Sweeties in Sunglasses

Calli is thinking she's a rockstar
Calli and Brooklyn in their matching sunglasses :)

Calli & Lexi Comparison

This is a picture of me the day I came home from the hospital. I was 8lbs 15oz when I was born.


And here is Calli in the same outfit I wore home from the hospital 27 1/2 years ago. She fills it out a little more, but then again she is almost 2 months old now and probably weighs over 10 lbs!

Calli and Friends

As you may know from a several posts back, I had numerous friends who were pregnant while I was. So here are some pictures of Calli and her friends.

With Brooklyn, who is exactly 2 weeks younger than Calli:




With Riley and Jayden...all wearing bibs with my company logo, but I removed that for privacy reasons. Riley is about 2 months older and Jayden is a little over a month older than Calli.



And here is one of our first pictures of Calli smiling on purpose...it is a little blurry but it is the only one I've got!

And now for a couple of video's:

First Family pictures!

Well this is officially my last week off with my baby girl. I start work again on Monday. In a way I am ready to get back to work, but I will miss my precious time with my sweet little girl. So, since it is my last week home, I FINALLY convinced Chris to to shave off his nasty mustache and cut his overgrown hair...so we could get family pictures and Calli's 1 month old pictures. There were several good ones and many not so good ones, but we only chose 3 poses to purchase. Here are the results:

The last 3 poses are the ones that we ordered.

I cannot believe that she is already a month old! Crazy how fast time flies. She truly is a blessing from God and we love her so much! :)

UPDATE: I went back to the doctor today, and did not receive a pathology report. I did talk to the office manager (who handles all the medical records) and she had trouble accessing the hospital files and put a call in to the doctor who actually did the surgery. I forgot to mention that in my birth story...my doctor was also pregnant with her first child (a girl) the same time as me and actually delivered her baby girl on the 16th of October, 10 days before I delivered Calli, so I got the doctor who was filling in for her at the time. This was also a disguised blessing, for I am told that the doctor who delivered Calli is actually the best (OBGYN) surgeon at the hospital. Lucky me. Not that my doctor isn't qualified, I am sure she is wonderful. So that also I believe has added to the confusion of me receiving my results on the cyst. The Office Manager assured me that she would get the results and call me. I will let you all know when I find out.

Tough Day

That is somewhat of an understatement of a title to describe the day that Calli entered this world, but that is the best I got. Her birth story goes like this:


Sunday night my mother-in-law came into town to be here when our precious wonder arrived and so to preoccupy my time from over-thinking the upcoming day of being induced into labor we watched the Proposal before bed. Well my MIL is somewhat of a night owl and I had no urge to sleep seeing as how I would get to meet my daughter the next day and I was full of nervousness, excitement, fear, etc. We stayed up chatting in the living room until about 1:15AM and that is when I decided that I needed to go get in the shower and get ready for bed, since I had to be at the hospital at 5AM for my "appointment".


I get in the shower around 1:30 and by the time I get out around 2AM, I realize I am having contractions. Consistent and painful and breathtaking -- not necessarily in a good way. I attempt to sleep through them (which by the way did not work), but I got NO SLEEP. Chris wakes up early to hear my labored breathing and realizes that I am in labor and wonders why I did not wake him up. I calmly explain that we are supposed to be at the hospital at 5 anyways, whats the rush? He is ready to leave immediately, but I choose to endure the pain and get my make up on and my hair fixed. I knew that several photos would be taken of me this day and I did not want to look hideous.


We arrive at the hospital at 5AM and check in, they put me in a room and explain to me that the doctor that ordered for me to be induced left no "orders" as to what they were to do with me when I got there...great. They didn't even bother to ask if I was in active labor and I guess I forgot to mention that to them. I get all dressed in the lovely hospital gown and lay down on the bed and continue my painful breathing. I can hear the nurses chatting it up out in the hallway and laughing all the while. Chris finally decides to let them know that I am in pain. The nurse comes in and says "honey, are you having contractions?" I respond "yes", "well, when did they start?" "2AM" "why didn't you say anything, we need to check you!" So she checks me and guess what? I am in active labor, already dilated to a 4. So she states that they may not have to induce. I find this somewhat of a relief at that point, but this is the first thing that didn't go as planned.


Finally the doctor gets there around 7AM, he checks me and I am between a 6-7 by that point, ready to go, he sees no need to induce. I am still in a lot of pain and trying really hard to breathe, I forgot to mention, I threw up earlier, who knows what time, but that is a tid bit I am sure you are glad you know now.


I am attempting to decide if I want an epidural. They scare me, I wasn't sure I wanted one, but I was really hurting and the nurse talked me through my fears so I decided to get one before the anesthesiologist got involved in a c-section and I wouldn't be able to get one for another hour and a half! I would have to say "THANK YOU GOD" for the epidural...I needed it. I relaxed after that point. I could no longer feel the horrendous contractions and Chris and I were able to enjoy this part of my labor. The doctor and nurse kept a close eye on me and I progressed to a 8-9, fully effaced by noonish, but she wasn't dropping into the birth canal. The doctor explained that he could break my water, but that he was afraid her umbilical cord would come out first and cut off her life line, so he opted not to. He said he would check me again in an hour and if she hasn't dropped, he would be doing a c-section.


I was tired, stressed and fully ready at 40 weeks to have my baby in my arms, rather than in my belly. But I still wasn't too thrilled with the idea of a c-section.


A little before 1 he came back in, checked me again and decided that she was not going to enter my birth canal because my pelvis is too small for her to pass through. So prepare for a c-section! Second thing that didn't go as planned...


I was scared, but ready to meet my baby girl, so the show must go on! Chris got all prepped and dressed for the operating room, I was wheeled in there first and prepped for surgery. They start cutting me open before Chris gets in the room and I am afraid that he will not get in there before they get her out, because they seem to be moving rather quickly. I can smell my burning flesh (yuck) and feel them cutting me and then feel them pulling my organs out. In case you did not know that, during a c-section they do in fact remove your uterus from your body to get your child out. I feel them moving things around, it doesn't hurt, it is just weird that I can feel it all. The doctor and surgery assistants (I have no idea what to call them) are chatting away about their weekend and their upcoming plans.


Chris comes in, I hear her cry and cry, but cannot see her. I instructed Chris that his job was to photograph her first few moments in this world and he did a good job. Here are a few shots of her:


Crying baby girl:

Chris getting to hold her for the first time:

Showing her off in the nursery to the family:

Her very excited visitors getting to see her for the first time:

I finally get to see her after what seems like an eternity. She is cute, but swollen looking -- and big!

This is when I get another surprise. The doctor then shows Chris all of my female organs, explaining what a normal ovary looks like and how my right one has a giant cyst on it and needs to be removed. Would I like him to remove that while he is in there?? Um...what am I supposed to say to this...yes! I do not want to have surgery again anytime soon, thank you, so go ahead and remove the sucker. The nurse explains it is the biggest cyst she has seen in a long time...thank you, that is reassuring...my mind is whirling but attempting to stay calm. I hear them tell Chris while they are discussing the cyst that we may want to get pregnant again soon...also not something I needed to hear at this moment in time. They proceed to remove my right ovary and fallopian tube while Chris goes to the nursery with Calli. They remove it, the nurse shows it to me, it was about the size of a softball. Hard to imagine that being inside me and not feeling any pain from it...although I was pregnant and attributed a lot of my pain to that, so who knows if I felt it or not.

I have not heard anything regarding the cyst...the pathology report had not come in the last time I was at the doctor. I called them about it and left a message, but have not heard back.

I had a very rough day the day my adorable daughter was born. I would not trade her for anything, mind you, but I kind of wish the process when a little smoother. My MIL explains that it was the hand of God that allowed me to have a c-section so that the doctor would discover the cyst and remove it too. And, now, after the emotionally and physically tiring day that I had, now that I can think more clearly, I believe that it was God who allowed things to go the way that they did to protect me from any further complications. Praise the Lord for knowing the full picture and taking care of me and my little girl.

So I was working off of no sleep, a crazy surgery, very emotionally drained and had a fever before the evening was over, I thought I was seriously sick, but it turns out I was recovering fine. I still cried and do still when I talk about the cyst, so I don't really care to discuss this issue face to face anytime soon, I am still trying to wrap my head around it, so prayers would be appreciated. Sometimes I feel like I am an emotional crazy person, crying randomly, but I am told this is also normal after having a baby.

Thanks for reading my extremely lengthy story of Calli's birth. I am tired now and need to take a shower before my precious little girl wakes up again and decides she is hungry...

Here is one of me getting to hold her for the first time in the recovery room:
As you can tell...my hair and make up didn't really last through the emotions and crazy pain very well :)

Cousin Love

Calli is loved by all her cousins, they all waited so long for her to get here. Here are some photo's.

Taylor and Calli:


Atlee and Calli:

Mia was so glad that I no longer have a baby in my belly so she can sit on my lap again...that is actually what she said before she got up on the recliner with me:

Jules and Calli:

Calli Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our first week home with our precious little girl:

In her Halloween Outfit:

A picture with her eyes open:

Chris introducing Calli to the dogs:

Spencer and Kalani sniffing her from the opposite side of the gate:

Daddy's little girl:

We have our girl!

Calli Alayna was born on Monday, October 26 at 1:14 PM, she was 8lbs 7oz and 19.5" long.

Nothing about that day went as planned. Someday I will tell the story of my eventful day, but for now I will just say she is perfect and beautiful and we love her so much :)

The end is near!

39 Weeks:

I have been on bed rest for my 4th day now and let me tell you it is EXTREMELY BORING. I feel for those people who remain on bed rest for weeks or months even. I would go insane, I just know it. I am used to working 40+ hours a week. I enjoy my job, I like working, and I don't think I could handle being at home all day every day, especially by myself, laying on the couch not allowed to do anything...

I had an emotional breakdown last night. I am tired of being pregnant. I am 40 weeks now and
I have reached my limit of holding my miracle of a baby inside of me and I want her out. I want to look at her, hold her and take pictures of her rather than my large belly. I wish she would come naturally, but it doesn't appear that is going to happen. I am scheduled to be induced tomorrow morning. I don't really know how to feel. I am frustrated that my body won't let this happen naturally but at the same time I am excited to meet her no matter how it comes into place. Telling me things like "oh this is an indication that she is going to be a stubborn one" is really not helpful right now. I feel like you are cursing me to have a rotten child. I don't enjoy this.

Sorry this is not the most upbeat blog. I am not in the best of spirits at the moment. I just feel like crying really and I have done a lot of that already, so it is time to move on.

I am going to prepare myself to meet my baby girl tomorrow, you know by painting my nails...because that is super important. Call me crazy, but I have to have SOMETHING to occupy my time. And why not attempt to make myself look pretty?

Here is a picture of Mia, Jules and I last Monday. The girls are so excited to meet their new cousin, it is really sweet. They were all up in my business, but I don't mind, because they are some of my favorite people. Sorry for the cleavage shot...it really was not intentional. Connie was trying to get a cute picture and it took about 30 shots to get this one. The girls were more interested in watching tv (Mia) or being crazy (Jules).

The next post you will see should hopefully be pictures of miss Calli...

Shower Pics Part 2

Here are a few more pictures:


Here is the aftermath of the shower at my house:

At the church shower:

One at a time...

One

At

A

Time

Yes...that is exactly how many photos it allowed me to add...so this is what you get for now. I am tired and this is entirely too time consuming. So here are the 3 you get for now.

Me and my wonderful friend Kari...comparing bellies again.

Calli's room

The table at my shower

Trying again

with no luck...tried for the second time now to upload pictures from my baby showers. Stinking blogger!

I will try again another time.

And to those of you who might be wondering:

Yes, I am still pregnant...STILL!

Swollen
Heartburn
Cannot bend over
Heavy belly
Easily winded
Tired
Not sleeping well
Waiting...just waiting to meet our little girl.

35 Weeks & Uncomfortable

Destructive Dogs

Cone Head

This is Mr. Kalani in his cone...so sad, yet SO necessary! (And a little amusing.) This dog is a major licker and he is not supposed to lick his wounds. He has no peripheral vision with this thing on and majorly runs into stuff, knocks things over and scratches you up trying to get to you. All in all I find the cone very annoying, and so does he. We tried to take it off of him after 7 days (the vet said to wear it 7-10 days) because his surgery site looked pretty good. Well after we got home that day he apparently had nursed his wound all day and made it bright pink and puffy again. So the cone went back on and he was covered in neosporin to try to counteract his crazy licking abilities. So thus we are here at day 10, the site will be examined again and we will see if he is ready to have it taken off for good! I know I am ready! I am tired of being beat up by it!

31 Weeks

Dog update

Because I am sure everyone cares about me and my canine buddies...

• Kalani now eats faster than Spencer...who ever thought that would be possible? Not me! Spencer inhales his food in 20 seconds flat...and now we have Kalani who does it in 18 seconds flat! I didn't actually time them, but I am sure it is close to this number (hahaha).
• Kalani no longer requires "wet" dog food to eat. The food he inhales is in fact dry and he apparently loves it.
• Spencer I think has allergies...we tried a new food which sent him on sneezing spells. So if anyone out there would like a practically full bag of Eukanuba Dog food designed specifically for Daschund's and Corgi's, please let me know and I will give it to you. We had planned to put him on the same food as Kalani anyways, so they now eat some type of all natural BLUE dog food.
• Kalani's teeth are still gross, in spite of my attempts to brush them...ugh.
• Kalani goes in to get neutered today...we shall see how he handles this.
• I have no idea how old Kalani is or what type of dog he is...I plan to find this out soon when I take him to the vet to get his stitches removed.
• Kalani is no longer timid, but is now crazy hyper excited a lot. He loves to jump on you. But rather than jumping like Spencer who flails his entire body, completely suspended in the air, body-slamming you each and every time...Kalani just sits his front feet on you, holding his own weight on his hind legs. He got my white shirt dirty with two muddy paws the other day and I was not very happy. But I still love them both, they just need to learn my rule of no jumping! It scares the kiddos.
• Spencer is doing well with this transition and has proven to be his normal sweet self that sometimes gets an ornery streak. He still remembers that he must sit before receiving his food and is very good and posed during "dinner time". Kalani on the other hand looks like he is having a seizure every time we go to feed him...his rear wiggles uncontrollably and his face shakes so fast he looks semi-possessed! It is the weirdest thing I have ever seen!

Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know that my boys are doing well and getting along. They are both used to us now and this arrangement and are thriving. Besides their covert operation the other day to take out one of my rose bushes, they have been very good.

Defective

This is the culprit...I bought it today at Sam's:



















This is what happened:

You may not be able to tell but about half of the rug is saturated with Snuggle in the picture above, below you see how it goes under the washer and out from the sides.

The container used to have 150 oz of snuggle...now it probably has about 60...rough guess. Who knew I would pick up a container with a defective spout?

Well now I have attempted to clean, my VERY fresh smelling laundry room, only to create a floor that is slicker than snot (sorry for the icky comparison) and still not sure I got all of the snuggle out from UNDERNEATH the washing machine. I cannot move the washer/dryer stackable combo, so I suppose it will remain a mystery until Chris decides to one day move them when he gets around to tiling the floor in there.

I want to take it back, but I don't know if it is worth it. I am frustrated and tired and have swollen ankles and a big belly that made it very difficult to get down on all fours to clean this mess up.

I believe it has permanently stained a blue streak down the front of my washer and dryer too. Fun.

And to top it all off, Chris called in sick to work today because he has kidney stones, AGAIN.

Pray that we will have better luck on Sunday.

FINALLY

I finally got my car back! Just thought I would let you know...I know you were concerned. Hopefully they fixed it for good this time. I could go a long time before I see them again.

29 weeks

So here I am at 29 weeks. I didn't like the picture so I played with it in photoshop and this is the "carved" version of the picture which looks better than the original (haha). And the other two are of my belly that I took the other day while in the back yard (also played with in photoshop).