Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Tara's New Toys
On Thursday the play mat that we purchased for Tara arrived. Lately she's been kicking her feet a lot and she loves it when we play with a particular butterfly toy, so we thought it was time to get her something to play with. She seems to really enjoy the few minutes at a time that she spends there, and it buys me time to get dressed!
In other news, Tara slept through her first live concert last night. We went out to dinner out a local restaurant that often has live music. Even though they were a rather loud, fun eighty's cover band, she slept through it all, snuggled in her sling.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Fast forward 2 months
Today, Tara is 8 weeks old! She had her two month check up today, along with her first round of vaccines. Shots are never easy, but she did as well as can be expected. She now weighs 11 lbs 1 oz and is 22.5 inches long. She's right on track.
Now that I've shared Tara's birth story, I'd better get you acquainted with who our little girl is now. I have a hard time believing it's been nearly two months! I still feel like I was just pregnant yesterday. But the passing of time is very evident in our girl, as you will soon see. She's bigger, much stronger (as evidenced by her love of grabbing my hair), and even smiling. She graced us with her first smile when she was 6 weeks old and gives us more every day. She struggles with digestion and gas issues, so we wear our fair share of spit up, but we're hoping she grows out of that soon as her little body matures. She's a fairly decent night sleeper, so most days I'm not walking around too zombie-like, which is nice!
Contrary to what these pictures will show, we do get a good amount of awake time with her. It's just easier to take pictures when she's sleeping! Lately, due to her gas issues, most of her awake time is spent eating or fussing/crying until she falls back asleep. From time to time we get a calm period where she'll lay on a blanket and happily reach for toys. We look forward to more of those moments!
Because I've included so many photos, I made them a size smaller. But if you click on one, all of them will load up in a larger window that makes them easy to see. Enjoy!
Now that I've shared Tara's birth story, I'd better get you acquainted with who our little girl is now. I have a hard time believing it's been nearly two months! I still feel like I was just pregnant yesterday. But the passing of time is very evident in our girl, as you will soon see. She's bigger, much stronger (as evidenced by her love of grabbing my hair), and even smiling. She graced us with her first smile when she was 6 weeks old and gives us more every day. She struggles with digestion and gas issues, so we wear our fair share of spit up, but we're hoping she grows out of that soon as her little body matures. She's a fairly decent night sleeper, so most days I'm not walking around too zombie-like, which is nice!
Contrary to what these pictures will show, we do get a good amount of awake time with her. It's just easier to take pictures when she's sleeping! Lately, due to her gas issues, most of her awake time is spent eating or fussing/crying until she falls back asleep. From time to time we get a calm period where she'll lay on a blanket and happily reach for toys. We look forward to more of those moments!
Because I've included so many photos, I made them a size smaller. But if you click on one, all of them will load up in a larger window that makes them easy to see. Enjoy!
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| Just home. |
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| 5 days |
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| 1 week |
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| 2 weeks |
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| 3 weeks |
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| 4 weeks |
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| 5 weeks |
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| 6 weeks |
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| 7 weeks |
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| 8 weeks! |
Friday, July 20, 2012
Our newest journey
So, this blog was supposed to be a photographic journey about observations on daily life. I had hoped it would help me grow my photography skills. Obviously, that didn't work out as I'd planned, based on the sad number of posts I actually put up. Oh well.
But most of you know that we've recently embarked on an entirely different journey - parenthood. Our beautiful baby girl, Tara Marie, was born June 1st, 2012. Since that day I've taken a ridiculous amount of pictures, both with my camera and my phone. We want everyone to be able to see Tara as much as possible, since we live so far away, and I think this blog would be better used for that purpose. It'll be better than seeing her on a tiny camera screen in a text message, that's for sure!
Even though Tara is now 7 weeks old, I'd love to start off with the story of her birthday. After a wonderful 9 months of pregnancy, I was lucky enough to have a similarly wonderful labor and delivery.
For those of you who don't know, I was being watched closely for pre-eclampsia at the end of my pregnancy. I was on orders for reduced activity and was going in for regular baby monitoring called non-stress tests. Since Tuesday, May 29th, I’d been doing all the things they say to try for natural induction of labor, hoping to avoid being induced. I ate spicy things, walked, ate Chinese food, etc. My NSTs on Wednesday and Friday went well, showing that baby was healthy, but didn’t indicate impending labor. Since the NST on Friday morning looked so good, my Dr felt comfortable enough with my slightly increased BP to cancel the Saturday induction and allow me to continue on with monitoring. I left the clinic and treated myself to a large iced chai tea, feeling happy and very indulgent.
Due to a miscommunication, my parents mistakenly took the induction for a sure thing, so they bought plane tickets and were due to arrive Sunday, making my drive to get labor going that much stronger. I decided to treat myself to a pedicure, since I needed one and since massaging the feet was also one of those things that might help bring on labor. My nurses later commented on my cute toenails!
Jeff got home from work that afternoon and we intended to pick up the house, mow the lawn, etc, before my mom and dad arrived. We were going to do inside house things that evening, so we ordered a pizza and were goofing around. At 6:45 I performed a ridiculous “Come out baby” dance (which Jeff caught on video). At 7pm we decided to hang the curtains in the nursery. I got up off the couch, walked 10 steps to the nursery door, and felt a small “pop". It wasn’t much, but we were certain that my water had broken. The dance worked! We called the hospital, let our parents know, put the few lingering things into the hospital bag and waited for the pizza guy. My mother was adamant that I not eat, since I could get sick during labor, but I wanted that pizza!
By 8pm we were at the hospital and that’s when the fun began. While checking in I began to really feel contractions. The strength of the contractions also went from 0-60, pretty much instantly. For just a second, I contemplated asking for an epidural. Looking back, I only did that because I had skipped the easier contractions and went straight to strong ones, so I was scared about how much stronger they had the potential to get. In the end, it was a moot point, as we would soon see.
The urge to push was so strong that I begged to be checked. My first check showed 7-8cm dilated and 100% effaced. One more contraction and I was up to 8-9, and just one more brought me to 9.5. My fantastic nurse was making sure I didn’t push, to make sure I didn’t cause swelling that would slow the process. With her on one side and Jeff with oxygen for me (the most wonderful thing they gave me!!) at the other, my doctor arrived and helped me gently push past the 9.5cm lip. Once we’d done that, it was go time. They gave me full permission to push and the urge pretty much overwhelmed me. I had my eyes closed through most of the process, lost in the crazy sensations and lost in my own head. I very much remember wondering how in the world people do this again and again.
After just over 1 hour of pushing, Tara was ready to join us. My amazing doctor brought me through the final pushes and then she was here. It was amazing and overwhelming and I was shocked at how fast labor amnesia set in! Just minutes before I was willing her backwards, and then she was there on my chest and the memories of the pain were already hazy! She was 7lbs 9 oz, 19.5 inches long, and arrived at 11:32pm. From water break to birth, I was in labor for just 4.5 hours. Jeff was absolutely amazing through the entire process and tells me that he thought it was incredible. He also filled me in on the funny things I did during labor, like apologizing to everyone for any inconvenience and calling everyone sweetie and honey. I was trying to be polite while in labor!
We spent two nights in the hospital. After a crazy Saturday that included a trip to the ER for Jeff, we made it home Sunday afternoon. Of course, the weeks since then have been a crazy learning curve and have flown by. I can't believe time can go so fast. In the next few posts I'll bring you more up to date with Tara today, but for now, here are a few pictures of her birth.
But most of you know that we've recently embarked on an entirely different journey - parenthood. Our beautiful baby girl, Tara Marie, was born June 1st, 2012. Since that day I've taken a ridiculous amount of pictures, both with my camera and my phone. We want everyone to be able to see Tara as much as possible, since we live so far away, and I think this blog would be better used for that purpose. It'll be better than seeing her on a tiny camera screen in a text message, that's for sure!
Even though Tara is now 7 weeks old, I'd love to start off with the story of her birthday. After a wonderful 9 months of pregnancy, I was lucky enough to have a similarly wonderful labor and delivery.
For those of you who don't know, I was being watched closely for pre-eclampsia at the end of my pregnancy. I was on orders for reduced activity and was going in for regular baby monitoring called non-stress tests. Since Tuesday, May 29th, I’d been doing all the things they say to try for natural induction of labor, hoping to avoid being induced. I ate spicy things, walked, ate Chinese food, etc. My NSTs on Wednesday and Friday went well, showing that baby was healthy, but didn’t indicate impending labor. Since the NST on Friday morning looked so good, my Dr felt comfortable enough with my slightly increased BP to cancel the Saturday induction and allow me to continue on with monitoring. I left the clinic and treated myself to a large iced chai tea, feeling happy and very indulgent.
Due to a miscommunication, my parents mistakenly took the induction for a sure thing, so they bought plane tickets and were due to arrive Sunday, making my drive to get labor going that much stronger. I decided to treat myself to a pedicure, since I needed one and since massaging the feet was also one of those things that might help bring on labor. My nurses later commented on my cute toenails!
Jeff got home from work that afternoon and we intended to pick up the house, mow the lawn, etc, before my mom and dad arrived. We were going to do inside house things that evening, so we ordered a pizza and were goofing around. At 6:45 I performed a ridiculous “Come out baby” dance (which Jeff caught on video). At 7pm we decided to hang the curtains in the nursery. I got up off the couch, walked 10 steps to the nursery door, and felt a small “pop". It wasn’t much, but we were certain that my water had broken. The dance worked! We called the hospital, let our parents know, put the few lingering things into the hospital bag and waited for the pizza guy. My mother was adamant that I not eat, since I could get sick during labor, but I wanted that pizza!
By 8pm we were at the hospital and that’s when the fun began. While checking in I began to really feel contractions. The strength of the contractions also went from 0-60, pretty much instantly. For just a second, I contemplated asking for an epidural. Looking back, I only did that because I had skipped the easier contractions and went straight to strong ones, so I was scared about how much stronger they had the potential to get. In the end, it was a moot point, as we would soon see.
The urge to push was so strong that I begged to be checked. My first check showed 7-8cm dilated and 100% effaced. One more contraction and I was up to 8-9, and just one more brought me to 9.5. My fantastic nurse was making sure I didn’t push, to make sure I didn’t cause swelling that would slow the process. With her on one side and Jeff with oxygen for me (the most wonderful thing they gave me!!) at the other, my doctor arrived and helped me gently push past the 9.5cm lip. Once we’d done that, it was go time. They gave me full permission to push and the urge pretty much overwhelmed me. I had my eyes closed through most of the process, lost in the crazy sensations and lost in my own head. I very much remember wondering how in the world people do this again and again.
After just over 1 hour of pushing, Tara was ready to join us. My amazing doctor brought me through the final pushes and then she was here. It was amazing and overwhelming and I was shocked at how fast labor amnesia set in! Just minutes before I was willing her backwards, and then she was there on my chest and the memories of the pain were already hazy! She was 7lbs 9 oz, 19.5 inches long, and arrived at 11:32pm. From water break to birth, I was in labor for just 4.5 hours. Jeff was absolutely amazing through the entire process and tells me that he thought it was incredible. He also filled me in on the funny things I did during labor, like apologizing to everyone for any inconvenience and calling everyone sweetie and honey. I was trying to be polite while in labor!
We spent two nights in the hospital. After a crazy Saturday that included a trip to the ER for Jeff, we made it home Sunday afternoon. Of course, the weeks since then have been a crazy learning curve and have flown by. I can't believe time can go so fast. In the next few posts I'll bring you more up to date with Tara today, but for now, here are a few pictures of her birth.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Another day older
Today, I turned 30. I can admit it. 30. It's not horrible, but I have to confess that saying goodbye to my 20's isn't something I particularly looked forward to. There's just something a little sad about leaving that decade behind. That being said, I had a pretty darn good day. I am so lucky to be surrounded by love. I have great co-workers, lovely friends, wonderful family, and a husband that loves me better than I ever knew possible.
A few days ago I bought myself two bunches of yet to bloom daffodils, because they've always been one of my favorite flowers. They're just so happy looking! So I was more than pleased to wake up to find that they had opened fully today, just in time to help me welcome this new day and new stage of my life. I'm sure there's a metaphor about blooming and life in there somewhere.
So here I am, 30. Our baby girl is due in less than 12 weeks. You know, 30 is shaping up to be a good year.
A few days ago I bought myself two bunches of yet to bloom daffodils, because they've always been one of my favorite flowers. They're just so happy looking! So I was more than pleased to wake up to find that they had opened fully today, just in time to help me welcome this new day and new stage of my life. I'm sure there's a metaphor about blooming and life in there somewhere.
So here I am, 30. Our baby girl is due in less than 12 weeks. You know, 30 is shaping up to be a good year.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Winter wonders
Ok, so I'm bad at blogging. I've taken plenty of pictures documenting the wonderful, silly, lovely things in life since I last wrote, but do you see them here? No sir. Oh well.
I do appreciate the fact that my last photo was celebrating the long, warm days of late summer and here I am, presenting you with the chilly beauty of a winter storm.
I do appreciate the fact that my last photo was celebrating the long, warm days of late summer and here I am, presenting you with the chilly beauty of a winter storm.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Long, warm days
I love summer. I love warm days, tank tops, and long evenings with the sounds of children playing in the neighborhood. Somehow summer almost failed to arrive in the Pacific Northwest this year, but as fall rapidly approaches the sun has finally given us a taste of what I've been waiting so long for.
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