Dirt and Lace

We Made a Wish…

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:13:00 +0000

On Saturday, we went to my parents’ house to watch a UK basketball game. My friend Audrey came too, and got to meet Jace for the first time. Her daughter Olivia loved him.

Sunday, we had our usual lazy day around the house. Got some cleaning done, watched TV, and enjoyed out time together before the craziness of the week began.

I can’t believe he is five weeks old today. FIVE WEEKS! Please just stay this size for awhile, little guy.

I think I might frame this one…

Love.

Five Easy Rules for Taking Better Pictures of Your Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:33:00 +0000

I get a lot of questions and comments about my photos. I don’t know why… I’m pretty hard on myself about the pictures I take and can usually find something about it I could have done differently or better, or dislike a picture that others seem to think is great. I don’t consider myself a photographer, an expert, or anywhere close. But I do love to capture moments in my kids’ lives in the best way I can, and have done a lot of research, reading and studying, tutorial reading and watching, trial and error, and most importantly, learning how my camera works. So, if you want to learn how to take better pictures of your kids… I may have some tips for you. And you DON’T have to have a fancy camera to apply these simple principles to your photography!

1. Lighting is everything.

This is the one that will make the biggest difference in the quality of your photographs. Take a look at these three pictures and think about which one you would rather have in the baby album:

In this picture, it was at night and the living room lamp was on. Indoor lights usually cause a color cast like this yellow hue over the whole photograph, including skin tones.

I took this picture at night in my bedroom… I knew my lamp would cause everything to look yellow so I used the flash, but the effect wasn’t much better. Flashes, at least the kind that come built-in to your camera, make skin look washed out and unnatural, over-expose parts of your picture (make them look way too bright), not to mention startle sleepy babies!

In this picture, I moved his Sleep N’ Play near the living room window when daylight was pouring in.

I don’t know about you, but my choice is #3. Natural light is always best. Your eyes are your best tool in choosing a time and location to take the best pictures of your kids. Use them before you click!

Even with natural light, there are some things you can do to make the picture even better…

I had layed Jace down on the floor by the window and took this picture. After I took it, I noticed there was a harsh shadow over most of his face. I tried moving him around on the floor a bit and wasn’t happy with the lighting so I moved him into his swing, located by the same window but a few feet off the floor. I turned him a bit, paying attention to where the light was falling on his face, and then took this one when I was happy with how his whole face was lit up, and the catchlights (bright reflections) in his eyes:

Much better!

2. Get on their level.

There are exceptions to every rule, especially this one. Great photos can be taken at any level! But I’ve found that when photographing children, if you just kneel down or bend your knees a bit so that the camera is at eye level, the photo is so much better. Too many times, we take pictures towering over the child instead of really getting down at their level and capturing the moment.

3. Get up close and fill the frame!

Before you click, ask yourself if the picture would look better closer up. Don’t be afraid to zoom in or move your feet!

I know that’s not technically a kid… but in our house she counts!

5. Little things can say a lot.

Capture those details! Get up close, use the macro feature on a hand or foot, take a picture of the action and what your child is doing instead of the child’s face. These are my favorite kinds of pictures because they can really tell a story.

There are so many aspects of photography that you can use to better your pictures, but I think keeping these basic ideas in mind are a great start! Honestly there are no bad pictures when it comes to your kids, so the most important thing to remember is to simply take pictures and capture moments, because they grow so quickly.

Leave your own ideas or questions in the comments section!

In Love

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:42:00 +0000

I’m so lucky to have four amazing Valentines this year.

Five, if I include Harley.

Tuesday morning, Joe and I gave the girls their Valentine’s Day gifts. We try to keep it simple, although since this is the one holiday we get credit for the gifts it’s tempting to go all out. They got new shirts to wear that day, necklaces, fuzzy socks, a little candy, and “The Lady and the Tramp”.

I took all three of the kids with me and went to help Summer’s class with their Valentine’s Day Friendship Celebration. I was in charge of helping them make creatures with paper hearts. Fun! Jace was really good, and Camryn got to go around all the centers with Summer. She loved it and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Camryn, Jace, and I came home after that and spent some time with Joe before he had to leave for work. It was weird having him leave and be gone all day on Valentine’s Day, but we’re getting used to his schedule and it helps knowing that it will only last a year.

Summer and Camryn have this quote stenciled on their bedrooom wall. I love it.

My sweet girls.

I wanted a picture of all three, but you know how that goes. I fed him after this attempt, and then he was happy. But of course the girls were over picture taking by then, so this is it.

Little Casanova.

I am so in love with my littlest Valentine.

I hope you all had a great day full of love and chocolate!

Homemade Crib Mobile… Owls and Stars

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:51:00 +0000

When I was planning Jace’s nursery, I knew I wanted it to be unique, clean, and somewhat modern. I didn’t have a specific theme in mind, just colors – a dark teal, and white.

It took me a really long time to choose bedding. After a lot of thought and hours on Pinterest and Etsy, I decided that a plain white crib sheet and bedskirt were the way to go. Since bumpers were out of the picture due to the increased risk of SIDS using them creates, and I wanted a clean look in the room, it made sense to keep it simple.

Without a theme or bedding set, and with the challenge of creating a unique, clean, and modern look in the room, I knew we needed to get creative with the crib mobile. I’d spent some time on Etsy looking at handmade mobiles and didn’t see why I couldn’t make one myself. I employed the help of my mom and aunt Susan, and we got to work over the next several weeks creating an owl and star mobile.

All the materials were purchased at Hobby Lobby… dowel rods, little hooks, felt, stuffing, and embroidery thread.

It looks so cute in there. I’m going to get a few better pictures tomorrow, from farther back in the room to get a better perspective, and I’ll add it to this post, so check back!

Here is a felt pillow I made with our first “test owl”. So cute!

Weekend Love.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:25:00 +0000

I live for the weekends right now… Joe is home, we have no where to rush to early in the morning, and we can do whatever we want.

Saturday we decided to go see a movie. After trying to see Journey 2: The Mysterious Island after lunch and it being sold out, we went ahead and bought tickets for the next showing that wasn’t sold out… which happened to be pretty late, around 10pm. I was a little apprehensive about going that late, especially with small kids, but it was the weekend and I always encourage spontaneity, so we went for it.

We took naps that evening to prepare for being out so late, and then went out to eat. Around 9pm, we headed to the movies. It was super crowded, but we had our tickets already with assigned seats, so it was no big deal. I had Joe take a picture with my horrible camera phone. Of course Camryn’s eyes were closed. I was nursing Jace… best way to keep a newborn quiet in the movie theater!

The movie was pretty good (there was a miniature elephant!), and the kids did great.

Sunday we did what we do best… nothing.

Joe told me if I post those I’m in huge trouble… so don’t tell him.

Summer has been hard at work on her valentine’s. Her teacher asked that the kids make their valentine’s instead of using the store-bought kind. It’s been pretty time-consuming but I do think it was a great idea to have them make them.

Take a good look at these teeth… the two on the bottom in the middle are loose!

Love.

Mastitis. AKA two days of Hell.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:42:00 +0000

You’ll have to forgive me for my brief hiatus…. Monday morning I woke up feeling pretty worn out, which I attributed to nursing a newborn all night long. By the time I got home from taking Summer to school, my tiredness had progressed to body aches. A few hours later I felt like I had the flu. The right side of my chest was really sore, and when I looked at it, there was a large red spot on the underside. It was the dreaded Mastitis.

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of this lovely illness, click here to be enlightened.

Superbowl Sunday

Fever, soreness and pain, aches… I had it all and it was horrible. As soon as I realized what I had, I called my doctor’s office and they said he would call in an antibiotic for me. I was so relieved I didn’t have to go into the office. I was useless that day and the day following it.

As soon as I thought I was feeling better, my fever would come back and go up rapidly to 103, and it would take over an hour to go back down after taking some medicine. I was shaking so badly when the fever was up. The girls kept bringing me blankets to warm me up.

Then when the fever would break, I would start sweating and couldn’t get cooled off for anything. During all this, I had to nurse Jace constantly because it helped the breast that had the mastitis to stay drained. I applied warmth to it as advised with a heating pad, warm washcloth, and then a hot water bottle my dad brought me. I even tried the ol’ cabbage leaf in the bra trick for swelling and engorgement pain, which seemed to help as well.

The blanket doesn’t lie

Joe did what he could, but he had to work a lot so my mom helped me get the girls to and from school, among other things. I don’t know what I would have done without her.

I finally started to feel better Wednesday. I had a doctor appointment to check on my incision and make sure I was healing well, and he checked out the Mastitis as well. He told me to keep it drained, keep applying heat, and finish taking the antibiotics and it should clear up completely. It’s Saturday now and I feel normal, just a tiny bit of redness is left and the clogged ducts from the swelling seem to be clearing out.

My advice to any breastfeeding mama who starts to feel like she’s getting the flu… call your doctor. RUN to the phone. Don’t wait, because the longer you wait, the worse it’s going to get. And may the force be with you.

Little Piece of Sunshine

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Thursday was a beautiful day. We’ve had a pretty mild winter so far, but this was beyond mild and right into warm, sunny, and coat unnecessary.

Summer and Camryn went outside for awhile and had fun playing with their pretend grill.

I’m getting sad posting this because today is cold and rainy. How many more days until Spring??

Oh, yum.

And just because…

Our New Normal

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:26:00 +0000

We’re slowly starting to find our new normal as a family of five.

Things are going so well. I really couldn’t have hoped for a smoother transition into life with a newborn. We’re blessed to have such a good, sweet, adorable baby. The adorable part is pretty important – the late night feedings aren’t as bad when they’re super cute.

I mentioned Joe’s crazy work schedule before… When we decided that he should accept this new position, we did it a bit reluctantly, hoping that it was the right decision for our family. It requires so many more hours of hard work from him than the position and schedule he’s had for years. But it was such a great opportunity for him and for our family. We agreed that we would take it one day at a time and so far, so good. With Joe being gone the second half of the day and into the night most days, and then needing to sleep in the mornings after a late night, it’s required a lot more of me as a mom. I’ve had to do the grueling after school homework, dinner, baths, and bedtime alone most days for the last few months. Some days are worse than others, but for the most part, it’s been easier than I anticipated and Jace has fit right into the routine, not really making it more difficult, just making it a little different.

Summer and Camryn have adjusted so well to having a baby brother around. We wondered what would happen when we threw this little living, breathing being into their world but they have been amazing. They haven’t acted jealous of all the attention he gets at all, and they love to spend time with him, hold him, and help us when we need something. Sometimes, they want to be a little too involved… I’ve had to have several talks with them on why they can’t pick him up and carry him around the house.

Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:18:00 +0000

For the next 11 months or so, Joe is working a 1pm-9pm (or whenever the last service call comes in, sometimes as late as 3am!) shift. It’s kind of weird and we’re still getting used to it, but it’s great money and it also gives him time to bond with Jace during the day that he wouldn’t normally have.

Bath Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:28:00 +0000

Jace’s umbilical cord fell off pretty quickly, last week some time. There was a tiny bit of moisture/yellow looking stuff in there still, but I Googled and found out that the advice I had been given with all three kids was outdated and as long as the cord dries completely afterwards, newborns can take normal baths right away.

He was a little sleepy but we needed to get ready to go out to eat, so we went ahead and put him in. He immediately started fussing but didn’t cry at all.

We cleaned him with a little Burt’s Bee’s baby wash and then got him out. Nothing like a clean baby!

After his bath, the five (!) of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat dinner. Jace did really well in his first restaurant – he slept the whole time, even at the grocery store afterwards!

Game Day

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

Besides a few minutes of a game that came on when Joe was feeding Jace in the hospital, Saturday was his first official UK game. And of course he had to wear his UK onesie!

Hanging out with my uncle Jim..

and our family friend, Walt.

Go Cats!

Two Weeks Old

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Technically Jace was one week and six days old when I took these yesterday, but we’ll just round up.

One Week Old

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:04:00 +0000

Jace turned one week on January 23rd. Here are some pictures we took throughout that week…

He loves his swing!

He sleeps in our room in this Sleep N Play every night. He’ll be doing that until he’s sleeping through the night, hopefully in about 6 weeks or so if he’s like the girls were!

So sweet. This yellow outfit was Summer’s, that she got from my Nanaw… it was the first baby outfit anyone ever gave her.

I think he already has Joe’s big square manly hands.

Hanging out with Daddy

It’s kind of hard to tell in these pictures, and it was MUCH worse, but Camryn got strep last week and was prescribed Amoxicillen. After about 4 days, she developed a horrible rash that almost looked like chicken pox. My mom took her to the doctor, where we found out she is allergic to Penicillen. It’s been almost a week since then and she finally doesn’t have a rash any more. It was so horrible… bright red splotches and spots over her entire body. She was miserably itchy even after taking the medicine that was supposed to help. I am so glad it’s over with and so is she! I hate that she has an allergy, but it could definitely be something much worse.

Visitors

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:45:00 +0000

We had a lot of family and friends come over to meet Jace last week!

my uncle Mike and aunt Angie and my cousins Rachel, Emily, Sarah, and Olivia

our friend Nicole

my brother, who had to go back to college

our friends Jillia and Bud (I think everyone was staring at something on the TV in this picture!)

my aunt Susan, aunt Ann, and cousins Richard and Andrea

and of course my mom and dad, who I couldn’t have gotten through this week without!

A Baby Story: Part Seven

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:02:00 +0000

Click here to read Part One.

Click here to read Part Two.

Click here to read Part Three.

Click here to read Part Four.

Click here to read Part Five.

Click here to read Part Six.

That Thursday morning was a bit of a blur. My doctor stopped by to do a quick check on me and to see if I was ready to go home. He said I could go that day if I wanted, or wait one more. I was SO ready to sleep in my own bed… the hospital bed was killing my back. Jace’s pediatrician also stopped by, and said he was good to go as well. We finished getting paperwork filled out, packed up our stuff, I had my staples taken out, and we got Jace dressed and ready to leave.

We were finally released around 2pm. We dropped off my prescriptions and then headed home. Summer and Camryn had school the next day, so they came home for a bit that evening but then stayed the night at my parents’ house like they had been since Tuesday so that my mom could get them to school.

Our first night home went pretty well. My milk had come in and Jace was eating every two hours or so. It HURT, but the lactation consultant said he was latching properly and the pain would subside in a few days, so I took a deep breath each time and got through it. His nose was pretty stopped up from having the oxygen and feeding tube, so it made feedings a little hard and he cried a bit out of frustration, but other than that, we all made it in one piece. My mom brought us a cool mist humidifier that we ran the next day, and that cleared his nose up pretty quickly.

That’s it for the “story” of Jace’s birth/first few days. It was a lot to type out and some of you may think I overdid it with the details, but the week was so crazy, and fairly traumatic, that I needed to. Now I can get to regular posting about our day-to-day life with a new baby!

A Baby Story: Part Six

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:31:00 +0000

Click here to read Part One.

Click here to read Part Two.

Click here to read Part Three.

Click here to read Part Four.

Click here to read Part Five.

Tuesday evening, the lactation consultant I had seen the day before came into my room and explained that Jace’s IV had come out and they were having trouble getting another in. In order for him to get enough nutrients without the IV, he would either have to be breastfed every two hours, or they would have to supplement with formula. She told me that his blood sugar levels would need to be completely normal throughout the night in order for his doctor to be happy. As a lactation consultant, she understood me wanting to breastfeed him exclusively but also pointed out that a little formula wouldn’t hurt, in this situation especially.

Joe was still at work at that point, but my dad was there keeping me company. He encouraged me to do whatever I felt was right. My first reaction was to agree to breastfeed him every two hours. I was already pumping every two hours to try and get my milk supply going, and I would have been feeding him that often if he had been downstairs with me, so it made sense. He was due for a feeding, so my dad pushed my wheelchair ups to the nursery for me and the nurse brought him into a private room with me. My dad headed back downstairs and Jace and I were left alone for the first time. He was SO sleepy, I couldn’t get him to latch on at all. I even asked the nurse to turn the heat down to see if he would become more alert, but it didn’t help.

Since he wasn’t eating and my dad still hadn’t held him, I called him and had him come back up. He held Jace while the nurse and I discussed what we should do. I was so sore from the surgery and completely exhausted. The idea of getting up and being wheeled to the nursery every hour and a half or so for the next 24 hours was pretty overwhelming. The nurse also pointed out that if all he’s getting is the small amount of colostrum at each feeding, his blood sugar levels might not be where they need to be for him to be released the next day. I told her I would think about it, but that was really all I needed to hear. After Joe got back from work that night, we agreed that he would go up and feed him a little formula.

Joe fed him twice that night, and the nurse once. Joe said he was sucking down the formula and doing great. He left the room the following morning around 10 or so to check on him. He came back to the room with a smile on his face.

“He graduated.”

“He what?”

“He was released to the regular nursery. He’s next door right now getting settled. They’re bringing him in here in a minute.”

Oh my gosh.. the relief and excitement I felt is indescribable. They wheeled him in the room in his bassinet a few minutes later and we got to work bonding with our baby boy.

Soon after they brought him to our room, my grandparents arrived.

And after that, some very special guests arrived to finally meet and hold their little brother.

I think it was love at first sight for them both.

My parents, brother, and family friend Gail, who is the teaching assistant for Summer’s class and had brought her from school, also came.

Later that evening, my aunt Susan stopped by on her way home from work (and gave Jace his last bottle of formula!)

It was such a great day!

A Baby Story: Part Five

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:16:00 +0000

Sorry for the delay! My power cord broke after I finished writing part four and I had to wait to get a new one in the mail.

Click here to read Part One.

Click here to read Part Two.

Click here to read Part Three.

Click here to read Part Four.

The next morning, Joe needed to go to work. He had to leave around 10, so before he left, he went up to the nursery to see Jace and find out how he was doing. I was in the bathroom trying to re-train my bladder to work when he came back down to the room. He told me that the neonatologist had been up there and he had gotten to talk to her. She told him that Jace was doing amazingly well. He was off of the oxygen completely and the fluid was gone. His levels were good, and he was staying stable. She said that they normally want to observe them for 24-48 hours after something like this happens, but that because he was doing so well, she didn’t see why he wouldn’t be released from Special Care the following morning.

Talk about relief. I couldn’t believe how different this report was from what that nurse had told us the night before. I still can’t figure out why she said what she said. But I chose to forget about it for the time being, because Jace was finally going to be with us!

And then Joe said, “Oh uh, there was a slight issue. But don’t worry, I took care of it.” He said it quickly, and I knew he was trying to keep me from getting upset.

“They didn’t give him the breast milk we gave them last night. The nurse this morning gave him formula.”

Now, let me say that I have nothing against formula… Summer and Camryn both had formula after the first few weeks they were born, and they are brilliant, healthy kids. But I was determined to breastfeed Jace successfully. I had pumped quite a bit of colostrum for him, something that all babies need the first days of their lives. The neonatologist that had taken care of him right after he was born had said that they would only give him what I pumped, and the card on his nursery bassinet clearly said Breastfed. And now I was hearing that the nurse in charge of my baby, who only had ONE other baby besides him to care for, gave him formula instead of the nutrient rich, immune system boosting colostrum that was in the refrigerator with mine and Jace’s name on it ten feet away from her.

I was REALLY mad. Joe said that as soon as she mentioned giving him formula, he looked at her and said, “You gave him what?!” and told her Jace had breast milk in the refrigerator from the night before. She acted surprised and said, “Oh, well usually you can’t get much colostrum this soon and I didn’t know it was there. But I’ll give it to him as soon as I can.” He said he could tell she was trying to play it off and keep him from getting mad. She knew she had messed up big time. He said he made it very clear to her that I was pumping and he was to be breast fed, and he should not get any more formula.

If Jace had been in our room like a normal baby, he would only be eating what I could produce. Why this nurse, a supposed health care professional, would give a newborn formula when his mother was ready and willing to provide “the perfect food” for him instead, is insane. Especially a newborn who was in a delicate state. We were helpless in the situation, having to trust these strangers to care for our baby.

Joe reassured me that he had taken care of it and Jace would only be getting breast milk from now on. All I could do was hope he was right, because I was in no shape to deal with the situation myself.

After Joe left for work, I got in the shower, and then my mom arrived. It felt great to be nice and clean. My aunt Angie got there after I was dressed and they pushed me in a wheelchair upstairs to see Jace.

He looked so much better when I saw him this time. He was laying on his back, instead of his stomach like before. There was no oxygen cannula in his nose or feeding tubes. Just an oxygen monitor and IV.

I held him first, and then my mom and Angie took turns with him. This was the first time my mom had gotten to hold him.

My cousin Emily showed up as well.

Angie and Emily left after a bit, and my mom stayed with me while I tried breastfeeding Jace for the first time. He latched on right away!

I nursed him for a few minutes on each side, and then it was time to let him sleep and go back down stairs. Before we left, I got to change his diaper for the first time!

The rest of the day I tried to rest and looked forward to the next day. I was trying not to get my hopes up in case Jace wasn’t released like they said he probably would be.

A Baby Story: Part Four

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:39:00 +0000

Click here to read Part One

Click here to read Part Two

Click here to read Part Three

That first day went by really fast. Jace was stabilized pretty quickly, and by that evening his oxygen was at the “room air” level. He was being given nutrients through a feeding tube and was tolerating it well. We were told that when I was ready, I could come up and do Kangaroo Care (hold him skin-to-skin) with him.

I had started pumping earlier in the day. I had planned on breastfeeding right away, plus I felt pretty helpless because I had no part whatsoever in his care, so it was a good way for me to do something for him. I got quite a bit of colostrum during my first pump that we put in a syringe.. I got a little more later in the day as well. Joe took them up to the nursery, where the nurse put them in a refrigerator. She told him they would give it to him as soon as he was allowed to have it.

Despite my pain from the incision and the fact that I still had in a catheter, I was ready to go up and see him that night. My nurse pushed me in a wheelchair and Joe and I went upstairs to see our beautiful baby.

Jace was on his stomach when I got there, sleeping soundly.

The nurse unhooked him from a few things, and handed him to me.

He was so sweet and I felt the biggest sense of peace as I sat there holding him. This is where he should have been all along, with his Mommy.

I asked the nurse, “So if he continues to improve and stay stable, when do you think he will get to come downstairs and stay with us?” We had been told 2, maybe 3 days. He was doing so well, we were hoping it would be sooner than that.

She looked at me like I was crazy, and said, “Oh he will probably be here until you go home.” I was going home Thursday or Friday. It was Monday. He was almost completely normal and healthy at that point. It didn’t make sense in my head. Shouldn’t he be with us as soon as possible? Isn’t that what’s best for him?

Joe was really surprised at her answer as well, and we both questioned her about why he would need to stay there so long. It was completely different than what we had been told earlier in the day. Tears started pouring down my cheeks as she went on about policies and how he was a special care baby and nurses in the regular nursery don’t usually feel comfortable taking care of babies that had been up there. Something about me being on a different floor and if something happened it would take too long to get down to my room. It wouldn’t matter if he was completely fine, he wasn’t going anywhere. None of it was making sense to either of us, and I was getting so upset. I wanted her to be quiet so badly. She then went on to talk about how red he was and how he would probably be jaundiced and would need to be under lights, and how that would mean he might be there for an extra day or so after it’s time for me to be discharged. She looked at me as if I had three heads as I cried. “He should be with his mom,” I said, and stopped making eye contact with her. She eventually shut up and let Joe and I have a few moments of peace with Jace before it was time to go back downstairs.

Apparently a crying mom is really entertaining for the nurses… at least three of them came in to see if I was okay after they saw me being pushed back to my room. One of them offered to talk to the nurse upstairs and find out why she was saying what she did. We took her up on that and 10 minutes later a different nurse I’d never seen before came in, and repeated the same stuff the upstairs nurse had already told us. “Was he early??” she asked after she had gotten done “explaining” things. She didn’t even know what was wrong with him. She thought we wanted a medically fragile newborn released from Special Care. At that point I just wanted everyone to go away. I told her no, but didn’t bother explaining anything to her. She left, and Joe and I were left alone.

We tried to get some sleep that night – hard to do In a hospital – and hoped we could talk to Jace’s doctor and find out what was going on in the morning.

A Baby Story: Part Three

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Click here to read Part One

Click here to read Part Two

While I was being taken to the recovery room and set up in there, Joe went up with Jace to the nursery.

After watching them settle him in, he went to the waiting room to tell the people that were there (my mom, dad, brother, aunt, Summer, and Camryn) that Jace was born, and what was going on with him. He was gone for about 15 minutes, and then joined me while I laid in recovery. He told me that everyone was there and would be waiting for me to be taken to my room. He also said the nurses had wheeled Jace to the waiting room on the way to the nursery, and my mom and aunt had gotten a brief look at him. Of course the girls and my dad had chosen that moment to go to the restroom!

I started to get nauseous after a little while. I knew it would happen at some point… during my c-section with Camryn it happened while I was still on the operating table, so I was glad it waited until that part was over with. The nurse gave me some medicine for it, and also for the itching that had started on my face because of the pain medication they had given me with the spinal. After about 90 minutes in recovery, they took me to my room.

Joe, my parents, Wes, Susan, and the girls joined me. It was strange… at this point normally the baby is with you and everyone is holding them and ooing and ahhing… but it was just us there. Wondering what was going on with Jace and how long it would be before we could have those first moments with him.

I tried my best to explain to the girls what was going on.

Nothing had happened the way we had prepared them for so far, and I knew they were probably confused. They seemed okay, but I still felt really bad that things hadn’t gone as planned. Jace was spending his first moments with wires and tubes in his nose, surrounded by strangers, instead of in our arms like I had dreamed about. I tried to concentrate on the fact that besides the fluid, he seemed healthy. He could have been born with something much worse, and for that I was definitely thankful.

A nurse from the Special Care Nursery came down at some point, and explained a bit about what they were doing. She said he was on oxygen, and they were monitoring his stats to make sure his blood pressure and heart rate were stabilized. She then told us that we, and anyone who wanted to go with us, could go up and see him any time. The girls would not be permitted to go up to visit though, because they were under 12 and it was RSV season. We were so disappointed, but understood the risk.

Joe and I decided that my parents and Wes should go up and see Jace, so the four of them left. Not long after, Joe’s dad and sister showed up. I explained to them what was going on, and once Joe, my parents, and Wes got back, then they got a chance to go up and see him.

Next was Susan, my cousin Richard, my Aunt Ann and cousin Andrea, who had driven up from Bowling Green the day before in order to be there for Jace’s birth and had arrived while Joe’s dad and sister were visiting him.

After everyone that was there had visited, all we had to do was sit around and wait for him to improve. Joe had been told by the nurse that Jace still had so much fluid… she said his body would eventually absorb it all, but in the mean time all the could do was watch him and make sure that happened. It was looking like it would be 2-3 days before he would be well enough to come downstairs with us. I couldn’t believe it… 2 or 3 days before I would get to take care of and bond with my baby.

Again, I reminded myself that we were lucky to have an otherwise healthy baby. I knew he was in good hands.

A Baby Story: Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:06:00 +0000

Click here to read Part One

*Warning… this post contains a few pictures of Jace’s birth.. they’re a little bloody.

About 10 minutes into surgery, I started feeling a lot of pressure in my chest and tugging and pulling. I heard someone say, “There he is!” and the pulling grew more intense. “He’s almost out,” the anesthesiologist told me. He told Joe to stand up and look if he wanted to.

Another 20 seconds went by, and then the pressure stopped as my doctor pulled him out the rest of the way.

I heard him start to cry and a wave of love and relief went through me. The anesthesiologist told me to look to my right, as my doctor held him on my side of the curtain so I could see. He was holding him upside down, just like in the picture above, which I thought was odd... but he was the cutest upside-down baby I’d ever seen.

The doctor handed him off to the nurse as he sat back down to put all my insides back where they were supposed to be and close me up.

Joe went over to where Jace was. The nurses were checking him over. I heard them thumping him on the back off and on for a few minutes, and wondered why they were doing that so much.

I couldn’t really hear what the nurses were saying. Joe came over and told me that Jace had swallowed a lot of fluid and they were trying to help him get it out. I knew this happened often with c-section babies, since they don’t go through the birth canal that helps them squeeze the fluid out.

I heard them weigh him and then take him back over to where he had been. Joe came over and told me he was 8 lbs 7.6 oz and 20 inches long. A big boy!

The neonatologist that was taking care of him came over to me and explained, “He swallowed quite a bit of fluid as he came out. We’ve put him on a little oxygen to help him. He will most likely need to go to the Special care nursery for a few hours, or possibly even a few days. This is pretty common and he will be fine, but we have to monitor him to make sure all of the fluid is absorbed.”

A million thoughts were going through my head. I just wanted to see Joe holding our baby boy in a little blanket, but instead, Jace was across the room with oxygen tubes in his nose.

The doctors finished up my surgery as they were getting Jace ready to go to the special nursery. The nurse brought him over to me and told me I could hold him for a minute.

Joe didn’t get a chance to hold him, but we figured he would later, and at that point I think we were both more concerned with him getting better.

They took him back over to add some monitors and wires to him before they transported him to the nursery.

They wheeled him away to the nursery, and they wheeled me away to the recovery room. Joe wasn’t allowed in the nursery they took him to yet, so he came with me.

A Baby Story: Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:16:00 +0000

Things are settling down here a bit so I want to go ahead and write about Jace’s birth, before it is all a blur. I think I’ve put it off a bit because the first few days of his life were so far from what we thought they would be like, but it will be good for me to get it all recorded.

My c-section was scheduled for January 16th at 7:30am. Joe and I were asked to be there at 5am to check in and get started. My aunt Susan offered to have the girls stay the night with her Sunday so that they didn’t have to get up so early. She promised to have them at the hospital the next morning, bright and early, so they could be there right when he’s born.

Sunday evening, we went out to eat for the last time as a family of four. We had a gift card to Olive Garden, so that’s where we ended up. We had a great meal together, and spent some time going over what would be happening for the next week with Summer and Camryn. Afterwards, we dropped them off at Susan’s, and went home to finish packing our stuff and try to get some sleep.

We woke up around 4am. We were exhausted but so ready to have the baby!

One last belly pic before we left for the hospital… 39 weeks and 5 days.

We got to the hospital and were immediately checked in and sent to a really nice big room to begin the fun pre-op stuff.. you know, IV, blood pressure check, peeing in a cup, etc.

Around 7:30 the doctor was in the building, I had met with the anesthesiologist, and everyone was ready to get started. Joe put on his paper suit and I put on my hair net and we headed to the operating room.

Joe went to a waiting room while I got prepped. My nurse went over what would be taking place, and then I got the spinal. It took affect pretty quickly as they laid me down on the operating table and I started getting really anxious. We were having a baby, there was no turning back now!

The doctors and assistants starting coming in at that point, and then finally, Joe. He took a seat next to my head as they began the surgery.

Our New Addition!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Jace Carter Mullins

8lbs. 7.6oz.

20”

1-16-2012

7:49am

Birth story and details to come…

Baby Jace Countdown… 3 More Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:33:00 +0000

We took this picture on New Year’s Day, so I’m actually just about 39 weeks now. The quality isn’t great because it was in a dim room at night, but it’s better than nothing.

I figure I’ll do one last pregnancy questionnaire….

How far along? 38 weeks and 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: I’m up about 20 lbs from where I started

Sleep: I can’t. I wake up constantly, either from intense Braxton Hicks, heartburn, back pain, needing to pee, or pain from turning over.

Food cravings: cheerios with milk, and I always have to have access to ice water

Movement: He’s definitely slowed down on the kicks and turns, but when he moves, it’s pretty crazy to watch the shapes my stomach makes.

Gender: still a boy, confirmed at my 36 week ultrasound

Stretchmarks: I have a lovely purple spider web around my belly button

Belly Button in or out? Out. And stretched beyond it’s limits. Never going to be the same.

What I miss: Having my body to myself. Not being in pain. Moving without getting heartburn.

What I am looking forward to: My c-section Monday morning at 7:30am!

Symptoms: I think I’ve covered this already but… heartburn, back pain, pain in general, and now I’m starting to get swollen in my left ankle, feet, hands, and cheeks. I also had a higher blood pressure than normal at my (last!) doctor appointment yesterday, but it wasn’t enough for him to be concerned since I’m almost done.

Milestones: Almost finished!

Weekly Wisdom: One day at a time.

Emotions: General irritability has taken over at this point, but other than that, I am so ready to meet our baby boy!

At my 35 week ultrasound, the tech estimated his weight at 8.5 lbs that day. If she’s right, he’s going to be around 10 lbs when he’s born. I am REALLY hoping she was off a bit! Summer was 6 lbs 10 oz and Camryn was 7 lbs 5 oz. I doubt he was quite as big as she thought, although I sure feel like he is.

We’ve been passing illnesses around the house for the last few weeks. First a cold, then a bad cough, and then yesterday Camryn woke up with a fever. She was better today, so hopefully we can all get well and back to normal before Jace arrives.

Joe, the girls, and I (and a huge amount of family and friends) are all really anxious and excited… we’ll be spending the next few days cleaning, organizing, and making sure everything is in place for our new addition!

Our Christmas 2011, Continued

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:24:00 +0000

After our morning at home and at my parents’ house, we headed to my aunt Susan and uncle Paul’s house to celebrate with my mom’s side of the family.

We did our gift exchange a little different this year…

Instead of all the women bringing a woman’s gift and all the men bringing a man’s gift and the kid’s drawing names, we all drew names so we had one specific person to buy for (except Summer and Camryn, they got stuff from a few people!)

My cousin Andi had me. She got me a really pretty hand-made scarf and coffee mug. Totally perfect gift. My uncle Paul had Joe. He got a Target gift card (to be used for yet another video game), and two of his favorite things – dark chocolate and pistachios. The girls got some fun presents, including the Pop the Pig game from my aunt Billie and uncle David that they had been dying to have. They were so excited about that!

We took a few group pictures outside. It’s fun to compare them from year to year. Here is the 2011 Holmes cousins (plus husband) picture. Left to right, it’s Andi, Nathan, Libby, Wesley, Summer, Me, Camryn, Joe, Katherine, and Richard. Joe and Wes are most likely standing on their tip toes in this picture because they are incapable of being serious.

Our Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a karaoke session in the basement…

Yes, we go all out with instruments and everything!

We had to leave to go to Joe’s dad’s house, but not before I got my aunt Ann and uncle Mark to sign “All the Single Ladies”. It was an amazing disaster… they are such good sports.

It was after dinner time before we got to Joe’s dad’s, but we were glad we got to spend some time on Christmas with him, Joe’s Grandma, his sister Nicole, her boyfriend Joey, and our nephew Xavier.

As usual, the kids were spoiled with awesome gifts.

It was a really long, hectic day, but it went perfectly and the four of us all agreed it was a great Christmas. It’s hard to believe it was our last Christmas as a family of four. I can’t wait to see what is in store next year!

Our Christmas Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:14:00 +0000

We had a really nice, relaxing Christmas morning at home. Summer and Camryn didn’t wake themselves up – Joe and I finally decided to wake them up around 8:30. When they remembered what day it was, they couldn’t wait to see what Santa had left them and ran into the living room.

Don’t mind the dry wall in the hall way.

Before opening their presents, they checked the kitchen table. Santa had eaten his cookies and drank his milk, and even left them some Hershey Kisses and a letter!

The first thing they saw were their Pillow Pets. They had been asking for them for a really long time, and it was the one thing they kept requesting that Santa bring them. It took Santa a VERY long time and lots of trips to different stores to find the unicorn that Camryn wanted. Thank goodness he found it on Christmas Eve day, or this picture might not be full of pure joy like it is.

We read the letter Santa wrote. He told them they were very good girls this year and to always be kind to each other. Maybe they’ll listen to Santa about fighting with each other more than mommy.

Present time!

In the midst of the chaos…

They loved everything they got from Santa, and what Joe and I got them – Lalaloopsy dolls.

Joe and I were both happy with what we got as well… Joe got another year of XBox Live and a new game he’d been wanting, and I got a Kindle Touch! I am LOVING it.

After an hour or so of playing with toys, struggling with packaging and zip ties, and a little coffee, we got ready for the day and headed to my parents’ house for the other half of our Christmas morning.

When we first got there, we sat down to an amazing breakfast casserole that my mom cooks every year. Then it was present time!

The girls got these from Uncle Wes.

Checking out what Daddy got in his stocking.

My uncle Jim spent the morning with us, too.

My mom got a Kindle Touch, too!

This post is getting really long, I’m going to end it here and talk about the rest of the day in another post!