Friday, December 19, 2008

December Happenings

This may be my last blog post for a while as Evelyn and I will be up in Iowa for Christmas until January 4th. We are so excited to visit family and friends (well, I am, she is still pretty oblivious)! Here are some of the happenings at out house over the last week.

Waking up is soooo hard to do!
Her most famous pose...dad says she looks like she wants to box because she always has her hands in fists up by her face. She has found them recently and realized that they are really fun to suck on. She has also learned to blow bubbles and spit them. This is a very fun hobby for her.

She was feeling a bit under the weather for a few days and just wanted held. This got pretty exhausting when it was paired with extra nighttime wakings. Thankfully, my dad came down to help and Scott took some night duty to give me a rest!
As hard as it is to have her be sick and see her that way, she is also just too darn cute all snuggled up! Our house is a bit drafty and she felt a little chilly, thus the hat and extra blankets.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Rolls Anyone?

If anyone is missing some rolls, I think Evelyn is hiding them in her thighs.
Or possibly in her wrists...

But don't worry, they aren't getting in the way of her acrobatic work.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Pictures!

I haven't posted any pictures lately of our cutie, so here goes...

With Scott's Aunt Cindy on ThanksgivingLooking at the lights under our Christmas tree.With Scott's Uncle JimWith Scott's Aunt Sherry (she lives in D.C. so this was her first time seeing Evelyn)
Wide eyed in her swing

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

2 Month Check-Up

Evelyn had her 2 month appointment with Dr. Brooks on Tuesday and she is growing beautifully!

Weight: 12 lbs. - 63rd percentile
Length: 23.5 inches - 74th percentile

She was having some problems with a little reflux, but I started taking her to a pediatric chiropractor and it has really been helping. No more curdled milk spit-up! Nothing makes the laundry pile up faster than the smell of rotten milk. :-D

Saturday, November 22, 2008

2 Months Old


Evelyn is officially 2 months old! I'm wondering what happened to my tiny little 7 lbs. baby...


She will only sleep all swaddled up still. I think she looks like a little glow worm in her green swaddler. I had to go to the store yesterday to get her the next size up because we can hardly get the velcro fastened on a couple of them!

Thankfully, she is getting better at playing on her own instead of needing held all the time. She loves her play gym and smiles at the butterfly when it lights up and sings.


Sherry and Shayla got her this adorable winter coat. I think she looks like a little eskimo in it.

And of course she is still infatuated with her bear, now affectionately named Mr. Bear. It has to go with us everywhere because sometimes it's the only thing that will make her happy. :)

We look forward to seeing everyone over Thanksgiving weekend!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thought to Ponder...

Here is the thought I am pondering today. It derives from I Corinthians 11:1 (Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.).

Am I following Christ so closely that I can feel a freedom and responsibility to invite others to copy my pattern of Christian living?

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Rub a Dub Dub, Evelyn's in the Tub

Evelyn loves taking baths...


Do you think she might end up with mommy's curly hair?

She doesn't like getting out of the tub, but I like how she looks in her froggy towel. :)


In her bathrobe that her cousin Kaylin got for her.

Friday, November 14, 2008

New Favorite Things to Do

Evelyn has a few new favorite things to do this week. She's started getting pretty vocal when you talk to her and tries to copy sounds you make. She's also doing really good at holding her upper body up, so I decided to see how she would like her bebe pod chair. Here she is sitting in it and playing with a toy her grandpa got for on his recent mission trip to Russia.

Isn't she cute?!?!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Evelyn's Friends

Evelyn has made some great friends; she just doesn't know it yet!

This is 2-year-old Madison Harmeyer. Her dad, Ronny, and Scott were best friends growing up.

This is 5-month-old Sammy and Jeffrey Sertich hanging out with Evelyn. They are the adorable twins belonging to my friend Anna.

This is 15-month-old Aislyn Wittmer and her dad Caleb holding Evelyn at our house.

I don't have a picture yet of her with her friend Eleanor Mitchell, but as soon as I get one I'll add it.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day

So my good friend Anna got Evelyn this adorable onesie and it's only appropriate that she wear it today!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pictures from Grandma Cindy


My mom took some great one month pictures of Evelyn when they were down last week. They turned out much better than my attempt!



These next two she took while Evelyn was in the new sling I got. She loves riding around with me during the day and sleeping in it when we're out and about.


Sheena Hargus (formerly McBurney) bought her this little sweat suit and I just love it!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

One Month Old!



Believe it or not, Evelyn is already one month old today! She wasn't feeling overly photogenic this morning though. :)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

My Baby is Growing!

She's growing! I couldn't believe how much until I compared how she looked in the bassinet when she was a couple days old to how she looks in it now. She also is starting to fit into her 0-3 month old clothes. I can hardly believe that in a week she will be one month old!

Monday, October 13, 2008

First Trip to Iowa

We spent a great weekend this weekend in Iowa visiting family and friends. It was so fun to show off Evelyn to everyone! My mom has most of the pictures on her camera, but here's some that Scott took of Evelyn with her cousins, Kaylin and Andrew.




Wednesday, October 8, 2008

New Babies are Tiring!

Evelyn has decided that the baby who liked to take nice long naps is all done. She has been waking up about halfway through all of her naps for the last couple of days (and nights) which is a bit exhausting. Grandma in particular seems a little tired... :)

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Birth of Evelyn Grace

Those of you who were there for the birth of our daughter or talked to me much about it before hand know that I am a big supporter of natural childbirth. I don't just mean not having a c-section, but rather not using an unnecessary medication or medical intervention during the labor and delivery. Scott and I went to great lengths to prepare ourselves for this endeavor, and were very excited about the prospect of bringing our little girl naturally and beautifully into the world.

My labor began Thursday afternoon around 4:30. I labored until 6:30 a.m. the following morning when I finally was able to fall asleep. When I woke up at 8:30 a.m. my contractions were all but gone. I was pretty disappointed, but also very tired, so I went back to bed for a while. I napped a bit throughout the day, but never more than a couple hours at a time. At midnight Friday night/Saturday morning the contractions were back. They picked up at the intensity that they left off at the day before and were too strong for me to sleep through.

I began doing my relaxation techniques and Scott coached me through them. From there things really got going. My contractions were picking up and getting regular and closer together. We figured we would have a baby by dinner for sure. Our doula, Cami, came over to help and we called our family to let them know it was time to head down. By morning we decided to head to the hospital because the contractions were starting to come very close together. When we got there I was 2-3 cm. After about an hour there we decided I would be much more comfortable at home, so we headed back. After a little while family started to arrive.

My mom, sisters, and Scott's mom were all there to help...and Max of course! He did cheer me up during some of the really tough ones. We stayed at home until afternoon and then headed back up to St. Luke's when it seemed that I was nearing transition. When we got to the hospital I was 6 cm and my contractions were very close together and lasting over a minute.

I decided to get into the jacuzzi to help me relax and offer some pain relief. It was so nice to float in the water between contractions, but while in there they started to really build stronger. After a while in there (I had no concept of time at this point) Pam checked me and I had only a little bit of cervix left and was considered about 9 1/2 cm. I decided I should head back to the room so I could get ready to push.

I labored for another little while in there and could feel my body pushing her down during the contractions. I started to push with them as well which was a huge relief to the intense feeling of the contractions. After a little while of this Pam decided to check me and realized that my cervix had swolled back to 9 cm and I would have to stop pushing or risk tearing my cervix. It was sometime around 4-5 p.m. at this point. This was a really frustrating moment because I felt like we were so close!

During this whole time Evelyn was in the posterior position (facing forward instead of with her face against my spine). This is what led to my labor being back labor and my body having to work really hard to try to turn her.

I labored for another hour or so and then got in the shower to try to get some relief. While in there the contractions got extremely strong and I felt like I had lost control. I know during the next few hours we tried me getting into all different positions to get her to turn and my body to quit pushing, but nothing seemed to work. I eventually got back in the jacuzzi until I just couldn't take it anymore and had Pam check me again.

While I was in there, Scott talked to Pam and realized that they were afraid with how exhausted I was that I wasn't going to be able to push her out, especially since she was still refusing to turn. Pam was really worried that I was going to end up in a c-section. She and my nurse were so great in following my wishes to not offer me any pain medication despite their concerns.

When Pam checked me I was still swollen and not dialating. That was my breaking point. I realized that if I was going to be able to have this baby without a c-section, I would need an epideral. At this point it was a little after 9:00 p.m.

It took the epideral until 10:00 to work and I was able to rest for the first time in a looong time. 45 minutes later I could feel my body pushing again and a lot of pressure. I called for the nurse and Pam and they checked me. I was all the way dialated, no swelling, and she had moved way down! Hallelujah!

Because I waited so long to get the epideral, my legs were still functional and I was able to push her out without laying on my back paralyzed. She made her way into this world, still refusing to turn, at 12:36 a.m. on September 21st.

Even though it didn't go as planned, I have come to realize it went the way it needed to for her. I would do it the exact same way over again. And I plan on going natural for my future children as well. It was very difficult, but so amazing! I would highly recommend reading up on nautral childbirth and it's benefits if you plan on having a baby any time soon!

Recommended books:

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth