Whew!

I finally have some time to write. I mean, I've actually had time, but I've been playing the new computer game Carl got me for Christmas instead of blogging. Flo on the Go. Sequel to Diner Dash, only it takes place on a variety of sea vessels . . . cruise line, submarine, and everything in between. So close to beating it. Since K's down for a nap, I decided to write today and not play my new obsession. I will beat it by the end of the week, though. I'm very likely going to get on right after I wrap this blog up. Those that know me best know that I cannot stop playing a new game until I beat it completely. And, with Carl being a big computer nerd himself and my new computer crashing and having to be sent back one week after I got it, I don't get to play games very often. Even when K's sleeping.

So, onto more exciting news. The part people actually want to read. Of course I mean the kid. She's growing and growing more everyday. Literally. I think she's in the midst of a growth spurt because she's been eating more and trying to get into our adult food more. So far, she eats Cream of Rice cereal, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, bananas, and has recently been introduced to peaches, blueberries, and carrots. I haven't found anything she refuses to eat, although she is not much of a fan of sweet potatoes. I am going to introduce her to peas sometime pretty soon. She still nurses four times a day and is doing great with that. Her six month appointment was on December 18, and she weighed 15 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 27 in. in length. She's tall! She's in the 87th percentile for length, but only in the 45th for weight. That's okay. She's gaining, so they weren't worried about it. Her next appointment is with the endocrinologist on January 20. We're already praying it will be a good appointment. I'm sure it will be. After watching K refuse to take her medicine and us having to force it down literally, we decided to adjust the time she takes it. Instead of taking it at 6:15, she now takes it right at 8:00. I am toying with the idea of nursing her right after and putting her to bed right after that. It would make her bedtime 8:30 instead of 9. Last night we tried it and were successful. However, I didn't exactly plan to attempt. K missed her nap because we took our niece, Ally, to see The Princess and the Frog yesterday. She was grumpy and fussy all afternoon, leading me to believe she can never miss another nap. It ended up being Carl and Ally watching the movie, while I walked around the theater trying to calm her down. The people in the theater probably hated me. Oh well. So anyway, Ally loved the movie and Carl told me it was seriously a cute one. I was glad we left K with her grandma Christmas Day when we went to see Sherlock Holmes, which TOTALLY ROCKED by the way. I just love Robert Downey, Jr! That was one that I didn't want to miss. I did feel guilty, though, that we left our only child elsewhere, while we took in a movie. I remember making the comment to Carl that families are supposed to spend the holidays together, yet we were leaving a third of our family. It was only for a little bit, though. K got tons and tons of presents. The kid really raked it in! Amongst them were an Exersaucer, giant pink teddy bear, many clothes, and many other toys. We actually had to get her toybox out of the closet in order to have a place to put all of her toys. (She didn't have very many before.) It was so much fun watching her open presents and play with the wrapping paper. She actually assisted with the openings of a few presents. I opened most of them and looked at her with a giant smile, saying "Look what you got, Keely!" I have to say that Christmas is so much more fun when you have a little one to share it with. I've been sharing Christmas with the nieces and nephews for a long time now, but sharing it with my own daughter was even more fun. I promise to post pics of the event soon. My camera went kaput, and I cannot get any of the pics off of it. Sucks, but fortunately I uploaded them to Walmart.com and ordered a CD with all 600 pics that were on the camera. We then got a new, much cooler camera. It's an Olympus. Big thanks for the cash we used to buy it goes out to my Momo. So, we'll be using that camera from here on out. I said I would post pics, and I will when I get the CD from Walmart in 7-10 days from the day before yesterday. It only cost me $2.50!

On a much sadder note, although people will likely think me silly for saying so, our dog Cyrano ran away a week ago last Friday. I miss him. He was my best friend for a long time. I don't think I would have gotten through Carl's 80s Combat tour days without him. I just hope he's out there making some other family happy. He's good at that. We checked the pound, posted multiple MISSING DOG ads, checked the papers, made flyers. No go. We also gave up Apostrophe, our beloved cat, who was having bladder issues. We'd taken him to the vet to get the problem fixed, but it was temporary. We knew that the vet would tell us he can do the same thing as before, which he made sure to say was temporary, or we could put him through surgery. We couldn't afford either (or decided the temporary fix was not smart considering it only lasted one month). He seemed to get a lot better for a while, but then he started leaking urine all over the place, which included on K's blanket. We took him to the pound. I told Carl that he owes me two new animals now, and he agreed to get me one. Then, I told him I didn't want any new animals. I just wanted my old ones back. We'll see what happens. I am not totally giving up on Cyrie yet.

Well, all, check back for pics sometime this week. I have them, promise! I will post them, promise! I hope everyone had a happy Christmas and enjoyed all of the crazy snow!

Today

Keely got her second tooth sometime this afternoon. When I picked her up from Aunt Pete's, she had been crying. She looked pretty cute with a tear-stained face. Is that horrible for me to say? Keely looks cute all the time. Really, she does. Ask anyone. So, I decided it's okay for me to think she looked cute with a tear-stained face. And, I am not changing my mind. Anyway, we had our family pictures scheduled for tonight, and I was pretty worried that K wouldn't do so well. She cried in the car on the way home and fell immediately asleep after I nursed her. Then, I had to wake her up after like 5 minutes because we needed to get ready for the pics. She didn't do what I thought she'd do. She didn't utter a sound on the way to our appointment. She stayed awake, too. She didn't utter a sound when we changed her clothes and put her in a very frilly, too-big dress. Or when we put on tights for the first time. She smiled and laughed during our photo session. She didn't cry even once, despite my ESP plea for her to stop doing so well so we wouldn't have such a hard time choosing and end up spending a ton of money. We spent a ton of money. But, we got good pics. I was planning on getting one good shot of our family and that's it. I wanted the $9.95 package. K didn't let that happen. Instead, we walked away with a bigger package, having spend 8 times that amount. Whatever, though, it was worth it. We are getting K's 6 month pics made by CT Photography on Friday, when she'll actually be 6 months old. For those of you out there that don't know, CT Photography stands for Carrie Tungate Photography, and she's affordable and great. If anyone is interested in getting some freelance photos made of their little ones, you should consider her. Plus, she's got a brand new camera! So, I walk away from my experience in the studio thinking that it's okay we spent more than intended. We're getting great Christmas photos, and we'll get great 6 month pics on Friday. Congrats on the new tooth, Keely Star. You're getting so big, and we couldn't be more proud of you. Way to go, kid!

To My Husband

Tomorrow we will celebrate our 7 year anniversary. It has been one heck of a ride. Not smooth, although not overly rough. Mostly enjoyable, although not always. It's been exactly as it should be. Marriage is not easy. These days nothing really is. But, people tend to believe marriage is easy because you love each other. They see it in black and white, and seldom see the grey. These seven years have brought many lessons. We are not the same people we were when we got married. We're better. We're wiser. And, we continually learn from each other so that we continue to get better. Continue to get wiser. I love you, Carl! Thanks for being the greatest husband. Thanks for helping create the greatest daughter. We will have many adventures in our lifetime. But being married to you and raising our daughter is my greatest.

Our Girl's 5!

Months that is. As of yesterday. Crazy how much time has gone by since Carl and I set out on this venture of transforming into Mama and Daddy. Yet in many ways, it seems like Keely should be this old. 5 months feels fast but right. She's grown so much over the past month. I would be willing to bet that she weighs 15 pounds. And, she's gotten tall. Her 3-6 month pajamas are close to not fitting, not because they are too tight but because they are almost too short. She's got chubby cheeks and thighs, but that is about all that's chubby. She gets prettier and prettier everyday. I could just stare at her all the time, if I had nothing else to do that is. I tell my little girl all the time that mamas need to get paid for loving their babies so that I wouldn't have to work anymore. Not that I dislike my job. I love what I do. I just miss her all the time. Being away from her is hard. But, I rest assured knowing that she is in great hands at Carrie's.

I am posting a new Smile Box, which has a ton of pics. You may notice that not all of them are of our sweet girl. I threw in some of Evan and Eleni's son, Jackson, who was a pirate for Halloween, and of course, I had to throw in some of the nieces and nephews, because they continue to make me smile every time I see them. Keely loves her cousins, and they are so cute with her! We finally decided to buy a Bumbo for Keely, and she loves it. We feed her and let her play with her toys in it. She's close to figuring out how to sit up on her own, which is funny because I don't think she rolls over completely yet. Would've thought that would come first. She can hold her own bottle for a few seconds, and she loves to hold things. She still loves to cuddle with her frog, like she has since she was less than a month old. She laughs and smiles constantly. She inherited my loudness, which can be good and bad at the same time. I think it's funny, but Carl gets frustrated when he's trying to talk on the phone or watch TV and she's just talking away. Carl and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet daughter. We thank God for her everyday and pray that he continually blesses her as she grows. She'll always be our shining Star.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I have such a great baby!

It's true, and I am not just saying that. All mothers think their babies rock, and I am no different. I really, really think Keely is just the greatest! I couldn't ask for a better or easier baby. Last night, we made yet another adjustment to our little girl's schedule. The reasons leading up to this decision? Well, for starters, I have to feed her every morning at 7 AM because that is the last time I can feed her before I leave for work. The past few days when I would get her up to feed her, she would only eat for about 8 minutes. For some babies, that's as long as they need. Take Ella, for instance. She nursed for a solid 6 minutes and was completely done. I can't remember how old she was when she started doing that, but I am pretty sure she was only a couple of months older or less than Keely is now. Keely typically nurses for about 20 minutes. I also noticed that when I would feed her cereal at 7 PM, she would not nurse for more than a few minutes afterwards. I really didn't know what to do. As it was, I only nursed her or she got a bottle 5 times a day, and she ate cereal 2 times. When she wouldn't nurse, I was so confused. So, after thinking about it for pretty much the entire week, we decided to change her schedule for about the 5th time. I compromised her post-cereal 7 PM feeding and her 10:40 PM feeding into one 9:00 PM feeding. Then, I put her in her crib and hoped she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night wanting to eat. She didn't! As a matter of fact, she was out within 5 minutes. She didn't even stir until 6:30 this morning! She did want to eat then, but I held her off until 7. She didn't even really cry! What a great baby! I just love her so much! She is so easy, too, because she goes right along with any changes we make. She rarely fusses about them. I am pretty sure our next child won't be so easy, but maybe he or she will. At any rate, we're going to wait a little while before we find out.

Another Month Gone

Consider this my follow-up to the previous post from October 1. I promised pics and more updates, and I am following through . . . just a little later than planned. Well, those that know me best know I am late for almost everything.

Our little girl is taking a nap right now . . . going on 2 1/4 hours. Yay! She never sleeps this well for me in the afternoons. Of course, Carl and I tend to run around like crazy on the weekends, which doesn't account for much of a long nap time for Keely. After talking to Carrie, I found that Keely takes a 3 hour nap for her everyday. I was like, "What?!" So, Carl and I decided to experiment. And, we're calling it a success, because as I said, she's already been down for over two hours and isn't stirring yet. I guess nap time is something we're going to implement into our routine as well.

Updates: 1) She's sleeping through the night!!! Yay! This is perhaps the update that excites us the most. She doesn't have it completely down every time, but for the most part, she does sleep through the night. 2) She's in her own room. We moved her into her own room a week ago yesterday. She is so easy. She just goes with whatever change we make. This change was easy for her. When we put her in her crib that first night, she LOVED it. She was so cute, kicking her feet up in the air and smiling at her mobile. We left her alone, and she drifted off to sleep without making a sound. And, she's done the same thing pretty much every night since. 3) That little tooth has really come in! She lets us see it now. She hasn't bitten me yet, which I am very happy about. I was so nervous that teeth would make nursing so hard, but it hasn't. Here's hoping it stays that way!

I don't really have any more updates yet. Keely goes to Dr. Stripling for shots on October 15 (Thursday) and then back to Dr. Varma to have her thyroid levels checked again on October 22. I'm a little anxious for the second appointment because reassurance that everything's the way it should be is a definite plus. I anticipate that nothing's changed, but you never know for sure until that lab work comes back.

Tomorrow marks the fourth month of Keely's entrance into our lives. In a lot of ways it seems crazy that four months has come and gone, but in other ways, it seems hard to remember life before her grand entrance. At this moment in time, I can honestly say that I feel fulfilled. I feel this incredible appreciation for life, this divine closeness to the God who creates mountains and waterfalls. I attribute a lot of those feelings to Keely. She makes me see things in ways I'd never seen them before, to the extent that many things that used to be important now appear so petty and meaningless. Because when all is said and done, I still have a husband who loves me and a little girl who lights up my world, all provided by a God who loves unconditionally, whom I strive to mirror, realizing that I may be so far off, but at least I'm making progress. It is my sincerest hope that Keely will grow up realizing who this God is and what He has done for this world.

Enjoy the pics and God bless!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Quick Updates

So, I have next to no time since I have a pile of papers to grade tonight before I have to submit report card grades tomorrow afternoon. I did want to drop in for a quick update on my sweet little pumpkin princess, though. Yes, I said pumpkin princess. Sometimes she's my pumpkin and sometimes she's my princess, and tonight I felt like combining the two.

We have a first tooth, ladies and gentlemen! Mama and Daddy can't believe their baby is so big already when she's still only 3 and a half months old. Yes, it's a tooth. You can feel it and see it sometimes when her little tongue isn't wagging around covering it up. It goes on record that our little girl got her first tooth on September 30. I'll have to write in her baby book. I think I need to start a journal of daily happenings in the world of Keely Star. I think I just might.

Due to Keely's apparent lack of appetite when Carrie tried to give her the 10:30 and 1:30 bottles, we adjusted her feeding schedule this week. It's working out well. Along with the change, I decided to stop feeding her in the early AM hours. She's still waking up, but she usually goes back to sleep once I give her plug to her. This was a big change to make, but I am amazed at how well she's done with it. I'm beginning to think I have the easiest, most laid back daughter in the world. I love her more and more each day. I am so proud to be her mama! I just can't get over it!

This post comes with two promises: 1) I will post more pics very soon, but I don't have time at the moment. 2) I will offer more insight into our busy, busy lives when I post pics. Until then, wish me happy grading, and I wish you all a happy evening.

3 Months Old

My little girl is already 3 months old, and I can't believe it! These past 3 months have been some of the best I've ever experienced. It is an honor being Keely's mom. I am so glad God chose me for the job. I know Carl feels the same way about being her dad. In some ways, I can hardly believe it has been nearly a year since I found out I was pregnant. It will be a year on October 10, which is really not that far away. That is a day I will never, ever forget. I was thinking that at this time last year, I found out my first IUI did not work. As a matter of fact, as we were walking through the Cowboy Symposium this afternoon, it occurred to me that when we were there last year, Carrie was almost certain she was getting a new niece or nephew. It's funny how things work out. We wake up each day older than we were the previous day, sometimes wiser, sometimes not. I was hanging out with friends last night, and Carl and I were the oldest ones in the room by at least 2 years. My friend, Sam, told me she bought a house, and we embarked on a discussion about how old we've gotten. She has a house, and I have a wonderful kiddo. I love that I'm all grown up. I love that I'm married to the love of my life and that we are parents to our shining Keely Star. Getting older is so much fun. I've decided that Carl and I are going to take Keely to Paris for her 18th birthday. I love that she's so little and adorable right now. I don't want her to grow up too fast, but I absolutely love the thought of how great she'll end up. I just have this feeling that she's going to turn out to be this amazing person who does amazing things. And, I'll get to watch her and help her accomplish her goals and live her dreams. I suppose God must feel that way as He watches us grow and develop. I think He's very honored to be our Father. And, that's the coolest thing ever . . . knowing that our heavenly Father has so much love for us, so much pride in His handiwork that He can forgive the greatest of sinners and love us despite our shortcomings. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful God who has blessed me with an incredible family. He has made Keely in His image, just as He made us all. I pray God will continue to bless Keely and our family. And, thanks and glory to Him who loves unconditionally. May we learn to be like Him more and more each day.

Enjoy the pics!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What a Week!

This week has been both chaotic and crazy, although it has not been bad overall. I expected the chaos and crazy, given that it was the first week for the kids to report to school. I waltzed in Monday morning with a room that was not finished--had books all over the place--and lesson plans that were not submitted. I was missing my baby girl but ready to see all of the new 6th grade faces that would occupy my classroom for the next 10 months. Although my room was not ready, surprisingly I was. I managed through the chaos of that morning, played some games with my kids, and got all of the first day procedures required by the state finished with very little time to spare. Then, I rushed over to Carrie's to pick up my girl. I'n so lucky to have Carrie around. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. It is a great feeling knowing that I don't have to worry about Keely being 100% taken care of by the person keeping her. Nevertheless, I am so ready to see my girl at the end of the day! I leave school just as soon as I can possibly get away and speed on my way to Aunt Pete's. Seeing that girl after a day of work is the best part of my day. Needless to say, it's been a chaotic and crazy week, but it's been a good one, too.

Keely has started watching TV! This little monkey watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora the Explorer, and the Baby Einstein videos. It is one of the cutest things ever! She was watching Baby Beethoven up until a few minutes ago when she started fussing. I'd look over at her, and she would talk to the TV. So cute! It is hard to believe 2 months has come and almost gone. She's getting so big! I almost already want another one! But, that will have to wait until Keely's had her fair share of alone time with Mama and Daddy. I think she deserves that. She's trying to sit up now. I mean, unsuccessfully, of course. But, I had her propped up on her Boppy the other day, and she started trying to lean forward towards me. What a big girl! She's holding her head up really, really well, and she laughs and coos constantly. She's one of those babies that people say was born talking. She's definitely a Mama's girl. She's still nursing, which means that I get to pump twice at work. Yay (sarcastically). But, she's completely worth it. I'd do anything for that sweet baby girl! Speaking of, here is the first of two slideshows I am posting today. These pics were taken on August 11, 2009 at JC Penny.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This next slide show is a conglomeration of pictures from the past 2 or 3 weeks. Isn't she just adorable?!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Have a good week. God bless!

2 Months

Today marks the two-month anniversary of Keely's birth. Happy two-month birthday, baby girl! Because of this anniversary, I thought I would offer some reflections and highlights of the past two months. Here we go.

Reflection #1: Being parents has completely changed mine and Carl's lives. We tend to get frustrated with each other a little more often, but we have this closeness that doesn't shift despite our constant picking at each other. We've always had a close relationship, but it's different now that Keely has entered into our family. I think those of you with kids understand what I am trying to communicate to you. In short, Carl and I absolutely love being Dad and Mom.
Reflection #2: Even though we had all of those fertility issues, we wouldn't change anything about the past two years. I think those complications helped us to prepare for parenthood. Carl and I were able to focus on our relationship and long-term goals during those difficult years. We did not appreciate them while they were happening, but we've both come to appreciate them now. If we had conceived prior to when we did, we might not have ended up with beautiful Keely. No, we wouldn't change them. We certainly hope it is easier the next time around, though. And, I have a feeling it will be.
Reflection #3: Being a parent is hard. We didn't think it would be easy, honest. We knew it would be hard, but we've still had a few reality checks over the past two months. With Keely's thyroid problem, reflux, and milk protein allergy, we've definitely had our fair share of difficulty. Keely is still perfect. We would not wish any of those complications upon her by any means, but we can work with them (and hopefully through them eventually).
Reflection #4: The things we thought were so important prior to Keely's birth seem to take a backseat to her now. I guess that's part of being a parent. I hate to think not all parents feel the same way about their kids. For us it goes, God, family, then friends.

Highlights:
1) watching Keely sleep
2) listening to Keely laugh
3) hearing Keely say what sounds like Mama when she's upset
4) showing Keely off to everyone
5) knowing that she is ours
6) praying for Keely
7) napping with Keely
8) Keely's first vacation
9) shopping for/with Keely
10) Keely's first play date
11) evening walks with Keely
12) hugging and kissing Keely
13) making Keely smile
14) talking to Keely
15) getting through bath time without Keely screaming
16) nursing Keely
17) being able to check Above Average on the doctor's form when asked to compare her to other kids her same age
18) taking pics of Keely
19) watching Carl play with Keely
20) imagining how wonderful Keely will turn out

Another Smile Box to Show Off Our Girl

Make a Smilebox slideshow

These pics are all from the past 3 three weeks. Most of them are from the past 2 weeks. Keely is 8 weeks old today. I cannot beleive she is already that old! I cannot believe summer is drawing to a close already either. I report back to work on Wednesday, and I am already planning to be dramatic the first day I have to leave Keely with my sister. Thank goodness for Carrie, though. I don't know what I would do without her! Nonetheless, I really don't want to leave my sweet girl. I cannot imagine my mornings without getting to watch her sleep and cuddling with her. So, I am naturally holding her all day long almost, thinking I should savor every last second with her. No one ever said I wasn't dramatic. Anyway, while I am looking forward to meeting all the new faces and getting to teach again, I am not looking forward to leaving Keely. It will be hard. So, say a prayer for me that I will do better than I suspect I will. Say a prayer for my sister because I'm not sure she knows what she's getting into. She'll have her 3 kids and my 1 kid until school starts and Ally reports to kindergarten. Two more things, and I'll draw to a close. First, Keely actually made it through bath time without a single cry! Last night marked the first time we didn't hear wailing and screaming while being bathed! We were both shocked! And, very, very proud. Last thing, we got the lab results from Keely's endocrinologist, and her thyroid medication is fulfilling it's duty. No need to up her dosage at this point--YAY! Have a fabulous week, all!

Updates and Pics

So, as usual, a lot has been going on. Carl and I have been busy new parents, adjusting to scheduling, budgeting, and hanging out with our sweet little girl, who just so happens to be sleeping at the moment, giving me a few minutes to update my blog and just breathe. This has been a week of doctor's visits, smiles, and a few disappointments. I'll start with the latter of the three.

About two weeks ago, Keely started spitting up a ton. It happened after almost every feeding and sometimes in the middle of a feeding. I didn't know what to do. After she spit up four times in a 35 minute span, I decided to call the doc. Unfortunately, her pediatrician's office was on vacation, so I took her in to see the doctor that was taking her regular pediatrician's calls. He told me that it could be any number of things, including reflux, but he thought it best to just monitor her for now and for me to give him a call if something changed or it got worse. The spitting up continued, although she had days where she wouldn't spit up at all. I decided not to call because I'd scheduled an appointment with her actual doctor for Tuesday of the following week. At that appointment, I mentioned my concern again. Dr. Stripling ordered an X-Ray of her stomach, which was actually called a barrium swallow, which was carried out on Wednesday. I dreaded this appointment, because I was afraid they would have to stick her for the thousandth time. Fortunately, they didn't. As a matter of fact, it was completely painless, except I had to bring her to the appointment with an empty stomach. All they had her do was drink a concoction of barium and water, while they watched it go down on a screen, wash it down with sterile water, and see if anything started to come back up into her esophogus. She did fine, and stuff did start to come back up. I got a call from Dr. Stripling's office Thursday, saying that he wanted to start her on Zantac because she had slight reflux. She started that medication Friday, while Carl and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with my parents and Carrie watched her. I was so sad about leaving my little girl for such a long time. I wanted to see the movie, but I didn't want to leave her. I guess it's mainly because I know I will have to leave her nearly everyday once school starts up. I'm trying to maximize the amount of time I have left with her. Anyway, I managed to get through it. I did cry in the car after we picked her up. I was just happy to see her. I'll talk more about the movie later. Back to the medicine . . .

Keely does not like Zantac. I asked the pharmacy to flavor it, but they told me nothing could mask the peppermint flavor it naturally had. She makes a horrible face every time she has to swallow it. Really, I think it's kind of cute. She's been taking it twice a day since Friday. With the reflux diagnosis, came a referral to a gastrointerologist, whom she saw Monday. Prior to that appointment, the spitting up continued. I mentioned all of this to Dr. Higgins, and he determined she has a milk protein allergy, meaning she is allergic to dairy products, which she is getting through my breastmilk. He told me to stop nursing her for a week, so all of the dairy will get out of my system, and to put her on specialized formula during that time. I have to pump to keep my supply up and eliminate all dairy products from my diet in order to keep nursing her. I'm giving it a shot. I know I can do anything for Keely's sake, and I'm looking at it from that perspective. By the end of the week, I should be able to nurse again, and Keely's spitting up should be completely minimized. It's been going okay so far, but I hate pumping 7 times a day. It sort of sucks.

I had an appointment with my doctor Tuesday, so I had to leave Keely with Mam and Pete. It was not for very long, so it was fine. Those of you who know me best know that I always run 10-15 minutes behind for everything. I always say that I can plan to leave early, get completely ready without falling behind schedule, but still end up 10-15 minutes late for everything. I don't know why that is. It just is. So, I was running late for my appointment and hadn't dropped Keely off at my mom's house yet. I called Dr. Owen's office to let them know I was running behind. I hadn't left my house yet, but I told them I would only be 10 minutes late. Lie. So, I called Carrie and asked her to run out to my car and grab Keely in a very speedy manner so I could make my appointment. She did, and it was funny. Thank heaven for my sister, I made the appointment only 14 minutes late, one minute shy of the timeline they give you to arrive without being rescheduled. Yay for that! Tuesday was also my niece, Hadley's, birthday party at the pool by my parents' house. Carrie gave Keely a swimsuit that matched Ally's. It was so cute! The suit was a little big, but Keely looked adorable anyway. My brother, Allan, spent a lot of time holding her. He was so cute with her! He'll make a great dad someday. The party was fun, and Hadley got lots of good stuff. Keely got a ton of compliments, too.

This brings me to yesterday, which was Wednesday. Keely had an appointment with the endocrinologist to evaluate whether the medication she takes for hypothyroidism was working properly or if the dosage needed to be upped. This appointment was pretty rough on her. The endo didn't really tell us much that we didn't already know. He said that a lot of children with this condition that take the thyroid medication end up very bright. He even added, "It makes me wonder if I should have taken thyroid when I was young," in a joking manner. He also said that we can no longer give her a compounded form of the medication because there is no guarantee she's getting the same amount of the medication in every dose. So, we have to give her the pill form, which we crush up into teeny-tiny pieces using this cool pill crusher we bought at the pharmacy, and mix it with breastmilk. We put that concoction into a pacifier that has a medicine dispenser attached and let Keely suck it down. We tried this for the first time last night, and it was a huge success! We liked Dr. Varma just fine. He wants to see Keely every 3 months for the next while. She had to have blood drawn from her heel, which kind of offset her for the rest of the day. She wasn't very happy. I felt so sorry for her because I didn't know what she needed. It was sad.

Keely is six weeks old today, and she's having a pretty good day so far. She's sleeping on the couch, propped up on her Boppy pillow, at the moment. She looks so sweet! I am so glad we're not getting ready for a doctor's appointment right now. Unless Keely gets sick, we won't have another doctor's appointment until her 2 month on August 13. I'm taking off work for that, and it doesn't even bother me to do so. We adjusted Keely's schedule to see if we could get her down to one night feeding, instead of two. We started it Monday night, and so far she's adjust quite nicely. We get her up at 3 to feed her, and she goes back to sleep until around 6. She starts to cry then, so I give her her plug or move her into her swing. If she keeps crying, I take her to bed with me and cuddle. She does wonderfully then. We get up at 7, so she can eat again. After that, she usually goes back to sleep until close to 10. She is such a good baby! I just love being her mommy. It's the best feeling in the world.

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One Month Old

Golly! I cannot believe our little girl is already a month old! Today marks the one-month anniversary of Keely Star's birth. One month ago was one of the happiest moments in my life. One month ago I finally laid eyes upon my little girl, something I'd been waiting to do for what seemed like forever. One month ago I was in labor, trying to convince myself that I could go through it all without an epidural. One month ago I was both terrified and elated, knowing that I was about to become a mom and hoping I would be a good one. One month ago I was looking at my husband and wondering if he was more terrified than I was. One month ago tears filled my eyes when the nurse told me our little girl had dark hair and I thought, "Maybe she's going to look like me." One month ago I heard the precious sound of our baby crying for the first time. And I knew everything would work out just fine.

We love our little Keely Star. She's amazing, and being a parent is amazing. I always knew it would be, but there's a difference between knowing and experiencing. We are lucky to have such a wonderful opportunity as playing the roles of Mommy and Daddy. For that experience, we are eternally grateful to God above. I pray Keely's life is a testament to Him, that we can raise her to live such a life, and that she gets to experience His many blessings, just as we have.

Well, the girl is screaming, so I am going to go get her and hug her till she realizes she's okay again. I love this job!

The Week in Pictures

Don't I look sweet in green?!



I like to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy mostly, but my new frog is okay most of the time. It says, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on it.



Mommy says this is one of her favorite pictures. Aunt Mamy and Uncle X got this outfit for me.



My cousin, Ella, and I were twinkies on Wednesday. Mommy and Aunt Pete say Ella and I are going to be best friends, just like they are.



My cousin, Ally, likes to hold me. She is so sweet with me!




Mommy found this ridiculous but adorable bow for me to wear. Daddy didn't like it very much. Mommy didn't really care, though. Aunt Pete gave Mommy a ton of Ella's old hairbows, and she bought several more. Now, I have a bow that will match everything! Yay!





It's been a better week this week. I've grown up a bunch! Yesterday, I didn't cry much at all! I even decided to let Mommy and Daddy sleep most of the night last night. I only woke up so I could eat. Mommy and Daddy sure are proud of me. We are getting along great! Mommy took me to get weighed yesterday, and I am already 8 lbs. Here are some things about me that you might find interesting.



Name: Keely Star Kline

Birthday: June 11, 2009

Likes: Mommy's milk, my swing, blankets, cuddling with Mommy and Daddy, visiting Mam and Pop, my cousins, aunts, and uncles, stylish clothing, music, and my pacifier

Dislikes: waiting at the doctor's office, taking my medicine, and having my diaper changed

What a week!

Man, it's been a strange and long week. There is much to tell, so I suppose I'll start at the beginning, which happens to fall on Tuesday of last week. It was 8:30 in the AM, and the phone rang. I happened to be up, because I'd just finished feeding Keely. Answered the phone. It's Keely's pediatrician's nurse, Reyna, who proceeds to tell me that Keely's PKU test she had in the hospital right after birth came back abnormal for thyroid. They want additional testing to make sure it was done right. After freaking out the whole way to the doctor's office, I got to visit with the doc at around 11:00. Dr. Stripling talked with me for a little bit, explaining that the test shows that her thyroid is not making enough of the hormone it produces. In short, her pituitary gland is telling the thyroid to produce more of the hormone, so it is working in overdrive to fill the demand. If it kept up at the pace it was going, her thyroid would eventually burn out completely. Think of it as diabetes but with an entirely different organ. He did manage to calm my nerves by saying that since they caught this early, she should be completely fine. It would mean a few visits to an endocrinologist and medication. Next, I took her down to the lab for the additional testing. I had to watch them stick my baby again; this time was one of the worst. They drew a full vial of blood from her arm. She was screaming, and I felt helpless. I wanted to cry with her. Poor, sweet baby. Mean lady sticking her with a needle in the arm. I mean, they'd pricked her heel twice within the week. Third time is not a charm. After waiting a day and a half for the results, Keely was diagnosed with Congenital Hypothryoidism. She's okay, really, but it could have ended up rather unfortunately, if they hadn't caught this condition at the beginning. So, this brings us to Wednesday. We got her prescription from the pharmacy the night before. The pharmacist recommended we wait until morning to give it to her. It came in a tablet form that had to be dissolved in 5 mL of H2O. Carl crushed the tablet, combined it with water, and tried to give it to her while I held her hands and head. She hated it! I mean, really hated it. I don't think babies like water anyway, but she really didn't like it with a semi-dissolved tablet in it. It took 10 minutes to get her to finish it. Carl and I agreed that we had to find another way to get her to take this stuff.

Luckily, Keely's 2 week appointment was scheduled for the following day. Carl took off work and came with me. The appointment was at 1:45, but it was literally 3:30 before we saw anyone. Carl's pretty impatient. He did not do well with the wait. It turns out that a different patient had appendicitis, so the situation could not be helped. The good points of the visit: 1. Keely now weighs 7 lbs. 2 oz., meaning that she has surpassed her birth weight. 2. Keely has grown 1/2 an inch since birth. 3. We found a new way to burp her that actually works most of the time. 4. The nurse hunted down a pharmacy that would compound the tablets into liquid form and mix them with grape flavoring. Keely actually likes this. 5. Keely's muscle tone is very good. Dr. Stripling said she is very strong already. The bad points of the visit: 1. They had to do another PKU test, where they pricked Keely's heel and filled those 6 circles. She cried pretty hard. 2. We didn't get out of there until nearly 4:30. Talk about a long wait! Imagine enduring that wait with a husband who needs to get back to work and a baby that had to wait an additional 45 minutes to eat. It was a long day, to say the least. At any rate, we did get to ask our questions and get some answers about this condition. Keely actually got a version of this medicine that she takes well, only I'm afraid it will take her body time to adjust to it. She's had an upset stomach for the past three days, since we started the medicine. It might not be a direct link, but I'm thinking it is. So, now we are at Friday. We had to take Keely to the hospital (doctor's orders) to get a thyroid scan. The procedure resembled an MRI, I guess. They wanted to figure out if her thyroid was fully developed and where it was exactly. With congential hypothryoidism, her thyroid either did not develop fully or developed in the wrong place. The purpose of the scan was to tell which it was. Our appointment was scheduled for 11:00, so we checked in around 10:30. They had to give her an IV in the hand in order to give her a minute dosage of radiation so they could see what was going on and some saline. Poor Keely had to get stuck yet again! It was horrible. Now, I have grown somewhat accustomed to have blood drawn due to all of my fertility treatments and being pregnant. But, I hated watching Keely have to go through all of it. Of course, she cried when they stuck her. I wanted to cry, too. The good points of this visit: 1. We'll get results and know where we go from here. We would really like to know what the next step is. 2. The pictures taken will go to the endocrinologist, and we'll get an appointment set up with him. The bad points: 1. We did not get out of there until after 2:00. Carl had to miss even more work, which he understandably complained a lot about. 2. We had to hold Keely completely still, while at an awkward angle to do so, during the photo session. Keely was not happy, but she finally fell asleep (and so did Carl and me) during the last shot. 3. We won't know results until Tuesday. Friday was a long day, too, to say the least.

So, yesterday, we gave Keely her medicine in the AM. She cried for about half of the day, acting like she just felt off. Carl and I were tired, too, but we mostly felt sorry for her. We would get her to calm down and doze off, but she would wake up as soon as we put her down, crying and crying. We held her most of the day, because of this. Even still, she was not very happy. It wasn't until we took her for a car ride and stroll around the mall that she slept for an extended amount of time. When we got home and took her out of the carrier, though, she woke up again and cried some more. She was having a rough time, and we didn't know what to do about it. I finally called my mom around 9:00 PM. By the time I got off the phone, though, Carl had her settled down, I fed her, and she slept, meaning that I could sleep. We slept on the couch until her next feeding at 1:00 ish. Carl went on to bed, while I fed her. Keely slept until her next feeding at 4:00 ish. She was awake after that feeding, so I didn't think she would let me get some sleep. I was wrong, though. I put her in her swing, and she fell asleep. She didn't wake up until 8:30. She's really a good baby. She just isn't used to all of this medicine and got worn out with the doctor's visits and long waits. Poor, sweet baby. It was as tough on Carl and me, if not tougher, as it was on her, though. So, for those of you who are praying people, send one up to the big man on Keely's behalf. Pray that she'll overcome this condition or at least adjust to the medicine. Faith moves mountains, and I am confident Keely will be just fine. Even still, a few more prayers for her would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy the pics.

Keely Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised. I've taken so many more, but these are a few of my favorites. These are from my camera, but I am sure there will be more to come from Carrie Tungate Photography soon. She designed the birth announcements we got last night and plan to send out soon. Those of you needing a pro photographer, keep my sister in mind.

A week ago today . . .

I gave birth to our daughter, Keely Star, at exactly 3:32 in the afternoon. I thought I would offer some highlights of the past week and share some of the latest photos I have of our sweet baby girl.

The first night we were home, Keely kept us up all night. Fortunately, Carl didn't have work the next day, which was Saturday; so despite being dragged down from a physical standpoint, the lack of sleep didn't affect us to the point of total inability to function. We figured out real quick that Keely loves to cuddle. She wanted us to hold her, and we did most of Saturday and Sunday--really, most of the week. I guess I like to cuddle with her, too. On Saturday, we realized that none of the clothes we had for Keely to wear fit her. She was born weighing 6 lbs. 13 oz., which is pretty small, given the fact that our last sono estimated her birth weight to be in the vicinity of 8 lbs. After little hesitation, I called my oldest sister, Amy, who lives just about 4 blocks from me, to stay with Keely, while Carl and I ran to Babies R Us to get the girl some clothes that fit, preemie size in other words. I wasn't supposed to drive due to the pain pills I was taking, and I did not trust Carl to pick out clothes on his own. We were only gone about 45 minutes. Amy was thrilled that I had asked her to do us this favor. We got two really cute outfits and some of those waterproof lap pads, spent pretty much all of the gift card we'd planned on saving for an emergency need-more-diapers-but-we're-broke run. Carl and I enjoyed the time alone and out of the house, since we had not left home or the hospital since being admitted the previous Tuesday. But, even though we enjoyed the time away, I ended up feeling super guilty that evening. Keely would not eat--we're breastfeeding--and she kept crying. I spent Saturday night up with her, trying to get her to nurse, and crying my eyes out because who leaves a three-day-old baby with a sitter to complete some mindless task and why wouldn't my baby girl eat, amongst being so tired and feeling the effects of post-partum blues. I decided to give her formula at that point, because I was afraid she would starve. This continued all through Sunday. I would try to nurse but end up giving her formula. I was so sad about it, too. It was a wishy-washy day. Carl didn't know what to do. I couldn't stop feeling the way I was feeling either. Between both of us, we were a wreck. Then comes Monday, the day of Keely's first doctor's appt. I tried to feed her prior to making the 8:30 visit with Dr. Stripling. She actually ate a tiny bit, but I still supplemented with formula, which she only took an ounce of. I left the diaper bag and everything else in the car and headed uo to the 5th floor with Keely in my arms. (I'm not supposed to carry anything over 10 lbs., since I had to have an episiotomy during delivery.) Lo and behold, I brought a starving baby to the appt. The office was freezing, and her blanket was in the car. She was screaming, and I had nothing with me besides the useless contents of my purse. The nurse came in to assess the situation, took Keely from me so I could finish filling out the mounds of paperwork needed, and even found her a bottle of the ready-made formula I'd been using so my little girl wouldn't go hungry. She fed her, while I expressed my concerns about breastfeeding. The lady made me feel a lot better and made sure to list nursing as one of my concerns for Dr. Stripling to address. When he came in, he was almost exactly the same as I remembered him being when I was a kid, only he was quite a bit older. He said Keely looked great, that he thought she was a pretty baby, had great muscle tone, even that he thought her cry was sort of cute, compared to some of the other cries he'd heard. He addressed all of my concerns and gave me the phone number to La Leche League, a group of "breastfeeding experts," according to him. After watching my daughter scream and wail during the PKU test, where they prick a heel and squeeze the blood out of it, I headed to my mom's because my Momo was due to arrive soon to see her newest great-grandchild. I spent the day there, called the number to LLL, and ended up getting some wonderful advice from Helen (of the league)that worked like a charm that afternoon. Keely breastfed for 20 minutes that time. I was relieved and happy. I decided to attend the monthly meeting of LLL the following morning, despite having success for most of the night. I gave in and gave Keely a bottle of formula during her 6 AM feeding, mostly because I was so exhausted. The meeting was at 10. I am so glad I attended, too, because I haven't had to give my baby a bottle since that 6 AM feeding. Helen helped a lot. Breastfeeding in front of people was almost a violation of my modesty, but I got over it because I wanted to help my baby girl get this down. And, I did. Yay for that! I even met another mom of a 6 week old that I thought I could be friends with. I didn't get her number or anything, but I plan to go to the next meeting in July, where I will likely see her. Even though we're getting the hang of things now, I still liked being able to connect with other moms and moms-to-be. Getting and giving advice were also perks of the meeting. Keely's had successful feedings since. That doesn't necessarily mean my darling hubby and I have gotten a good night's sleep, though. Keely sleeps better now that her tummy is full, but she still wakes up wanting to be held multiple times during the night. For instance, on Monday, I was so exhausted that I didn't know if I would make it. I was going off of 2 hrs. of sleep each night for the past 3 nights. I was drained. I also was trying to help Carl out by staying up with Keely during the night. He had to go back to work Monday, and I have the summer off. But, Monday night, I just couldn't do it. After feeding her and putting her down in the bassinet, my energy was shot. She woke up less than an hour later, crying for someone to pick her up. Carl woke me up, thinking I would do it, but no go. I just didn't have anything to offer. He got up instead and brought Keely to bed with him. She slept, while he watched a movie and tried his hardest not to doze off. When I woke up a couple of hours later, it was time for Carl to get ready for work. He told me that she was being so sweet and that it was okay I didn't get up with her. He was pretty tired Tuesday, though, which affected his temperament. At around 5 AM the following morning, I was trying to feed Keely, but she wouldn't wake up. I kept thinking she would wake up any minute, ready to eat, and I would just have to get up out of my comfy bed again and feed her. Rather than do that, I propped my feet up on the couch, got a few pillows, and held her. Of course, I dozed off, only to be awoken at 8 AM by Carl, who proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't hold Keely if I was going to fall asleep. Keely woke up 10 minutes later, ready to eat. I included those stories as precursors to last night, when something so sweet and adorable happened. I was feeding Keely at about 4 AM, and she made this sweet little cooing sound. I looked over at my sleeping-completely-out husband, and he was patting his chest the way he pats Keely when he's holding her. I tapped his hand, and he opened his eyes (still asleep, though). He said, "I need to put her down because I'm about to pass out." I said, "You mean I need to put her down." He responded by repeating what he'd said. I told him he didn't have her. He said, "I don't?" I said, "No, I have her." He rolled over then and was out. I thought it was adorable he was in DAD-mode even while sleeping. Thus, I want to end with some thoughts on what I've witnessed regarding my spouse since Keely's birth. When she was born, she cried and cried, as most babies do. Once they handed her to Carl, though, she stopped. He's gotten up with her at night, watched her while I went to bed two hours earlier than normal to catch up on sleep, changed diapers, and picked out clothes. He's kissed her and told her he loves her every time he leaves for work or puts her down for bed. He's sympathized and celebrated with me throughout the whole feeding debaucle. He even cried with me then. You never know how great your significant other can be until you see how he handles being a new dad. I am so thankful Carl's my significant other and the father of our sweet Keely. Even though our marriage has had some rocky spots, I will always think Keely and I both got lucky when God put Carl and me together.

Keely Star Kline

Okay . . . I finally broke away for a second to update everyone. After my doctor's appt. Tuesday morning, I was hopsitalized due to high blood pressure and other signs indicating pre-eclampsia. I had to be monitored all day Tuesday. Sweet Carl slept on the most uncomfortable couch in the room. We really didn't sleep at all that night. On Wednesday, they checked again to see if I had dilated any more, which I hadn't, so my OB gave the go ahead to start the induction process with Cervadil that night. Still being monitored like crazy. They had to draw blood, start an IV, check my vitals, and do Non-Stress-Tests periodically. After completion of the 24 hr. urine test, I was officially diagnosed with pre-e. Blah. Fortunately, my OB did not see this as an immediate need for a Cesarean. She told me she would probably have me take blood pressure meds after delivery and depending on how my blood pressure looked prior to starting the Cervadil, she would decide whether or not I needed to be on magnesium sulfate during or after the induction. She decided in the end that I didn't need it but did need the meds after delivery. More monitoring all day. Around 8, they wheeled us up to Labor and Delivery to start the Cervadil. They gave me some Ambien so I would sleep, and it helped a ton! I woke up at 6:15 Thurday AM when my water broke. It felt really weird, if I may say so. I woke Carl up and called for the nurse. She checked me and verified that it had broken but I had not dilated any more. Contractions started around 8 that morning, and they began Pitocin. They asked if I wanted an epidural, and I said no. More contractions. They increased and lengthened by 10. I thought I was dying. Another check. Cervix dilated to a 4, which was why I was feeling the contractions more. Carl was helping me remember my breathing techniques, which weren't helping me feel less. I was given Stadol, which made me sleepy but didn't relieve much of the pain. Carl's phone rang. My older sister told him to encourage me to get the epidural if he really thought I needed it. He thought I did. In my state of sleepiness, I told him to call the nurse and ask for an epidural. I gave in, but I didn't care. Those contractions hurt! The epidural didn't hurt, though. The nurse and anestesiologist teased me when I told them I had a fear of needles because they saw all of my tattoos. I fell asleep after that and didn't wake up until an hour and a half later. I was feeling pain on the right side of my body. Pain like the epidural didn't work on that side. More breathing. Nurse got worried because I thought I was dying again. I know . . . I'm dramatic. She called the anesthesiologist who put more meds in my IV. They also upped the dosage I was getting from my epidural. Still didn't help. By now, I was dilated to an 8. Another call to the anesthesiologist. Same thing. Upped dosage and gave more meds in my IV. Told me that if it didn't work this time, I was too far along to do anything about it. Fortunately, it worked. Dilated to a 10 within the hr. Started pushing at that point. I only had to push for about 30-45 minutes. Keely was born at 3:32 pm. She was hollering and hollering, but it was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard in my life. I was bawling as I held that little girl. I didn't want them to take her away to clean her up. Delivering the placenta sucked because my OB was pushing my stomach over and over to get it out. It was not a long process, though. Keely was still hollering. The second they handed her to Carl, though, she stopped. She knew her daddy. I told him all throughout my pregnancy that if he would talk to her, she would know him at birth. He did, and she did. Delivery went according to plan, aside from getting the epidural. Oh, and I had to have an episiotomy. They removed the catheter shortly after that, because I sort of lied and told them I could walk to the bathroom on my own. I mean, I could, but I was pretty wobbly. That catheter was so uncomfortable! I was monitored all through the night and next morning, but we got to go home Friday. Our first night home was tough because Keely was fussing all night. I don't regret losing sleep, though, because I got to bring my baby girl home. She's beautiful and healthy. We go to the pediatrician Monday at 8:30 for a weight and color check. I have to take blood pressure meds and can't drive for about 2 weeks. Other than that, I'm doing great, considering what I experienced. Carl and I are completely in love with Keely. Breastfeeding is hard, but I'm trying to hang in there. Oh, and Keely is so little that she has to wear preemie clothes. They are even a little big on her! It's absolutely adorable. Can you tell we're in love?

Waiting for Thursday

So, my induction is set for this Thursday, meaning that I will be a new mommy in three days or less. I'm still holding out for Keely to make her appearance on her own, but I'm not really thinking it will happen. Carl said he thinks we're going to have to force her out. We've been cleaning and organizing the house like crazy the past two weeks. It's really coming along. We got our carpet steam cleaned Friday, and we've been working on the rest of the house steadily since before that. I just want to bring Keely home to a nice, clean house. Not to mention, who knows when Carl and I will have time to thoroughly clean it again after her birth. We also spent some time cleaning out our cars, so they are ready for our baby girl, too. Not everything is done. We still need to clean the kitchen floor, sweep, mop, and organize the utility room--our biggest challenge--and mow our backyard. But, I think both of us would be fine if Keely came before we get those things done. Carrie came over this morning to help me finish the nursery. I wanted to move some of the things hanging on Keely's walls and needed an outside perspective. So, as of about 11 this morning, Keely's nursery is completely done. Well, I guess we technically have 4 things to hang, but we know exactly where they are going. I'm just waiting on Carl to take a break from his alternate World of Warcraft universe so he can put them up. For those of you who didn't know, I am married to a computer nerd who plays World of Warcraft like it's the best thing ever invented. I actually don't mind so much. I just like to tease him because it's funny. Anyway, I'll have to post pics of the finished product, soon to be the room of our little girl, once they are taken. I'll get around to it eventually. Maybe tomorrow. For now, I thought ya'll might enjoy more pics from the Carrie Tungate Collection--pics that will likely be the last maternity photos taken before my daughter gets here.







For those of you who are praying people, please send one up to the big man on our behalf Thursday. Look for pics of Baby Keely Star Kline sometime in the very near future.