was incredibly surreal walking down the hall. I can’t count the number of movies that I have watched where the pregnant woman in labor lumbers down the hallway to check in- now it was finally me. I was calm enough to talk to the nurses who checked us in, still a bit nervous that they would say my contractions weren’t strong enough to stay.

A nurse took us to a triage room and hooked me up to two monitors, one for my contractions, and one for the baby’s heartbeat. We were told that they would need 20 minutes of data. While being hooked up to the monitors I had to lay flat and still- two things that are hard, and awful to do during contractions. Being on my back felt AWFUL when a contraction would hit. Forty minutes later I told Matt that he needed to find a nurse because I needed to get out of that tiny room and off of my back. The nurses apparently had switched shifts and we got forgotten about in the shuffle of a shift change and an emergency c-section. An hour later, at 11:30pm, we were walked down to our room- we were being admitted!

Once in our room the nurse began doing all of the routine things that she needed to get done, and then asked me to lay on the bed so that she could start an i.v. I had tested positive for group B strep (30-40% of women have it without ever knowing) so I needed to have antibiotics every 4 hours during labor so that the baby would not contract the strep during delivery. She looked and looked for a vein and said she was going to get a colleague, because she didn’t see anything that would work. By this point my contractions were very strong and I was having a hard time lying still on the bed. I desperately wanted to get in the tub and help relieve some of the pain with the warm water. Another nurse began looking for a vein and couldn’t find anything “acceptable” either, so she left to get the lead nurse. The lead nurse poked, prodded, and wiped every inch of both arms with alcohol wipes trying to find a vein that would work. She thought she had one and as the iv began to drip she told the other nurse to turn it off because it wasn’t in my vein. At this point my contractions were nearly unbearable, mostly because Matt and I were not able to use any of the techniques that we had learned in our Bradley birthing classes. Techniques to use while being stuck in a bed with nurses prodding at you wasn’t covered in class. =-)

I suddenly felt the urge to puke and asked Matt for the garbage can. Instead someone put a bed pan thing next to my face and I began to vomit. Three rounds later my stomach felt relieved, but my mind began to wander. We had learned in our classes that vomiting is usually a sign of transition- which means that your body is transitioning into the last stage of labor. I got a bit nervous thinking about the fact that I still hadn’t gotten any antibiotics, nor had we seen our midwife, and I was already in transition. Nearly an hour into the i.v. ordeal and I finally had a working i.v. with antibiotics flowing.

1:00am 12/7/10 – As soon as the i.v. was in I asked to get in the tub. Our nurse quickly went and filled the tub as I tried to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. Each time I would stand up to head to the bathroom I would quickly fall back on the bed with a contraction. It hurt so badly to stand or walk but I was dead set on getting in the tub, so I did what any woman in labor would do, asked Matt to grab the nurses rolling chair so I could roll to the bathroom. =) The rolling chair was just the trick, I could stop at any point and breathe through the contraction without needing to find a nearby piece of furniture. I got in the tub and felt some relief as each contraction came and went. The water faucet was running next to my head and somehow the running water sound helped calm me as I dealt with the contractions.

About 30 minutes later I suddenly felt the urge to push with each contraction. I asked Matt to tell the nurse that I wanted our midwife to check me because I need to push. She came in and said that our midwife was on her way to the hospital so a nurse was going to check me. I was 9-10cm dilated and ready to meet this baby girl! The nurse told me that it was time to get out of the tub, to the bed, and ready to push.

I desperately wanted to stay in the tub because it was the only thing that was helping with the pain, it was also really the only thing, except for Matt rubbing my back when he could, that we had tried. I finally got out of the tub, back on my wheely chair, and back in bed. The contractions were so strong at this point that I needed to close my eyes to help block out the distractions of the room. My eyes remained closed for the next hour or so until it was time to push.

1:30- Our midwife showed up, apologized for missing so much of my labor, and began prepping for the birth of our babe. (Apparently the nurses were supposed to call her as soon as the i.v. was in so that she could come to the hospital, but with the chaos of getting an i.v. in she wasn’t called until later on). By now I was beginning to lose faith in my abilities to continue on without medication. My contractions were coming less than a minute apart by this point and I remember saying to Matt that I couldn’t do it (which we had also learned in our classes that this meant I was ready to push and that labor was nearly over). I kept my eyes closed and rolled side to side and moaned as the contractions would peak. As Kim, our midwife, finished prepping everything she told me that when I had the urge to push I could go ahead and start to push when I was ready. I sat for a few contractions, not really knowing if I was ready or able to continue on, let alone push. Matt stood by my side and reassured me over and over that I could, and was doing it, that our baby girl was almost here, and that he was so proud of me.
By 1:50am, I decided that I needed to get the baby out if I wanted the pain to be over. As the next few contractions came I began to push, not really sure what I was doing, or if I was doing it correctly, but I did know that I felt “right” and felt better to be pushing than it did to sit through the contractions. So I pushed when I felt like I wanted to, for as long as I could and then rested and waited for the next contraction. A few minutes into my pushing (looking back I wasn’t putting all of my effort into my pushes yet because it hurt so badly when I did push and her head would crown) Kim told Matt to come see the baby’s full head of hair. With my eyes still closed, which they had been since I got back into the bed, I remember hearing Matt say to me that he could see her hair, and that she was going to be here so soon.

By now each and every time I would push, her head would come a bit farther out, causing the most severe burning pain I have ever felt. The “ring of fire” that we had learned about in class was no joke. I began to tear up, and was repeating over and over that I couldn’t do it, it hurt too much to go on. Matt leaned next to me and said I was doing it, and she was almost out so I had to keep going. Kim leaned in close, told me to open my eyes, and then said that she knew it hurt but a few good pushes and it would all be over and I would finally get to meet my baby girl. Kim continued to encourage me and tell me how great I was doing, and reminded me that we had waited 2 years to meet this little girl (Kim was the very first doctor that we had seen almost exactly two years ago when we knew we were having problems conceiving). Hearing her remind me of that gave me a little spark. With the next few contractions I finally gave all of my effort with each push and out came Kinley’s head, quickly followed by her slippery body. I had never felt such relief in my whole life! 2:07am, Kinley Maxine King was welcomed to the world; 6lbs 14 oz, 19 inches long. I felt like I was on top of the world; we had just gone through the most amazing, and challenging experience of our lives. We had accomplished everything that we set out to do, and now we had an amazing prize to show for all of our hard work.

Kim placed Kinley on my chest as I sat speechless, staring at our beautiful little girl. It was such a surreal moment. I had dreamed of this moment for years, having days that I thought I would never get to have this moment, but now we had done it. She was here, quiet, and calm, and all ours. The nurses began to wipe her off and she began to cry, a soft beautiful cry. Kim told us congratulations and that she was absolutely beautiful and then asked if we had a name. I told her it was Kinley… I felt like I had just slipped up on our big secret, it was so bizarre to finally to able to say her name to someone besides Matt.

As Kim began to stitch me up, I later found out that I probably wouldn’t have torn except for the fact that Kinley came out with both hands by her shoulders, we sat and stared at our precious baby, who lay quietly on my chest looking back at Matt and I with her big beautiful eyes. We were both already so in love with our little girl after only a few minutes of meeting her. I remember Matt saying only minutes after laying eyes on her, “She is going to be one spoiled little girl”. I couldn’t have agreed more. I was so in love with her already, I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing experience, or a more beautiful baby.

Kinley's Heart Murmur Update

2010-12-16T11:04:00.003-06:00

As most of you know we found out earlier this week that Kinley has a heart murmur. Her pediatrician scheduled her for an echocardiogram (ultrasound of Kinley's heart) earlier this morning. I was a bit shocked to find out when we got there that infants usually take 2-3 hours for the procedure and must remain still for the entire time, and if they can't remain still they then get sedated- I about threw up thinking of that. Turns out our tech said if she could get 1 hour of stillness she could get everything she needed. Miss Kinley made it for 1 hour and 5 minutes before waking up (thanks to her amazing Dad who gently stroked her face and got her back to sleep several times), just in time for our tech to get finished up- thank God! I'm 100% sure I would have been a mess had they needed to sedate her.

Anyway- we just got a call from our doctor with some preliminary results. It turns out that Kinley has a muscle ventricular septic defect in her heart. Which basically means that:

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a hole between the right and left pumping chambers of the heart.

The heart has four chambers: a right and left upper chamber called an atrium and a right and left lower chamber called a ventricle.

In the normal heart, the right and left chambers are completely separated from each other by a wall of muscle called a septum. The right atrium is separated from the left atrium by the atrial septum and the right ventricle is separated from the left ventricle by the ventricular septum.

Normally there is no hole between the two ventricles, but some infants are born with these holes called ventricular septal defects.

Kinley has a "small" hole between the two ventricles of her heart. We will see the pediatric cardiologist the first week of January to see what the next steps are. Our pediatrician believes that there will not be a need for treatment, but Kinley will likely have to have several echocardiograms to monitor the size of the hole over the next few years. 80% of all VSD's close by age 4 on their own, which is obviously what we are hoping for. Because it is a smaller hole, this shouldn't cause issues with growth, her health, etc. We are thanking God that for now, things should continue to be "normal" for Kinley. Here is a website if you want more info: http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/vsd.htm

Other than this little bump in the road things are going great! I can't imagine my life wihtout this little girl, she is absoultey amazing and has completely stolen our hearts!

One week ago... and a sneak peek at Kinley's newborn pictures

2010-12-14T18:49:00.003-06:00

Exactly one week ago tonight this is what I looked like:

I had asked Matt to take one last belly picture, I was actually having contractions during this picture... man, it seems like a long time ago!

And this is what we have to enjoy a week later... a precious, beautiful, amazing little girl. Enjoy a sneak peek at her newborn pictures. I'm hoping to get the rest edited and a few more posted in the next few days, but someone (hint hint- aunt Keri) was demanding picture, so here ya go.

It is absolutely amazing to think how much our lives have changed in a week. I don't think I could be more in love with this little girl if I tried. She is amazing. She makes us smile every minute of the day, even at 3am, which is saying a lot for me. =)

I have lots of blogs running through my head about how amazing our baby girl is, and also a whole post on her delivery, but those will have to wait until I have more time to think. =)

On a side note, we could use a few prayers tonight. We had two appointments today for Kinley and both doctors heard a murmur in Kinley's heart. So tomorrow she will have an ultrasound of her heart done to see what we are dealing with. On a good note- Kinley is back to her birth weight today! It usually takes about two weeks, so that is great that she's back to wait in a week! The doctor said that is a really good as far as the murmur goes, because it's not affecting her too much. Anyway, I'll try to keep this updated tomorrow if we learn more.

yeah for good news!

2010-12-09T10:21:00.000-06:00

Kinley's bilirubin levels dropped this morning to 10.6, just below the level of concern!! We are still waiting to get all of our discharge papers signed then we are out of here!

Can't wait to get home and cuddle up with our little babe!

on our way home!

2010-12-09T07:21:00.000-06:00

Kinley is doing awesome and I feel great, so we are excited to be heading home this morning! Kinley had some bloodwork this morning to check her bilirubin levels for jaundice. It was a bit high last night so we are praying its down this morning and no further action is needed. If its not down (and it usually doesn't go down on the 3rd day when being breastfed) then we may have to use a bili-light at home, guess we'll deal if that's the case but of course we'd loive it if her levels were lower.
Other than that we are loving this little girl to death!!! I've never been more in love with Matt either, so life is great right now!
We got some awesome pictures of Kinley wide awake yesterday, I'll get them up soon.

Thanks for all of the well wishes!
M&B

Kinley's First Pictures

2010-12-07T14:58:00.003-06:00

Here are just a few pictures from Kinley's first 12 hours of life. I'll try to get her birth story and some other info up soon, but for now, enjoy the pictures.

2:07am 6lbs 14oz

Our first few minutes together, so in love!

First familiy picture!

Our baby girl!

Kinley Maxine is here!

2010-12-07T04:02:00.000-06:00

So excited to announce the arrival of Kinley Maxine King! Born at 2:07am, 6lbs 140z,19 inches long.

It was a quick and intense delivery, but we are loving life right now! More details and pictures to come later.

she's on her way!!

2010-12-06T23:49:00.000-06:00

5cm dilated, just got admitted to stay until she comes. Excited and nervous!

38 Week Survey

2010-12-06T20:25:00.002-06:00

How far along? 38 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: +0 this week

Sleep: I've slept pretty well this week.

Food cravings: EVERYTHING! I finally had the normal pregnancy binge session where I couldn't get enough to eat for about 24 hours, thank goodness it's back under control now.

Best moment this week: Finding out that I'm 5cm dilated and 90% effaced as of our appointment today!

Movement: Starting to slow down just a tiny bit.

Gender: All girl

Labor Signs: Having some more noticeable contractions, still nothing "labor worthy"

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Nothing.

What I am looking forward to: Going into full blown labor!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Do something as a couple that you won't be able to do for awhile.

Milestones:I'm officially dilated to 5cm and I haven't had any pain to speak of to get that far, yeah for being halfway to 10cm!!!

38 Weeks

2010-12-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

Your baby could be gaining as much as one full ounce of weight per day now. While she continues to urinate and practice breathing, your baby is also storing meconium (your baby's first bowel movement) in her intestines. Her lungs are continuing to mature and her grasp has become even firmer than before. Your baby is approximately 20 inches long and weighs about 6 1/2 to 7 pounds. Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Coming to the end...

2010-12-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

I feel the days of this pregnancy drawing near an end. I am thrilled beyond words to know that we will be meeting this little girl so soon, but, I have an ache in my heart knowing that it will soon all be over.

I have loved nearly every moment of this pregnancy. I have loved feeling every kick and roll that this baby girl has made. It may sound a little selfish, but I love the fact that I am the only one who has been able to truly connect with her, and care for her up to this point. I will miss her morning kicks and flops telling me that it is time to get up. I will miss watching Matt’s eyes light up as he watches my belly shake from across the room as she goes crazy and does another gymnastics routine.

I am also going to miss all of the stares and glances that strangers give my belly as they pass by and can notice the unmistakable child growing inside my stomach. I love that she is with me 24 hours a day, every day, and that I don’t have to pass her off to anyone or share any of the special moments that only her and I have had together so far.

I think another thought not far from the front of my mind is the worry that this may be my last few days of ever having the awesome experience of carrying a child. I worry that another year or two older, and the possibility of not having any infertility insurance or enough money to pay for treatments on our own, may hamper our ability to be able to conceive again. I realize that we were incredibly blessed to get pregnant this time, and I truly shouldn’t worry about the “next time”, but I do worry. I worry that I will never get to have this inexpressible experience again. I know I may sound nuts, but I truly can’t wait to do this all over again.

So, for the last few days of this pregnancy, I will try my hardest to sit back and enjoy every second of this baby girl that I can, knowing that the end is coming all too soon.

37 Week Survey & A Trip To Labor & Delivery

2010-11-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

How far along? 37 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: Up 1 pound this week, not bad considering we had 2 Thanksgivings and several dinners out with family.

Sleep: I finally found a good way to sleep without having back pain- yahoo!!! I've slept pretty well this past week, just a few one hour stints awake, but not bad overall.

Food cravings: Nothing really- although I was darn glad to get some oriental salad at Thanksgiving this past week.

Best moment this week: Best & Worst all came yesterday. We had our regular 37 week appointment yesterday and when the nurse checked the heartbeat of the baby it was 190 (her normal is about 140-150). She said it must have been something I ate, and she would have the midwife recheck it when she came in. I got measured, and checked, and then she said she wasn't going to recheck it by hand, she wanted me to be hooked up to the machine that measures the heartbeat and contractions for 20 minutes. About 5-10 minutes into being "watched" she came back in, looked at the graph of the baby's heartbeat and said she wanted us to get an ultrasound right away, and then we needed to get checked into labor and delivery at the hospital. This would be where the worst moment of the week came in. I started to get really worried that somethign was wrong, she said it's not healthy for the baby to have an elevated heartrate for an extended period of time, so we needed to see what was going on. The ultrasound was by far the best moment of the week, especially since we haven't been able to see her for 4 months. She was just moving away on the screen, and her little heart was still beating super fast. The tech guessed that she weighs 6lbs 2oz, but it can be off a pound either way. It was so great to get to see our babe again! Anyway, long story short, her heartbeat continued to be high for a while, and then eventually dropped back down to 140 and stayed there for quite some time. They ran tests to make sure I didn't have an infection, gave me some fluids, and sent me home. Baby girl is now called the "wild girl" by our midwife, but everything appears to be fine.

Movement: Moving like crazy!

Gender: All girl (which we got to re-check yesterday, still looking like a girl- whew!)

Labor Signs: Apparently I am having some mild contractions, but don't really feel them, but they were big enough to show up on the monitors yesterday.

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Nothing.

What I am looking forward to: Going into labor!!!

Weekly Wisdom: She will come when she's ready.

Milestones:I'm officially dilated to 4cm & 80% effaced!!! The midwife is certain that she will come early, I'm still hoping for next week!

37 Weeks: Watermelon!

2010-11-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Your baby is continuing to grow and gain weight during these last few weeks. Also, she is practicing breathing movements in preparation for the outside world. Your baby will also turn his head toward light and sound just as a newborn would. Around this time your baby's head should be down. Your baby can be born any day now. Your baby is anywhere from 19 to 20 inches long and weighs approximately 6.5 pounds.

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Matt's Monthly Memories - 9 months pregnant

2010-11-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

Well here we sit at nearly 37 weeks pregnant. We had an appointment yesterday to see how the little girl was doing… she is doing well. The nurse first checks Bailey’s vitals and then she uses a Doppler to figure out the babe’s heartbeat. Well after a horrific lunch (Bailey wanted to eat a leftover that was at home, but I had taken it to work and she was a little upset about that) of very sugary cereal, the baby was going crazy. I was sitting in the corner of the office and I could see her belly moving as the baby was moving. Apparently she was on a sugar high and her heartbeat was around 190 beats per minute so they decided to try the Doppler later in the appointment to make sure that it was back down to a “normal” range (her heartbeat is usually 140/bpm). The midwife finally came into our room, I think it was about a 15 minute wait but it went really fast because Bailey and I were laughing at everything each one of us said. Anyway, she felt how the baby was situated in Bai’s gut, head down and facing her back, and then used the Doppler again to get a reading of around 150 beats per minute…this is normal. The midwife also checked Bailey to see if her womanly parts were preparing for labor and they most definitely are….3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. So this Thanksgiving day I am so thankful for my beautiful pregnant wife, my daughter that will be here very soon, my great family and family-in-law, great friends, great job, and our MINIVAN!! (read Bailey’s previous post if that last one doesn’t make sense). I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend.

That is all for me, next time I need to write a blog our daughter will be here, so until then, have a great month (or so!!).

making progress!

2010-11-24T14:57:00.000-06:00

We found out today that I am 3cm dilated and 70% effaced!!! We are pretty excited to have some progress going on!

The midwife said that she can "stir things up" at 38 weeks and because of our current progression and how the baby is already pressing, she is fairly certain that she would come a day or two after that. That means in less than 2 weeks this baby girl could potentially be here! Craziness!

36 Week Survey & 9 Month Belly Picture

2010-11-23T05:00:00.001-06:00

How far along? 36 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: At my appointment last week I hadn't gained any weight since my last visit, still standing firm at 17 lbs total.

Sleep: Another poor sleeping week. I am having a lot of back pain when I sleep so I've had a lot of restless nights. We even tried the couch one night, and that didn't help a bit. I'm starting to feel the effects of not getting my 9-10 nomral hours of sleep. I know, there's way more of that in store for us in the next year. =)

Food cravings: Curry!

Best moment this week: Getting 5 days off starting tomorrow- I am in need of some quiet time and rest from work.

Movement: Still being a little acrobat- usually at about 3am, 6am, and 8pm.

Gender: All girl.

Labor Signs: A few cramps here and there this week, hoping it may have been a few mild contractions.

Belly Button in or out? In, but getting more shallow each day.

What I miss: The only real thing I would change right now is the back pain at night. Other than that, I am truly loving being pregnant!

What I am looking forward to: Being full term on Sunday!!! Finding out tomorrow if I am dilated at all yet.

Weekly Wisdom: Nap as often as you can right now.

Milestones: We're in the last month stretch... we could meet this little girl any day.

9 Months Pregnant! (And maybe the last "monthly picture") =)

Comparison picture... my oh my, how this body has changed!

Oh yeah- joining the minivan clan!

2010-11-22T05:00:00.000-06:00

With major reservations I headed to our local car dealership with Matt last week. We left with this...

A dodge grand caraVAN.

I can't believe it. I'm truly speechless. I promised myself many years ago that I would never convert to the minivan clan- apparently my husband had other ideas.

I miss my suv but I have to admit, the whole push a button and your doors slide open for you thing, is kind of nice. I definitely agree that it will be much easier to get Baby K's carseat in and out of the van, as compared to reaching all the way to the middle of the back suv seat, but I still feel like I've lost a piece of my identity. Ok, not really. But I do feel quite a bit older "cruising" around town in this baby.

On a side note- it is a MILLION times easier to get all of my photography equipment and props into the back of the van compared to the suv, so I guess I'll bite my tongue and be proud (and thankful) to be joining the elite crew of minivan drivers.

36 Weeks

2010-11-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

Your baby continues to put on weight by about 1/2 pound each week. It's no wonder the womb is becoming very cramped. Your baby is gaining weight quickly because layers of fat pile on and help in both body temperature regulation and developing her immunity in preparation for life in the outside world. You may find you are carrying your baby much lower now (or soon will be) as the baby drops into the birth canal, readying herself for birth. Your baby is about 19 inches long and weighs from 5.5 to 6.0 pounds.

She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term!

One month from today....

2010-11-19T05:00:00.002-06:00

One month from today is our little babe's due date... one month. I can't even believe it is so close! I know I've said a million and one times on here that everything is so surreal and unbelievable, but it is so true. We absolutely can't wait for labor to begin and know that this little girl is on her way!

We've had a few people ask what our plans are as far as telling when we are in labor, etc. We plan to keep everyone updated on here when we are in "serious labor" and admitted to the hospital (assuming that I can manage alone for a few minutes while Matt updates the blog) and then we will for sure blog as soon as she arrives.

Baby King's Nursery

2010-11-17T05:00:00.000-06:00

We have finally completed our babe's nursery. Although it's not exactly what we want (we wanted to have pink walls, but opted to go more neutral since we are trying to sell our house) it is still pretty darn cute in my eyes. =)

Crib "area":

Her bedding:

My favorite part, and the only decoration that I really wanted- the animal alphabet!

One of my favorite stuffed animals that she was given:

Her closet with all of her little coats and dresses:

A special sign that her daddy made her (I saw a sign just like this in a store and fell in love, except with it's price. When I came home from my first shower I found an exact replica, made by Matt, waiting for me. I LOVE IT!!)

Our bags are packed, now we just wait for this little girl to decide that it's time!

I can't wait to bring our little girl home to this room. We have waited for the day that we could do that for a long time, it is going to be amazing!

35 Week Survey

2010-11-16T05:00:00.002-06:00

How far along? 35 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: At my appointment last week I had gained 2 pounds for the last 2 weeks total- I'll totally take that. =)

Sleep: It has been a rough week in the sleep department. Matt got a cold and has been snoring, which keeps me up. And, this little babe is super heavy and pressing on something that must be important in my pelvis area, so it's been hard to stay asleep. I find myself constantly turning over, which I'm sure is quite hilarious to watch.

Food cravings: Nothing

Best moment this week: Finding out that she is head down and completely engaged in my pelvis- which is supposed to make for an easier labor because my pelvis is already open, yee haw!

Movement: She is now long enough that her little feet can reach up under my ribs and kick away. It doesn't feel the greatest but I still love feeling her move.

Gender: Still a girl! =)

Labor Signs: No contractions, but she's "head down and ready to go" according to our midwife.

Belly Button in or out? In, but getting more shallow each day

What I miss: I still love being pregnant, but I am starting to miss my energy, and I also started swelling this week so I miss my skinny fingers and ankles

What I am looking forward to: We start getting checked next week to see if I'm dilated, I'm hoping for 2 cm. =)

Weekly Wisdom: I'm too tired to think of anything from this week, sorry if someone told me something great and I can't think of it now.

Milestones: Most babies born now may not need any NICU time!

35 Week's Down- 35 DAYS TO GO!

2010-11-15T05:00:00.000-06:00

I remember reading about this 35-35 concept on someone's blog a long time ago and wanting so badly to be able to write about it myself- and now it's here and I CAN NOT believe it.

We have gone through 35 weeks of pregnancy, and only have THIRTY FIVE DAYS TO GO until our due date!!! To say that this journey has been unbelievable, amazing, and interesting is an understatement. We have felt so incredibly lucky and blessed since the day that we found out we were pregnant. I fall more in love with this little girl every single day. The anticipation that is building inside of me is insane. I can not wait to see her, hold her, comfort her, and watch Matt fall in love with her.

I truly can't find words to explain how excited we are. In just 13 days we will be full term and could truly meet this babe any day after that- 13 days! I am trying to take in every last second of having Matt's full attention and time, and enjoy the quietness around our house. But deep down I wish every day that this is "the day". =)

35 Weeks

2010-11-14T05:00:00.000-06:00

Your baby is getting plump. The fat deposits are now beginning to offer form and fullness to your baby's legs and arms. Your baby is taking up most of the room in your uterus, so there is a lot less room to move around. Also, your baby's lungs are now completely developed and producing what is called surfactant, a substance that helps in the exchange of oxygen in the lungs. Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Sausage Feet

2010-11-12T11:32:00.003-06:00

By the looks of my feet these days I am officially in my last month of pregnancy. I call these my sausage feet (don't you love the sandal line across the top?) :

I had conferences this week which meant I had to work until 8pm Tuesday, and 9pm Thursday. I had an appointment Tuesday morning and everything looked good, no swelling, she's head down, engaged, and will likely have an "easier" labor because she's already in my pelvis- super I thought.

I was under the false imperssion that if I had made it this far with NO swelling I'd be the lucky few that escaped it, wrongo. By Tuesday early afternoon my feet began to swell, and by the time I got home late Tuesday night my ankles and feet were huge. Last night when I got home at 9pm I decided I needed to document my "sausages". I'm trying to drink lots of water, which ironically helps with swelling. When I woke up this morning they looked better, but not great. Now that it's noon they are on their way to sausage land again... oh well. I guess I'll deal as long as baby K is ok.

34 Week Survey

2010-11-09T05:00:00.002-06:00

How far along? 34 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure, I'll find out at our appointment today

Sleep: It has definitely been noticably harder to sleep this week than in past weeks. This little girl is really heavy in my stomach as I try to turn over or lay on my back.

Food cravings: Nothing

Best moment this week: We completed our 12 weeks of bradley classes... we are now offically ready for this baby to come, so now we sit and wait for our moment to put everything into practice.

Movement: She's been having the hiccups pretty regularly lately. Since has has dropped the hiccups are super low in my pelvis, like on my bladder, which makes for an entertainig dash to the bathroom.

Gender: Still a girl! =)

Labor Signs: nope, but I do think I had a few braxton hicks (fake labor) this week

Belly Button in or out? In, but defintely more shallow than last week!

What I miss: Not a darn thing

What I am looking forward to: Only 2 1/2 weeks until we are full term- SO UNBELIEVEABLE!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Be confident in what you know is best for your babe. People will always be there telling you that you are doing something wrong, you know your babe best, trust yourself.

Milestones: I finally hit the "pee all the time" stage. Since she has dropped into the birth canal I finally can say that I feel like that pregnant lady that is always running to the bathroom. I go at least every hour now.

34 Weeks

2010-11-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

Your baby can - and does - respond just as a newborn would by opening her eyes while awake and closing them while sleeping. Your baby can also grasp firmly and her little fingernails may need to be trimmed shortly after birth. This month also offers more time for your baby to build antibodies and for her skin to continue to thicken. Your baby is approximately 18 inches long and weighs about 4.5 pounds. It's wonderful to know that if your baby was born now, it has a 95 percent chance of full and normal survival with medical intervention. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well.

Baby Showers!

2010-11-04T05:00:00.006-05:00

I was thrown three of the most beautiful showers ever in the past few weeks! The first shower (and the only one that I actually remembered my camera for) was thrown by my two best friends from high school, and two great friends from my small group. It was in an old barn that has been fixed up, and decorated with plenty of pink. =) We received so many great presents, and some pretty great "advice" cards too. Thank you to everyone who made the day so special.

My sister (who was back from Florida for a wedding that happened to be the same weekend!) me, my mom, and Matt's mom

Sippy cup challenge- if you've never tried it, it's VERY hard to suck an entire cup of juice out of these things!

After the sippy cup challenge we did a relay race with changing a doll's diaper- the proud winning team!

With my two best friends from high school who helped throw the shower- I COMPLETELY forgot to get a picture with all four girls that threw this beautiful shower for me, sorry Jackee and Anne!

Matt showed up to help load the gifts, so I made him take a picture. =)

The second shower was thrown by Matt's mom and a few of his aunts, it was SO pretty! We also received some really great gifts at that shower. Unfortunately I left my camera at home, and so did just about everyone else that was there. =( Matt's mom made a REALLY awesome diaper cake that had all sorts of baby necessities in it, it took us forever just to take it apart and get all of the goodies out of it! Thank you to everyone that helped make that day so great too!

The third shower was thrown by my work. It was yesterday and it was so perfect. They got us our last major item, the video monitor. We are so thankful for the monitor and can't wait to watch our little babe on it. Everyone went in to bring a an appetizer to the shower and it was perfect, and delicious! =) Thank you to all of the awesome people that I work with, I am going to miss you guys SO MUCH this year!

I can't believe that we now have nearly everything that we need for this little babe. Her room is 95% complete, all we need are a few last things (like a hamper, lamp, and garbage can) that we are hoping to get on our IKEA trip and then we'll be 100% set and I'll get nursery pictures posted. It is so surreal to walk into her room, look around and see all of the blankets folded and ready, the diapers and wipes out on the changing table, and her hospital bag packed with an adorable going home outfit. I can't believe in just 4 weeks we'll be full term at 37 weeks... I can't wait!

33 Week Survey

2010-11-02T05:00:00.002-05:00

How far along? 33 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure

Sleep: Much better this week now that my cold is on it's way out.

Food cravings: Nothing

Best moment this week: Meeting the other midwife and LOVING her! (She's also likely the one that will deliver us since the first midwife is due a week after me).

Movement: I spoke too soon last week when I said she had slowed down... she was CRAZY this week! There were several days that it was almost painful she was moving around so much.

Gender: Still a girl! =)

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Not a darn thing

What I am looking forward to: My last shower tomorrow, thrown by my colleagues at school. And not pregnancy related, we are headed to IKEA soon and I can't wait to look at some final things for the nursery.

Weekly Wisdom: When you are fist home from the hospital leave a robe by the door, put it on when you answer, and people will feel like they shouldn't linger too long. Made me laugh when I heard this one. =)

Milestones: There are less than FIFTY days until our due date!!! According to my mom and a few friends (and my bladder) the baby as "dropped"... according to our bradley teachers this usually means the baby will be born in 2-4 weeks- holy cats!!! That would put us right at full term, 37 weeks, which would be perfect with me!

33 Weeks: Honeydew

2010-10-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

By now, you have all the amniotic fluid you are going to have and the amount will remain consistent until delivery. Your baby's brain continues to grow, and increase the size of his head. Your baby continues to develop fat deposits under the skin, changing the color of her skin from red to pink.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Maternity Pictures!

2010-10-27T05:00:00.005-05:00

As most of you know Matt and I started a photography business about a year ago... so one would think that taking our own maternity pictures would have been a breeze- yeah, not so much! We had no idea it would take us so darn long to set up the tripod for each picture, and to actually come up with ideas for ourselves. We started out with no real plan of what we were going to do (unlike if we were actually going to be shooting someone else's pictures)... but I think they turned out pretty darn well considering the factors against us. =)

And can I just say that I can't BELIEVE that we were taking OUR maternity pictures?! This, along with a million other milestones, is something that I often thought about during our infertility treatments, I wondered if we would ever have the chance to take maternity pictures, and here we are...I can't believe this is all becoming so real!

One of my favs

Peek a boo belly

32 Week Survey & 8 Month Belly Picture

2010-10-26T05:00:00.000-05:00

How far along? 32 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: -2 lbs

Sleep: Not the best, I caught a nasty cold and couldn't breath out of my nose- which then left me waking up constantly with a sore throat.

Food cravings: Nothing

Best moment this week: Switching to a midwife who is TOTALLY on our page, we are so excited to be working with her!

Movement: I can tell that she is finally starting to run out of space and not move as much... I miss all of her crazy kicking!

Gender: Still a girl! =)

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Not a darn thing

What I am looking forward to: Reaching full term at 37 weeks.

Weekly Wisdom: Use cloth diaper inserts for your burp rags, they work way better than traditional burp rags. (And thanks to a crafty friend I received this exact gift but with girly trim- we love them!)

Milestones: We had another beautiful shower this past weekend. I'll get a blog up soon with pictures from both of our showers. =)

An 8 month pregnant belly picture- and a sneak peek at our maternity pictures. I'll get more posted soon.

The famous comparison picture...

32 Weeks

2010-10-24T05:00:00.002-05:00

Your baby sleeps approximately 90 to 95 percent of the day now. Her skin has become thicker and she continues to become more of a pinkish color. Your baby's movements will peak this week. From now on they will change in quantity and quality. Most of the wrinkles are disappearing from your baby's face, and there may be a lot of hair on her head. The weight gain has been fairly incredible recently. Your baby is now almost 4 pounds and is 17 inches long.

You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, and fingernails. Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Doctor Dilema Solved!

2010-10-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

We met with a midwife yesterday and fell in love! We were complete smiles the whole time. In a nut shell she said that every item on our birth plan is completely do-able, and appropriate for a natural childbirth. Whew... what a relief. She made us feel completely normal, and supported. She has gone through Bradley training herself and I think that's a huge bonus, she knows the information and training that we've been given and is fully supportive of it.

Needless to say we are making the switch to her and her other midwife partner. In fact, we officially switch tomorrow! We are pretty excited with this new decision and feel completely at peace with our new midwives- relief is an understatement. I guess I make the call tomorrow to cancel all of our old appointments.

We are thanking the lord today for great guidance!

31 Week Survey

2010-10-19T05:00:00.001-05:00

How far along? 31 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure... but I feel huge this week.

Sleep: I was SO SO SO tired this week even though I was sleeping about 9 hours a night.

Food cravings: Nothing

Best moment this week: Friday the baby was kicking LIKE CRAZY all day! It was awesome to feel her go crazy almost the entire day.

Movement: Going like crazy again. She got Matt right in the face when he was talking to her the other morning.

Gender: Still a girl! =)

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Not a darn thing

What I am looking forward to: We have another shower this weekend, I'm excited to see more family and get more adorable gifts for this baby girl.

Weekly Wisdom: If you don't feel comfortable with your doctor, you need to look elsewhere... (more details on this issues in yesterday's blog)

Milestones: WE ARE IN THE SINGLE DIGIT WEEK COUNTDOWN!!! I can't even believe it!

Doctor Dilema

2010-10-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

Matt and I are currently taking 12 weeks of classes to learn how to labor/birth naturally using the Bradley Birthing Method. We decided to take these classes after we did some research and realized all of the amazing benefits to baby if no drugs are used during labor. We made this decision, and are taking 24 hours of classes to prepare to follow through with that decision. One of the class topics is writing a birth plan. This plan is something that we write, show to our doctors, and also the nurses, so that our plans for going naturally can be carried out by everyone during delivery. We will be the first to admit that there are some "different" things on our birth plan. Since 97% of people at our hospital use drugs to manage pain, some of our wishes are quite different from "the norm"... as would be expected when you are trying to do something that 97% of the people don't want to/or don't do.

So, Matt and I took our birth plan in this week to show to our doctor. We wanted to start sharing with each doctor since there are 5 of them at our clinic, we wanted to start talking to each of them. Well, my biggest worry happened. The doctor (this was our first time meeting her) had a lot of "questions" and thoughts on our plan. She said we would have to choose between placing the baby on my chest and clamping the cord right away, "because it probably wouldn't reach" (which is SO NOT TRUE), she then went on to talk about episiotomies and how they aren't routinely done, but if I would need one she would discuss first with us- at which point Matt asked about pressure episiotomies (a technique that we would want done), her reply- "What's that?" I about died. Matt explained it well, and she said that she has never done that and couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't hurt badly, since it's "not routine". She also said she was very worried that we didn't want an IV, she would feel nervous and would want us to have a hep-lock (which is also "routine"). She also said we would need to tell each nurse etc that a part of our plan is not to offer us meds- isn't that the point of the plan, to not have to TELL everyone, so they can read it and follow it?

Sighh.... I feel overwhelmed. I know deep down that we can stay with these doctors and that we can have most of what we want done, but I know that Matt will be on "patrol" the entire time trying to get what we want and fighting for what we know is best, instead of being able to help me with everything. I am concerned now. I feel like we should look into a last minute switch to a midwife but I don't want to start this all over. We love our hospital and would like to stay there.

So we now have an appointment with a midwife to discuss our options and birth plan (the same midwife that we went to 2 years ago when we first realized we needed help getting pregnant- but she pretty quickly moved us on when none of the initial fertility drugs helped). I'm nervous to make a switch this late, but I feel passionate enough about having someone who truly supports going naturally that I think it may be worth it. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that we feel better about the situation with the midwife after talking to her... =-/

31 Weeks

2010-10-17T05:00:00.001-05:00

Your baby will gain weight faster than she'll increase in length. By now the baby's lungs and digestive tract are nearly mature. Your baby's irises can now dilate and contract in response to light. Due to the deposits of white fat underneath the skin your baby's skin is no longer red, but is now the wonderful newborn pink color. Her fingernails may reach the end of the hands, too. Your baby is now a little over 3 pounds and is 16 inches long.

You may worry if you are breathless from walking or sometimes even just sitting that your baby is in danger. This is not true. Your baby is getting plenty of oxygen from your placenta.

She is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and she's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Matt's Monthly Memories - 7 months pregnant

2010-10-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

Well this past month I helped Rusty (Bailey's dad) harvest his crops. He let me drive the nice tractor (John Deere 8230) that has a companion seat, so Bailey rode with me for one round of hauling beans. Well it turns out the companion seat is not as smooth as the driver seat, and Bailey was having some pain while riding in her "concrete seat". It’s amazing what an air ride seat can do for a guy. I made her get out after that one round and didn’t let her back in. I can’t wait for little girl King to ride with me in the coming years. She is going to love it!!

Bailey and I got to visit and tour the birthing rooms at our hospital. They seem like nice rooms, but our tour guide tried making a joke of every little thing…we used to stock the fridges until people emptied everything into their bags before they left, haha….these are the hospital gowns you will most likely be wearing, they are a pretty big fashion statement so try not to steal them, haha…and so on. It was a little ridiculous, I felt awkward for her. Anyways, the rooms look like they will do and it gave me a nice image to create my game-plan for birth day. I am working on a spreadsheet of the location of all the birth rooms and all of the break rooms with the food and drink. There should be no surprises come game/birth day. I should know the most efficient route to all locations for any circumstance that may arise! Bring it on (in about 9 weeks)!!

Along with the tour of the birthing center, we attended a CPR class at the hospital. It was not a class to get certified for CPR, thank goodness, because the instructor was all over the place. I think I finally figured out what should be done in the event of choking or not breathing, but only after decapitating one CPR dummy and almost losing my gum in another CPR dummy’s mouth. In all seriousness, I do feel more comfortable if something were to happen which was the overall goal.

The final thing I want to say is Thank You to everyone who was in attendance for the baby shower and Thank You for all of the items that we received…I know it will all be useful when our little girl arrives. And now for my monthly survey….

How far along? We are in our 30th week….start week 31 on Sunday!!

Total weight gain/loss: Staying consistent

Sleep: Still sleeping well!

Food cravings: Lunch meat sandwiches

Best moment this week: Getting kicked in the head by my little girl.

Movement: Yea…..she kicked me in the head.

Gender: I am still a guy, our baby is still a girl

Labor Signs: Negative

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Well…..

What I am looking forward to: We are starting the every-other-week appointments….that means we are getting closer!

Weekly Wisdom: Again, “Bailey….don’t forget to Kegel”

Milestones: First baby shower/gift party was last weekend.

30 Week Survey

2010-10-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

How far along? 30 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: 0 this week, yeah!

Sleep: I was SO SO SO tired this week so I slept great, even getting 13 hours one day.

Food cravings: Homemade ranch, had it every day for lunch!

Best moment this week: OUR FIRST SHOWER- which was amazing!!! More to come soon.

Movement: Going like crazy again. The recliner actually shook one night when she kicked, I still love it though!

Gender: Still a girl! =)

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Not a darn thing

What I am looking forward to: My principal and I picked my sub for the rest of the year, I'm excited to start making notes to pass my class off to her- so weird to even think of!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't take the tags off of all of the clothes you get from showers until you are actually ready to put your baby in them.

Milestones: Having a REAL baby shower for OUR BABY!