Nothing sweeter...

Than after bathtime snuggles with a clean happy baby... with crazy hair *grin*

Getting better... and 3 weeks old!

Things are getting easier with Kat as time goes on. Those first 2 weeks when I was still recovering from the C-section and Tim was working most of the time were so rough! I was getting maybe 2 hours of sleep a day if I was lucky, sometimes more if Tim watched the baby to let me catch a nap. Kat slept all the time during the day and wanted to party all night long... I was just exhausted and in pain... blech...

Things are really starting to get better though! Lots of reasons why, first and foremost is that Kat is having way more alert time during the day where she just wants to look around and play. It's higher maintenance than sleepy baby, but more fun and less stressful never knowing when she'd wake up and demand food. (usually the minute I sat down to eat or pump) It also means she's sleeping more at night, she's doing about 2 1/2 hours between nighttime feedings- and as long as she's not sick or gassy I do manage to get about 5-6 hours a night.

Another good one is that I finally got a double electric breast pump- yeah I know you all wanted to know that. But seriously, it's giving me more milk (which makes for a happier baby and a happier momma) and it's shaving 40 minutes off of each pump time as opposed to my manual. This thing has bought me almost an extra 480 minutes a day (if my calculator is right lol) Tim's mom is my HERO for getting me this... Kat is also latching on more often- she rarely nurses for long, but at least it's a step in the right direction!

Finally, and the part I'm feeling most proud of is that basically I feel like I'm starting to hit my stride with the whole motherhood thing. I am simply getting better at it... and it's making things easier for me. It's incredibly gratifying when all it takes for Kat to start feeling better is me to curl up with her and talk to her. She watches me very intently and pats my face a lot... it's our special time. Granted I still don't have a lot of free time, but I'm feeling less wild eyed and crazy. There were times those first 2 weeks when I wondered if I could do it. Now that I'm healing, and things are getting easier I only feel like that every great once in awhile LOL... any mother would know I was lying if I said I never felt that way anymore.

So Kat is officially 3 weeks old today! YAY! She's already hit some early milestones...

~First smile- Thanksgiving Day- According to the charts this is an Advanced Skill for a 1 month old
~Follows Objects with her Eyes- Since she was about 2 days old- According to the charts this is a Mastered Skill for a 2 month old baby
~ Holds her head steady at a 45 degree angle- since about 2-3 days old (no kidding! her neck muscles are very developed)- according to charts this is an Advanced skill for a 2 month old
~Can bear weight on her legs- since about 2 weeks old, if you hold her hands she pushes up with her legs and holds her weight- According to charts this an advanced 2 month old skill
~ Turns towards loud sounds- Since about 2 weeks old- this is an Advanced 3 month old skill
~ Lifts head and shoulders when lying on Tummy (mini-pushup)- She's been doing this for about a week now, if she's laying on her tummy she'll push her whole upper body up and turn her head the other direction and lay back down- this is an Advanced skill for a 2 month old

Her motor skills are so much more advanced than I'm used to for such a young baby! It does make things easier, since she holds her head up for periods she's less scary to hold for guys like Tim who haven't been around babies much! She's really strong already, and will scoot around if you leave her on her back on a blanket... she kicks her feet and scoots on her back- it's really funny but you have to really watch her! I'm sure every mother thinks her child is a prodigy... and I'm no exception. Just watching her is amazing, she's so curious and takes everything in. She watches everything we do, the animals.... everything. I think we not only have an adorable little girl, but likely a smart one! Yay!

First Smiles, and First Thanksgiving!

This is my first time using Ken's Camcorder, so bear with me. This isn't exactly Steven Spielburg, but I did manage to get Kat smiling a few times for the camera. She just started really smiling at people this morning (as opposed to just grinning in her sleep) What a little sweetie we have!

We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday because Tim had to work a double shift, so we are having Thanksgiving dinner tonight with Tim's family. So techinically today is Kat's first Thanksgiving. Not that she can eat any turkey or anything good yet (but I bet she'd like to! This girl loves her food!) Sooo, here's my little butterball smiling at Momma for the camera, enjoy. :o)

Fun

Last night was fun, Twilight was GREAT! Aside from some of the special effects lacking a tad, it was beautifully done. We had a gaggle of teenage girls behind us sighing everytime Edward got on screen, it was absolutely hilarious.

Momma needed that night out, now I'm feeling refreshed and not nearly as wild eyed as I was. I only cried a little when we left Kat, but she had fun with her grandparents!

My new shoes are fantabulous... also got a complement at Hot Topic when the guy was ringing us up and Tim told him that our baby was 2 weeks old. He looked at me and said- 2 weeks? Wow!

So I'm happy :o)

Okay the WeeKat is starting to make her 'I'm hungry' warning grunts LOL... gotta run...

Momma's first night out!

I have a hot date tonight with my husband to go have dinner and see Twilight.... (YAY!!!)

I've been waiting to see this movie since I heard they were making it, both Tim and I are big fans of the series so we're praying they didn't butcher the movie. We shall see.

This will be our first time leaving Kat with her Grandma and Grandpa since she got here. We have some very willing babysitters for the evening, so Kat will certainly have fun getting all the cuddles she wants while Momma goes out for the evening. I feel kinda bad leaving her (as I'm sure every mom does for the first time) but know she's actually going to be in very capable hands.

So now I get to go put on some grownup clothes (my pre maternity clothes are starting to fit already- woohoo!) Go have a Big Girl dinner (not rushing through half a bowl of Spaghetti O's before she wakes up) and go out in public without the behemoth stroller! (But I DO love that stroller... I'm like a snow plow!) I also get to spend some one on one time with Tim, which we haven't had since we got home. We mostly just work in shifts to keep the Muffin Butt happy... so a night away will be good for us!

Excited isn't even the word.... OH- plus I get my 'Push Present' tonight now that my feet have gotten back to their normal size and shape- the Bright Pink Converse sneakers I've been coveting in Hot Topic for 2 months now.... oh yes... some women want jewelry- I wanted goofy footwear. Yes, I'm aware they won't match anything, but I'll wear them with everything. It's the beauty of being a dork. I like to call my look 'Geek Chic'

So I'm off to be a grown up for an evening!

More pictures...

I have a few quiet minutes, posting more pictures due to popular demand :o)

Finally asleep...

Awake and alert... and wondering where the bottle is!

Kat's very favorite activity... eating!

Wondering where her after feeding cuddles are... and why mommy keeps taking pictures!

Tiny fingers... *sniffle*

Enjoying her swing...

Indispensable stuff so far...

I remember when I first started checking out a registry for Kat when I was a few months preggers, and I kept quizzing new moms as to "What did you love, what could you have lived without?"

So far a few things have proven absolute lifesavers with Kat, so I thought I'd pass it on! I'll surely add things as she grows and becomes attached to new stuff, but for now, these are the things helping me keep my sanity these last 2 weeks...

1. The Boppy Pillow- OMG I love this thing, especially since I had to have the emergency c-section, it helps me hold her without irritating my incision. Even without the incision, she loves just sitting up in it looking around (yes she's holding her head up already and looking around, super early!). I use it to feed her, play with her, and in the hospital it helped hold her in the bed when my arms were too weak from medicine and sleepyness. I think this will definitely continue being useful. Yes, a regular pillow would have worked, but the shape of the Boppy really helps us use it for more than just feedings. We were lucky and got one with a super soft case, so Kat just loves rubbing on it and is immediately comforted when she's laid on it, knowing that food and/or playtime is coming!

2. The Moby Wrap- This was another gift from Jen, and lordy lordy.... not sure what we ever could've done without it! Kat has reflux and bad gas, and she has periods that she simply cannot rest on her back. I could spend all day comforting her tied to the couch or chair holding her so she can rest, or I can just strap her into the Moby and work around the house, surf the internet, or just walk her back and forth around the house! (It really helps her ease those nasty gassy bubbles out!) I wear it and Tim also wears it quite a bit. I've become a HUGE fan of babywearing, and Kat just adores it. She just cuddles right in, gives a coo, and goes right to sleep. It helps her sleep, and helps me keep my sanity just a little longer. :o) I know there are cheaper versions out there, I can't speak for them, but this is one of my absolute life saving baby gifts!

3. Boppy Vibrating Chair- this thing retails at Toys R Us for almost $60.00, I was lucky enough to score an almost brand new one at a yard sale this summer for $5.00. According to Tim, it would've been worth the $60.00 simply to be able to put Kat down once in awhile. She doesn't really get into the vibrations or sounds so much yet, but the shape of it is very comforting to her and she will sleep on her back for periods of time in the chair. I think because it's slightly reclined and she feels cradled she sleeps a bit better in that than her bassinet for now. We have another vibrating chair we picked up, but the round shape of this chair makes it FAR superior, especially for a fussy newborn. Kat loves it, and it does allow us to put her down for periods of time, which is a current priority for us.

4. Super soft fuzzy blankets- we got like 3 of these at the baby shower, and she LOVES them. At her fussiest, all we need to do is take off her onesie, and cradle her in the soft fuzzy blanket next to her skin and she immediately calms down, starts cooing, and falls asleep quickly. She's big on contact and soft textures, this helps keep her calm when her tummy hurts.

5. Blanket sleepers- the Halo Sack, and Blanket Sleepers from Carters- we have swaddlers, she's not really a fan of these so far, but she adores her fleece blanket sleepers that Tim's mom and our friend Luna got for her! They're a bit big on her, but it works because it keeps her hands covered and she doesn't need to wear mittens so much. She lives in these when we're at home most of the time, and they keep her nice and snuggly warm while still letting her kick her legs to work out nasty gas bubbles!

6. Microwave Sterilizer- Another gift from Jen- we use this at least 2 times a day, it helps cut down the time we spend pre-making bottles for Kat and gives me the peace of mind that all her nipples and covers are sterile. It's super easy to use, and gets a ton of use already! Totally worth it, especially if you don't have a dish washer!

7. Playtex Drop In's Feeding System- once we got her off of the hospital bottles (she would scream alllll night long from gas) and onto her new Playtex bottles, her episodes of very painful gas have really decreased. Add in the fact that they're BPA free, and I get not only a less fussy baby, but less to worry about (which at this point is a blessing!). Also for those dishwasher free homes, the less clean up is totally a life saver for you!

Ahhh... the WeeKat beckons... that's it for this post... more later if time permits... hope this helped!

I'm a Mamarazzi...

Ken lent us his camera and I keep taking pictures of the WeeKitty... and thought I'd share her adorable-ness with the world...

Okay... not real sure why Blogger is uploading these this way, they're right side up in my computer, but I've tried everything and it keeps doing it... so here's some sideways Kitty for ya...

I call these our sleepy pictures... Kat has some nasty reflux and has trouble sleeping on her back sometimes, so we hold her a lot to help her sleep... it also means that we don't get much sleep ourselves... she's worth it!

Other than worshipping our adorable little piglet how are we doing??

Mostly tired. Tim is back at work now, so most of the caring for the Kat falls to me now, especially at night. Night is still her rough time (she was always more active in the womb at night too), but we're getting a little better every day. I gotta say the Moby Wrap is a lifesaver, especially with a baby with GERD... I can still do things (like post my blog, lol) and still have my Piglet close to me and able to sleep better upright.

Piglet??

She earned this name in the hospital, she turns pink and grunts and snorts when she eats, therefore, she is now our Piglet... one of her many many nicknames! Including: Kat, Kitty, Kitty Kat, the Kitten, Muffin Butt (it looks like one the way she sticks it out!), Pumpkin, Peanut, and Katherine Brigit (when she's being obstinate, LOL)

How is Kat doing?

She's pretty much a happy baby aside from digestive issues. We have her on both breastmilk from bottles, and Soy Formula. I had planned on breastfeeding exclusively, but being in the hospital on heavy fluids for so so long made things so that she had too much difficulty latching on. It also took my milk some extra time to come in (which happens with C-sections commonly) so we had to start her on formula. She currently gets about half and half, and it seems to be working well for us. Sometimes you gotta change your plans... and I'm totally cool with that. As long as she's happy and healthy (and she is!) I will do whatever works for my sweetheart.

Her super dark hair seems to be lightening some, and the thicker stuff has been falling out (like we knew it would) it looks like she's either going to keep getting blonder, or she'll have a sort of golden brown haircolor. Time will tell. Her eyes were a very dark blue when she was born, now they're already changing to a dark grey blue, we're not sure if they'll turn brown or stay blue. Either way she'll still be gorgeous. She's getting chubbier and chubbier, which is a good thing! She's already back at her birth weight as of her 3 day doctor checkup. Her umbilical cord stump has already come off, which is a bit early, but the doctor isn't all that concerned. He chalks it up to her being such a wiggler, she's very active and she just kept moving on it and moving on it until it eventually came off.

Other than that, all is well in Lewis-land! Much love all...

Kat's Birth Story

She's sleeping now, so here is the promised birth story for our little Kitty Kat... fair warning, I posted this on my Expecting Mother's board and I think I scared a few of the ladies who hadn't given birth yet... it was a hard labor, but the end result is (as you can see) worth it!

I was scheduled for induction on Thursday the 6th at 7pm. Since my mom was in town from Virginia and Tim's parents were planning to wait in the hospital as well, we all went out for a really nice dinner before heading to the hospital. I would recommend this for anyone else, it was nice to laugh and have fun over a good meal before going to do all that hard work! :o)

They put the Cervadil in at 7:30 that evening, and hooked up my monitors and basically we were told it could be awhile, and I likely wouldn't start dilating until the pitocin was started after they removed the gel. At about 1:30am I started having minor contractions, and at about 3:00am they became more intense and with a definite pattern. At that point they checked me and saw that I had dilated from nothing to 1cm. I was advised at that point that since the gel seemed to have 'kick started' the labor process, we might be in for a shorter night (yeah.. not so much!)

That was the last I dilated until I hit the 12 hour mark the next morning with the gel. They removed the gel, let me wander around for a few minutes getting stretched out, then hooked up my pitocin drip. This definitely made the contractions more intense, so we waited... and waited... at 4pm that day they checked again, after contracting on Pitocin for over 7 hrs, I had made progress... 1/2 a cm... so we waited some more... finally it was 6pm and they told me that if I still hadn't made progress by 7:30 that they'd shut off the pitocin, insert more Cervadil, and we'd start again tomorrow. After over 15 hours of active contracting, this was NOT what I wanted to hear. Finally at 7:15 my family came in to say goodnight before I was unhooked and sent to bed, and just as they were leaving my water broke... it was funny, everyone in the room started cheering- lol

Anyway, as soon as the water broke the contractions got unbelievably intense... Not only was I having contractions but my back was killing me! They checked me and realized that at some point in the last few days the baby had turned sunny side up. Since she was facing the wrong direction I was having back labor, and due to the pitocin I was having contractions on top of it. At this point they recommended Stadol to get me over the hump pain wise, so I took it. Man! That was actually fun... apparently I spent 2 hours giggling to myself and informing my husband that his head was 'quite melon like'... Finally after 2 hours the Stadol wore off and I was still only dilated to a 3... I will say it wasn't the most pleasant night for me. By the time I hit the 4cm mark for my Epi I was so worn down I could barely smile and say hi to the tech.

I will say this- God bless the Epi... it really helped me get back to center and focus on the baby rather than reacting like an animal in pain. I have more respect than I can say for you girls that go natural... I barely made it through with the Epi.

I labored more through the night, finally by 6am on Saturday morning I had dilated to a 9... after only 35 hours! Wow... so we waited for the last cm... only took about another hour, and we started pushing. I pushed actively with every contraction about a minute apart for 2 1/2 hours... they kept seeing the baby's head, only to have it slip all the way back up. Finally the doctor realized I had nothing left to push with. I hadn't slept in over 2 days and had been in active labor for almost 40 hours... she recommended we go ahead and do a c-section because the baby's heartrate was starting to show a lot of strain and she wasn't sure I had enough left to keep pushing.

I never thought I'd be so happy to hear the word C Section in my life! But it was beautiful... they came back and re-did my Epi... prepped me, and we headed to surgery! Kat was finally born at 11:44am Saturday November 8th. I can't even begin to express the joy and relief her cry gave me. Tim and I bawled like babies, she was so beautiful! She cried until she heard Tim's voice then got real quiet and started looking around for him. Daddy's girl already! She held onto his finger while they checked her out and they finished up my surgery.

According to the OB she never even made it past the pubic bone because of her positioning. Apparently what they were seeing during pushing was me pushing so hard it was distending the baby's head into the birth canal. I never would have been able to give birth to her naturally because of that. The OB said that she and the other OB doing surgery had to keep from laughing once they made the final incision because they didn't want to scare me, but when they cut my uterus they apparently cut right over her face. They said she was just looking out at them and started wiggling her hands (which were next to her face) in the incision. They said it was like she was just waiting for them and was waving to them once they got to her!

So... after almost 2 days of active labor, and a C-section- I'll say that it was worth every single pain. She is a joy to be around, in fact she was definitely a favorite of the nurses and our room was always full of hospital staff wanting to look at her and cuddle her. She's so sweet natured, and loves to cuddle.

So there's the birth story of my sweet Kitty Kat... it was hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. We love this little sweetie so very much...

Fun with Cameras....

She's too cute, and was making a ton of funny faces, we just had to get a few. Unfortunately our camera sucks, so we didn't manage to capture ALL the funny moods of the Kat... but here are some :o)

Pbbbt!! Raspberries from the Kat!

Who is this man, and why must he kiss my face all the time?

This is my supermodel face....

Looking up at daddy...

So very tiresome being such an adorable baby...

THANK YOU!

We just got a knock on the door from the UPS fairy... and lookie what we got!

Dove, Shawn, and Johnny sent us some yummy cookies in a pretty basket! It's so pretty!!

Thank you all SO much! I almost don't wanna break the plastic because it's so very pretty! Kat said I could eat her share of the cookies, she must really love her momma.

We are lucky to have such wonderful and loving friends :o)

Sending you all much love!!!

Hospital pics and an apology...

Typing one-handed here, I have a sweet sleepy girl in my arms... I am so lucky and in love!!!!

I just found out that no one (and I do mean no one) on the call list was called when Kat arrived... it was a very long stay with a very complicated and strenuous labor. I am still recovering & it took all Tim had to care for me & Kat. We're still not really with it yet. I did want to apologize to you all though- it was definitely NOT intentional & if you wanted to visit the Kat give us a call or drop me an e-mail. I can apologize in person if possible. *grin*

I will post her birth story with all the gory details some other time, right now I don't seem to have the time!

Okay now for the good stuff! Ken just sent me a batch of pictures from the hospital stay and I figured I should share!

Before the birth, Tim and Tara (and Tim's mom) in the parking lot in front of the hospital.

Kat wide awake and alert in the Recovery Room.

Me in the Recovery Room the first time I was able to hold Kat. Yes I'm crying, luckily you can't see my face!

Daddy completely exhausted and in love with his little girl!

Our new family! God I love them!

Katherine Brigit Lewis

Typing one handed here guys... but we are finally home after 5 days in the hospital (I'll post the full story when I don't have a sleeping baby on my lap)

She is beautiful, and we've got lots more pictures, but I just now took these to show off real fast for you all.

She's a very sweet tempered little girl... unless she's cold or hungry- then watch out! She loves being held and just curls up into a little ball in the arms of whomever has her and starts snoring (not kidding)

More about the light of my life later... now for pictures!

She is pondering the meaning of life.... she's deep like that!

Meaning of life too difficult... must... nap....

Proof that this is indeed Tim's child... lol... he was trying to imitate her, I think the original is much cuter! (but you're still cute too Tim!)

Last pregnant blog...

Well here we go!

The bags are packed, and my mom is now less than 10 minutes from my house. The rest of my day is going to be spent with the family, we'll all have a big dinner, and we're heading to the hospital tonight!

Next blog, I'll be someone's momma...

See you all soon, send some good energy our way!!!

One last random post...

This is likely my last kinda random post before Thursday. We have a few things to do around the house before induction, and before Grandma (My Mom) shows up on Friday... these are things that normally would take me about a few hours to do, but since I move at the pace of a large overweight tortoise at the moment, I fully expect it to take 2 days.

Plus Tim got a new video game yesterday... soooo... not really sure if we'll be able to keep him off long enough to quickly get this stuff done LOL. Even when focused Tim moves rather slowly, s'okay because he's been phenominal about keeping the house clean and taking care of me this whole time, the boy deserves a trophy (or in this case a new video game lol)

So what's on the agenda?

I'm headed out to vote this morning (yay!) I was a little worried I might be in the hospital and unable to vote. Tim thinks I should take a Big Gulp with me and drop it on the floor while in line so people think my water broke and let us cut line... yeah this is the way my husband's mind works! It would be funny, but knowing my luck (living in Mayberry, MI as we do) I'd make the newspaper for that and wind up having to explain why Kat wasn't born until Friday. I feel pretty strongly about elections in general, but this one in particular- so I'm very glad I get to go cast my little vote today since MI didn't have early voting! (who knew?)

After that, we come home and start cleaning up around the house- thrilling no? It's not terrible, but I really want to try to have it as nice as possible, because it'll be nice to come home from the hospital to a nice organized clean house. Also add in the fact that my Mom will be coming on Friday and plans to do a full commando cleaning of the house... and I'd rather not make her cry because her daughter is so messy LOL---- She even went out and bought all green and organic cleaning stuff that she's bringing with her to clean with... she's too cute!

How is everyone doing?

The animals have been freaky for days... Luna keeps crying and wanting to clean me constantly... she alternates between that and being REALLY mean to Freya (which is odd for her) everytime the dog lays down to sleep, Luna runs up and bites her.

Freya on the other hand won't let me out of her sight for a minute... she just trots after me all day long and lays on my feet the minute I stop. She keeps shaking and whining at me (which is what she does when she's nervous) They know something is going on, they just aren't really sure what that is... they'll find out soon enough!

Tim is in a high state of manic behavior... I jokingly timed him yesterday and he's literally asking me if I'm okay every 8 minutes... I wish I were kidding. He really is! If I'm quiet for more than a few seconds... are you okay? I promised him that I wouldn't be too meek to let him know the minute I wasn't actually okay, and that he didn't need to worry so much! Everytime I get up at night to use the bathroom, he wakes up enough to ask me if I'm okay and try to tuck me back into bed. He says he doesn't even remember any of it, but he's been doing it for weeks! No wonder he's so tired! The only reason no one has asked me yet this morning if I'm okay... is because he's still in bed. Shhhh... nobody wake the worried man! Some guy ran us into opposing traffic yesterday by almost sideswiping our car (on my side) and Tim was literally following the dude to his house to scream at him before I talked him down. He's in overprotective-freaked out-scared silly-gonna be a daddy- mode... This birth is going to be as much a relief for him as it is me!

Me? Oh yeah, forgot about me... I'm just kinda large and uncomfortable. But that's how this is supposed to work! Kat doesn't have much room to move, so she doesn't do much of it, but what she does do is a tad painful. It's also nice to feel- it's a pregnant thing, if you haven't been there you maybe wouldn't get that. I'm pretty resigned that she won't be coming before Thursday night, so I refuse to get excited about all the contractions I have. I've been having contractions for months (damned Irritable Uterus Syndrome LOL) so I just breeze past them and don't even time 'em. I'm basically just sleeping a lot, waking up to eat, then sleeping some more. My body can't seem to get enough rest, and I'm indulging it knowing that those days when I can indulge myself are quickly coming to an end. I'm counting the days, getting my ducks in a row, and trying not to think TOO hard about the actual labor and focusing instead on the end result...

Also as a note-

If you aren't on Myspace, and didn't get the update e mail from me... if you need/want information on the hospital etc because you want to call or visit- let me know. Not gonna post it here, that's not really safe. We are letting everyone know that we likely won't have a visitable room until Friday night at the earliest, and the hospital is keeping us for 2 full days at least after the birth so those getting an e mail update or depending on the blog for updates will likely be waiting until early next week when we get home. If you do plan to visit either at home or in the hospital, we are asking that you please call first- just to be sure we are alert and awake... etc.

If you are on the "Please call me" list... if you were wanting the call when we're on the way to the hospital, if you don't hear from us by Thursday, just assume we're in the hospital as of Thursday night.. if you were wanting to hear about Kat's actual arrival, Tim will likely be making those calls, and I can't promise much. LOL... we'll try to keep everyone posted as much as possible, just be patient with us, and if we miss you- it's totally not intentional!! I promise that everyone will know as soon as I'm personally functional again, I just can't promise what my silly husband is going to do (or not do) when he's totally engrossed in his new little girl. I promise that we'll try.

Next time you hear from me, I'll likely be headed to the hospital... so see ya'll then...