My egg gets her own egg

Katie's egg by Corinne S.

Katie, now freshly 5 months old, had her first Easter this weekend. Easter isn't a big holiday in my family, but Piper's family has an egg-dying and hunting tradition that I thoroughly enjoy and Sara was kind enough to invite us. We had a good time hanging out with everyone, despite being 3.5 hours late after a giant (and much-needed by mom) nap.

More photos on Flickr

Rougher than usual week

Katie's new harness by Corinne S.

This week Katie was fitted with this harness to correct the formation of her hip joints and avoid hip dysplasia. She's not a fan, but is gradually adjusting. After a couple of major freak-outs, resulting in the overnight removal of said harness, we're working up to having her wear it 23 hrs/day. :'-(

She'll get another hip ultrasound in early March to see whether things have improved. Can I tell you how much I want that to be the end of the harness? I miss my leg-kicking, sweet dispositioned girl.

Play dates...sort of

Baby Snacks by Corinne S.

I have been very quiet on the blog. I think perhaps I am a little shy about my entirely mommy-centered existence. It's new and unfamiliar. I'm proud, and yet embarrassed. What can I say? I may as well gush about how fantastic my child is and tell you everything I know about cloth diapers and newborn poop. Why not? I have blogged whatever whims caught my fancy before. Why should I stop now.

I regularly participate in various "moms' groups", though not the ever-popular PEPS since that just didn't come together (read: I didn't get around to signing up). I am a huge proponent of the First Weeks group in Seattle and would (and do) recommend it to every new mom I know. Even second time moms would likely enjoy it, even if they might not learn as much new stuff.

Another group I'm enjoying, is the group of women from my childbirth class. I affectionately refer to it as Lamaze Mommies. There are just four of us in this "club." We've been getting together on Monday afternoons and this week I hosted. Katie needed a nap only an hour into the gathering so I had unusually free hands. I took a bunch of pictures of the other babies, posted in a set I call Lamaze Babies. This one is a particularly funny, layered image.

Healthy babe

Over 14 pounds (full of milk) by Corinne S.

Katie had her 2 month well baby check today and she weighed in at 14 pounds 1 ounce and was 23.5" long. That's 97+% of average for weight and 90% for height.

She also got her first shots, so she's been fussier than usual and seems to have a decreased appetite. All normal I suppose.

Cuteness in orange

Cuteness in orange by Corinne S.

Can I get a three-for-one post (Flickr + blog + Facebook)? Let's find out...

Fuss budget

Fuss budget by Corinne S.

This is a bit of a test.

Set: Kaitlin
- Taken at 7:16 PM on January 11, 2009 - iPhone upload by ShoZu

New photos

Family portrait--2 months old by Corinne S.

I posted a group of new photos last night of our little 2 month old (my how time flies!). Here's the latest in the family portrait series.

Babysitting

Babysitting by Corinne S.

Tuesday evening Piper took care of Katie for a couple hours while I went to an appointment. It was the first time Katie stayed alone with someone other than a parent or grandparent. Apparently she was her mellow self (not her fussy self). Afterward Piper stayed and hung out with me. She made her famous Mac & Cheese and we chatted about babies and life. Benjamin was at the Child's Play charity auction and dinner that night. He got an HD Xbox package in the auction.

Travel-ready

Travel-ready by Corinne S.

Today I took Kaitlin out if the house alone for the first time. I only required the assistance of Claire delivering a snap n go stroller, my mother in law carrying the baby in the carseat up and down our front stairs, and Benjamin loaning me his car (mine's a stick and still a little effortful to drive). What was the exciting destination? My post-delivery OB checkup and Bartell Drugs. What can I say? Start small. :-)

Awake

Awake by Corinne S.

Happy Saturday. We're having some awake and alert time in what is our morning (2pm).

Deep napping

Deep napping by Corinne S.

Today Katie and I went to First Weeks for the second time. There were a whopping 15 mom's and babies there--lots more than at my first visit. After we got home and ate lunch, Katie took a long, hard nap on the couch. Super cutie.

Two S's: Swinging and Sucking

Two S's: Swinging and Sucking by Corinne S.

Hi Grandma. Mommy is swinging me so I don't fuss and it's getting dark cuz it's 4 o'clock in Seattle in the fall. I got my first bath last night and this morning I threw up in mom & dad's bed because I drank too much milk. Love, Katie

Well baby

I forgot to give the well baby update after Katie's 2 week checkup on Tuesday. She's over her birth weight now: 9 pounds 6 ounces on Tuesday (more now I'm sure). Her head was up to 14-3/4" around, but she'd shrunk (not really--just different measuring styles I'm sure) to 21-1/2" long.

First bath

Drying off the wee one by Corinne S.

Hopefully you anticipated that when I gave birth my blog would be temporarily taken over by pictures and commentary on the baby. Eventually other subjects will surely creep back in, but for now please note that we finally bathed our little cutie. It's a milestone for us despite being cliche and expected. ;-)

Resemblance

Family by Corinne S.

I think this pretty much speaks for itself. Feel free to weigh in on likenesses (or not).

Tuckered out

Tuckered out by Corinne S.

Happy first Thanksgiving Small Fry.

No, she didn't bake a pie or gorge on turkey, but it was still our
biggest outing since her birth so I think she's entitled to a little
nap. :-)

Content (aka "milk drunk" baby)

Content (aka "milk drunk" baby) by Corinne S.

Kaitlin has gotten so good at sleeping that I worry she isn't eating
enough. I actually think she's gaining weight just fine, but I'll be
happy to verify that at her 2 week "well baby" visit on Tuesday.

Assuming she is on track weight-wise, I'll agree with Claire's
assessment of the situation: "quality problem to have."

First Flickr video

Kaitlin fights the pacifier by Corinne S.

My first video posted to Flickr is, of course, of baby Katie. While this video may look like I'm forcing the pacifier on her, I am not. She likes it, but sometimes gets confused and frustrated about how to initiate sucking. She does this periodically when breast feeding as well...

Pretty in turquoise

Pretty in turquoise by Corinne S.

Our two big milestones in the last 24 hours: introduction of the
pacifier and first vomit. I don't expect these things are related.

Home again

A few short months and voilà by Corinne S.

We came home from the hospital today.

Welcome Kaitlin Irene Sherry

Welcome Kaitlin Irene Sherry by Corinne S.

This photo doesn't do our beautiful girl justice, but it'll have to suffice for now. Kaitlin (aka Katie) made her entrance into the world around 5:30 this evening. She weighed in at 9.3 lbs and was 22" long. She was ultimately delivered by c-section. Labor began around 9pm Sunday night after some gentle prodding from her parents (she was 5 days past her due date afterall). Contraction frequency increased to every ~3 minutes around 4am. We went to the hospital at 5:30 am. Our Doula Rebecca joined us at the hospital in triage and my own OB came on call at 8am. After a relatively short but intense day of laboring, I was fully dilated around 2:30pm though my water hadn't broken and Katie was still at -2 station. The doctor broke my water then, only to discover that Katie wasn't presenting her head properly (at the time they thought she was presenting her face). We tried laboring down and later an epidural, but she wasn't descending. We agreed to proceed to a c-section around 4:30pm. When they went in to retrieve her they got a big surprise: the cheeks they'd been feeling were of an entirely dufferent variety. Our girl was breech! So here we are in the hospital tonight. A new happy, healthy family unit. We expect to be here until Thursday morning. For more photos in the coming days go to www.Flickr.com/groups/Kaitlin. -Corinne & Benjamin

Missed a deadline

Family portrait--40 weeks by Corinne S.

The baby isn't yet aware of deadlines and how they're supposed to work. Yesterday was her due date, but she's still chilling out in my womb. We're planning to avoid medical intervention before 42 weeks if possible, though we'll probably try some natural methods to nudge her along if she doesn't make a move on her own pretty soon.

Check out our family portrait series slide show on Flickr to see my belly shrink as the evolution of this little being plays in reverse. ;)

Plus or minus 2 weeks

Tomorrow I'll be 38 weeks pregnant and, according to BabyCenter, little Blueberry has been "full term" since last week. I'm now in the weeks where I could go into labor "anytime" [in the next 4 weeks].

(For those who don't know, the way they count the weeks of pregnancy the full gestation period is 40 weeks and normal full term delivery is 40 weeks +/- 2.)

While I'm committed to the idea of not inducing labor before 42 weeks unless medically necessary, the idea of being pregnant for 4 more weeks is quite unpleasant. It seems to me, as a first-timer, that the baby may be "dropping" already, which really wreaks havoc on the bladder.

My last day at work before maternity leave is Friday, so this week will continue to be quite busy. I'm looking forward to getting some extra sleep next week though. Baby--don't come before I get some good napping in! Okay?

Last baby shower

Knitted blanket Eileen made by Corinne S.

I had a ladies-only baby shower on Saturday with my family and a few friends. It was a really nice event, hosted by Claire. See more pictures on Flickr.

Triage again

Triage drive-through by Corinne S.

Friday evening I had to make my second brief visit to Triage at Swedish. Nothing was at all wrong though--they were just checking my blood pressure because of my hands and feet swelling and a few other things.

I just wish we'd been able to get my wedding ring off. I've tried the tricks and it's looking more and more like I'll have to cut it off. Damn.

Benjamin's Surprise Baby Shower

Benjamin's Surprise Baby Shower by Corinne S.

Benjamin's incredibly generous co-workers threw him a surprise baby shower yesterday afternoon at work. So thoughtful! They got him everything from the snuggly green flannel sheets we wanted to a great bottle of Scotch and a cigar. Not only that, there's a sizable gift card for Babies R Us that's likely to go toward the Dutailier glider Benjamin wants so much. Yay!

Cute picture

Corinne and Benjamin by Rob Gruhl

Rob took this cute picture of us at his birthday party last weekend. :)

The final 4 (fingers crossed)

Today I had my regular biweekly OB appointment and my doctor told me I have one more biweekly appointment and then I'll be on the weekly schedule.

After the appointment I went to schedule my next appointments and I ended up scheduling every appointment from now unitl my due date. How many is that? Just 4. The countdown begins. ;-)

Threshold

I imagine that there's a threshold at which the discomfort of pregnancy outweighs the fears and responsibilities associated with childbirth and having a newborn and you think to yourself "Let's have this baby now!"

I'm not there yet, but I think I'm on that road. I'll endevour to arrive at that particular destination at the same time I go into labor. ;-) Wish me luck and timing.

Triage

I just got to hang out in the OB Triage wing at Swedish for an hour and a half to rule out pre-term labor. Lucky for me, it's just my "irritable" uterus.

I should've taken a pic while I was there, darn it. The nurse and doc were nice and I entertained myself with a magazine and my iPhone while they monitored me and baby.

Little Miss Blueberry performed well with her wiggling, heart heating, and oxygenating. Good girl.

Baby bomb

I recently heard someone mention a friend of theirs who went into labor after being rear-ended in her car. It made me feel like a bit of a ticking time bomb.

I suspect Benjamin's seen me that way for a while though, based on the way he reacts when I say "ow." I guess I can't blame him--he was born about 2 months prematurely after what must have been a particularly vigorous vacuuming session by his mother.

More baby shower pictures

New mom by sben

S. Ben took some great pictures at the shower and posted them last night. Here's his set on Flickr. None of Benjamin or me in this set, but lots of cute kids. :)

Showered with babies

Rob and Keston by Corinne S.

Our big co-ed baby shower was today at Miller and Nathan's house. The place was flush with babies and it was great to see our friends. We received lots of adorable gifts and some seriously useful hand-me-downs. I only took two pictures, so hopefully Rob will post a bunch of his photos soon. I know he took a few that weren't just of his adorable son Keston. ;-)

Our latest portrait

Blueberry's family--30 weeks by Corinne S.

Here's a photo of us from today. Blueberry is 30 weeks old now in gestational age and, as you can see, the nursery is now functional, if not complete. I posted some related photos as well that you can see at these links:

• Family portrait series
• Baby "Blueberry" set

Butternut baby

Butternut baby by Corinne S.

This past week--week 29--the baby was supposed to be the size of a butternut squash. When at the grocery store the other day I decided to get a sense of this size relative to my belly. To clarify though, I think BabyCenter's baby-fruit comparisons are based solely on length and don't take mass or weight into account. I think our baby is still a little under 3 pounds. (Sorry about the crappy perspective, BTW. It's hard to get good photos of one's own pregnant belly without aid of mirrors.)

Week 24

Blueberry's family - week 24 by Corinne S.

Here we are 24 weeks into the pregnancy. I know this still looks like a messy office, but with Piper's help I am making incredible progress on cleaning out my stuff, moving into Benjamin's office, and turning this room into a nursery. Seriously.

Thump, thump

Birthday belly by Corinne S.

It's official--Blueberry is in there and she's an active little berry. Last night Benjamin felt her move for the first time. Up until a few days ago her movements were pretty indistinct and I only felt them sometimes. It's still not super dramatic, but I've noticed lately that when I eat she does sommersaults--yowza. I think that might hurt when she's bigger.

So last night Benjamin and I were watching Buffy and had jsut eaten a late dinner. I was feeling her move around a lot and started trying to see if I could feel it from the outside. She started repeatedly kicking the side of my belly in one spot and I could feel it a bit from the outside so I quickly put Benjamin's hand there. He was skeptical that he'd really feel anything, but he did.

Go little berry go--start kicking your parents and letting them know who's boss right from the start. ;-)