One month!?!

It is so hard for me to believe that one month ago (yesterday) my sweet baby girl was making her grand entrance into the world. 

How is it possible that she is a month old? 

She is so stinkin' cute I can't get enough of her!

Today is SO hot, well at least for Seattle standards and compared to the weather we have been having lately! It's crazy that we went from being bundled up on the 4th to burning up just like that! Poor Brooklynn is having a hard time dealing with the heat. I took her onesie of her this morning and decided that there was no way I was putting clothes on her today. So she has spent all day in just her diaper!

I put her down for a nap in her bassinet in our bedroom and when she woke up she was burning up! 

No naps in the bedroom today!

It is way cooler to be in the living room on the couch where the fan can hit her!

 The heat must be way too much for her because she has spent most of yesterday and today sleeping. She wakes up long enough to eat for only about 10 minutes before she passes out again! 

Poor little thing!

 I hate hot weather but I really hope, for Brooklynn's sake, that we cool down a little bit really soon!

She's so miserable she will sleep anywhere and in any position!

So close to smiling!

4th of July Weekend

Anyone besides me think that it doesn't really feel like the 4th of July when it's on Sunday?

It was weird watching fireworks as we drove home last night. I was like, "Oh yeah, it's the 4th!"

So because of it being Sunday our 4th was pretty low-key, which it probably would have been anyways since I'm still not too keen on doing to much with our little one.

Somehow I managed to go the whole day without taking any pictures, which really is unfortunate because my mom made Brooklynn the cutest little 4th of July dress. I guess that means I'll just have to put it on her again and take a picture later! Anyways, our celebration started with a BBQ at our house with Eric's brother and sister and their families. It's always fun to have the cousins get together (even if 2 of them are way too young to interact with the others)! Best part of the BBQ? Homemade ice cream! Homemade ice cream is the best and pretty much brings a happy ending to any get together! In fact, when I was growing up homemade ice cream was the only time that I would eat vanilla! 

After our BBQ we went over to the Olson's to see my family and show off Brooklynn (that seriously was my motivation for going....I think everyone needs the pleasure of meeting my little beauty!). So we enjoyed the company there and had a wonderful "FHE" lesson before we got to enjoy some fireworks. Fortunately for us, it was a good night for Brooklynn. She's been getting fussy in the evenings, but not yesterday! (Probably because she would only take cat naps after church so she was wiped out and slept the whole time!).

Today we went on a hike with Eric's brother and sister. It was supposed to be a pretty easy kid-friendly hike that Eric's sister found in a book she has of hikes for kids. Well, Eric has a day hike book and while the hikes had the same name in both books they were not the same in difficulty level. The hike we ended up on had huge inclines and was way more than I bargained for. And now, a few hours after being done, I think it was way more than I should have done considering it's only been 4 weeks since my c-section. We're a little sore tonight! Live and learn right?!

It is so hard to believe that our baby girl is 4 weeks old today! Time is flying by so fast. I swear when we woke up this morning she looked different to me and she is starting to lose the infant look. For the last few weeks she has been a really good sleeper, which I am grateful beyond words for! She will normally go down anywhere between 10:00 and 11:00 pm and then, depending on her last feeding will be up some time between 2:00 and 3:30 and then again sometime between 5:30 and 7:00. Maybe she'll be sleeping through the night soon! Brooklynn is such an alert baby and when she is awake she loves to take everything in. And I feel like she is more becoming more aware of people around her. She is beginning to follow people as they go by and sometimes when you talk to her (but you are out of luck if she has found a good corner to stare into to!) She is a very complacent baby and will just sit there and stare (although that doesn't always last very long if she's not being held by someone). I have always been amazed by her strength. From the day that she was born she has been so strong! When we went to our first doctor's appointment she was on her stomach being checked out and practically doing push ups! It's always fun to try to burp her on your shoulder because she usually doesn't want her head to be resting. She will hold her head up for up to 30 seconds! The weird thing is that she really only is interested in lifting her head when she is on your chest or shoulder, she's not so much interested in that when she is having tummy time! She can also be a pretty stiff baby. She will go so rigid sometimes and it is impossible to move any of her body parts, which is especially fun if you are trying to change her or when I'm trying to feed her! I am constantly amazed by her and I am so excited for this next stage of development. Bring on the cooing, the increase alertness and awareness and definitely bring on the smiles (I think they are close)!

Brooklynn's Photo Shoot

So last Thursday we went over to my friend Sara's house to have Brooklynn's picture taken.

Sara just started a photography business with some friends and they had new equipment that they wanted to get some practice with. Fortunately for them Brooklynn was a willing participant to model....well she wasn't always a willing participant, but she did really well considering we were there during one of her feeding times.

When I first saw the pictures my heart melted. They captured our little girl so beautifully that I fell in love with her all over again! She truly is so precious and her little personality shines through the photos so well.

Check out some of the best shots of our little one.

I am totally in love with their work and would recommend 35th Place Photography to anyone looking for a photographer!

Thanks Sara and Tiffany for capturing such perfect photos of our perfect little girl!!

And then there was three!

Life sure gets crazy rather quickly, doesn't it!?!? 

My baby girl is 3 weeks old! 

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by and I also can't believe that despite being home all day I haven't found the time to blog in the last 2 weeks! (I guess I'll just make up for that by putting up a bunch of pictures from her last 2 weeks of life). But we are getting into more of a schedule, so hopefully it will get better and I will have a little more time to get things done!

Sleeping with Grandma Perkins her first day at home

The last two weeks have been quite the experience for us, as is expected for having a newborn! 

When we came home from the hospital I still had VERY limited mobility due to my incisions and there was only one seat in the house that I was able to sit in! Our couches were too deep for me to be able to get in and out of so the only place I could sit was our brand new glider chair, which thankfully arrived while we were in the hospital and my dad put together for us before we got home. I don't know what I would have done without that chair the first few days! That chair even became my "bed" for the first 3 nights as I quickly found out that it was too hard for me to get in/out of bed and prop myself up to feed Brooklynn. So out to the living room I went with Brooklynn (I needed her close to me...especially since Eric isn't the easiest to wake up). 

Brooklynn had a rough first few nights herself. We actually made our first midnight trip to the pharmacy our first night home. Brooklynn had really bad gas and we could not get her to calm down so we were in desperate need of some mylicon! It was actually pretty hard to get her to go to sleep and stay asleep if we set her down so I ended up spending most of those first nights with her sleeping on the boppy in my lap! Suffice it to say that I was not getting much sleep at all! 

In addition to sleeping troubles Brooklynn decided that she no longer wanted to latch on, so the only way we could get her to eat was to finger feed her with a syringe. We actually had our first doctors appointment the Saturday after she was born and she had lost another 3 ounces since coming home! Fortunately we got that all worked out and when we went in for a weight check the next Monday she was back up to 8 pounds (when she eats, she eats!).

 My mom came to our rescue a few times to  help us get some sleep. She made me a bed on the chaise of our couch, which was much nicer than sleeping in a chair! I felt like I was actually getting a full nights sleep when she was here! Fortunately, it didn't take too long for us to get Brooklynn to sleep better and not be up so much at night. And after being home for a week I was able to sleep in our bed! Man was that nice!!

Those first few days seem like just a memory now (that's how it works right?). Brooklynn has worked herself into a schedule and has turned into a really good sleeper (knock on wood). I am blessed to have a baby who only wakes up once for a night feeding, usually anywhere from 2:30-3:30 and then she wakes up again normally around 6:00-6:30. It is so nice to be able to get some sleep! She truly is an amazing baby and I just can’t get enough of her!!

Brooklynn has had quite the exciting times the last few days.

Last Thursday she got to model for our friend who just started a photography business and they wanted to try out some new equipment. Oh my goodness! The pictures are absolutely amazing and seriously made me fall in love with her all over again! Seriously, could I have a cuter baby?!?!

Then on Saturday Brooklynn took her first car trip. We went to Wapato for the night so that we could be at cousin Chloe’s baby blessing in Ellensburg the next day. Brooklynn did really well in the car, she slept most of the way there and home!

I would say all in all we have adjusted well to being a family of 3.

 It's hard for Eric to be away from her during the day, especially after being home with us for the first 2 weeks, but he gets his daddy-daughter time with her when he gets home. In fact, it's almost impossible to get her away from him! I absolutely love watching him with her! He is so loving and cute with her, I am really enjoying this side of him.


Some more pictures, just because I can:

Our Hospital Stay

So we ended up staying in the Hospital until Wednesday afternoon (good thing they had on demand movies and internet!), although looking back I sort of wish that we had decided to stay one more night. 

I pretty much was bed ridden for the first 12 hours after Brooklynn was born, I think mostly due to the fact that my legs were still numb and so I wouldn't have been able to walk anyways!

 Our night nurse that night was absolutely amazing! She was extremely helpful in getting me and Brooklynn on the same page and able to nurse. The first time she got me out of bed was definitely painful! I had to roll onto my stomach and then sit up while simultaneously lowering my legs to the floor. Every move I made seemed to pull at my incisions! Getting back into bed was just as hard and I couldn't bring my legs up by myself (good thing I have an amazing husband who was always right there to help me when I needed him). 

Since it was extremely hard and took me quite a while to get in/out bed Eric was on Brooklynn duty. He changed her diapers, brought her to me when she needed to nurse and calmed her when she was upset. It was pretty amazing to see him take to his new roll so naturally. He was so good with her and was so amazing at getting her to calm down. I am so happy that he was able to have this time to bond with her, even if it was hard for me to not be able to do anything but lay in bed. 

Eric is such an amazing father and you can see the love that he has for his little girl. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and such an amazing father for my children! 

I love you Eric!!

Here are some pictures of Brooklynn's first days:

Minutes after being born. Eric said she was calm and peaceful and then he would point the camera at her and he would get this face!

What a big girl!

First bath...

....not enjoying it too much!

Daddy's little girl!

Still trying to help her with her sucking, plus it had a calming effect on her!

 

Her favorite sleep position, which I started calling the frog position. She loves to have her hands up by her head and her knees dropped to either side.

A GRAND ARRIVAL

Brooklynn Elizabeth Compton

June 7, 2010

9:32 AM

8 lbs 7 oz 20 in

I’m thinking that Brooklynn has her Dad’s flair for drama!

She sure had to make a grand entrance!

On Sunday the 6th I woke up at 2:20 am to go to the bathroom and my water started leaking. It wasn’t a full break and I wasn’t having contractions, so I went back to bed thinking that contractions would start soon and we would be on our way. But contractions never really started. I awoke for bathroom breaks at 4:45, 5:45, and 6:45 and each time I sat down my water leaked a little bit more. I woke Eric up at 5:00 to tell him what was going on and that I wasn’t sure what we should do. We decided that we would wait and see what was going to happen and if no contractions started by 8:00 we would call the doctor to see what we should do. I thought for sure that if my water was broken that contractions would have already started or would soon be on the way, I was so confused!

I ended up calling the doctor at 7:45 and she said that we should head into the hospital to get checked out. So we brushed our teeth and got in the car wondering if this would be the day our little girl would come. We got to the hospital a little after 8:00 am and just as the front desk was being told we were on our way in. We went into triage and got hooked up to the monitors where we once again heard how happy our baby is and waited for the doctor to come check me out. The doctor finally came in around 10:00 and confirmed that my water had ruptured and that since I wasn’t contracting they were going to induce me, which is definitely not something that I had planned on happening!

When we got into our birthing room and hooked up to everything there the nurse said that she was picking up contractions 2-3 min apart (but I still wasn’t really feeling them) and because of that she wasn’t sure if we would be able to induce. So she called the doctor to see what she said. When the nurse came back she told us that we were being sent out to walk to see if we could get things moving along. So we walked around for about an hour. When we got back the nurse told us that the contractions were still too weak, so we were back on the inducing track. So she hooked me up to the IV and started the Pitocin at about 12:30 and we geared up for the long road ahead of us! I had already been wishing that I had eaten more than one muffin while I was waiting for the doctor to return my call that morning, so now I was hoping the Pitocin would work it’s magic and I would be able to have some dinner…here’s to wishful thinking!!

The Pitocin slowly worked it’s magic. I felt some contractions, but nothing too strong or painful until about 8:30. The doctor checked me sometime around this time and we were only at 3 cm! I couldn’t believe that we had been on Pitocin for 8 hours and I had only dilated 1 cm more than I was at my last appointment! Our next check was going to be around midnight and I was finally realizing that we weren’t going to see our baby girl anytime soon. Now I was REALLY wishing I had eaten something more than a muffin before we headed into the hospital. I was STARVING!!!! The contractions continued to get stronger and more and more painful and I was having a harder and harder time dealing with the pain. My parents had been in and out all day long and they came back around 10:00, just in time to join the fun! At one point my mom was holding my hand and the pain was so bad I told her that I wanted it to go away. It wasn’t long after that I decided that I needed an epidural or there was no way I was going to make it through the night or the delivery. I should probably mention that Eric had been so amazing during this entire process, he held my hand did all that he could to comfort me. He knew that I wanted to try to have Brooklynn without having an epidural, and when I told him that I wanted one he got on the phone right away to call the nurse. Getting the epidural was quite the experience when my contractions were so hard and intense and it was so hard for me to sit still through them. Oh the sweet relief! Once the epidural was in and the medicine kicked in I was out almost immediately.

At Midnight I had dilated to 5 cm! Progress! The nurse had to come in to wake me up every hour to 1 ½ hours so that I could switch sides I was sleeping on and the medicine would distribute properly, but despite that I was able to sleep peacefully and I was so glad not to be feeling the contractions all night long. At some point in the night my blood pressure started dropping and it was not making Brooklynn happy, so the nurse had to come in and give me medicine and she put me on oxygen for awhile. The doctor came back at 4:45 am and we were almost completely dilated she estimated that I would be fully dilated in 1 hour. Sure enough, she came back at 5:45 and informed the nurse that we could start pushing, which we did a little before 6:00. We called my mom once the doctor told us we were going to push and she arrived just a little bit after we had started.

We pushed for 3 hours, which amazingly went by extremely fast, and weren’t really making any progress in getting Brooklynn out. A little before 9:00 the doctor (our second “on-call” doctor since being in the hospital) came in to see how things were going and she wasn’t too happy with the progress, or lack thereof, that had been made. She told us that they generally don’t like to go longer than 3 hours pushing on a first baby as it can cause complications. She gave us two options: she could try to use the vacuum or we could have a c-section. She told us that she was not confident that the vacuum would be successful and she recommended that we go with the cesarean. I definitely wanted to do what was best for Brooklynn, and as much as I didn’t want to I knew that we needed to do the cesarean.

Within 10 minutes we were in the operating room and things were getting going. Brooklynn had pooped during labor, so they also had the NICU nurses in the room to make sure that everything was ok when she came out. I was so glad that Eric was with me the whole time, I couldn’t imagine going through the cesarean without him. Apparently Brooklynn had wedged herself in pretty good while I was pushing because the doctor couldn’t just pull her out. One of the nurses had to push her from below as the doctor was pulling so that they could actually get her out. But at 9:32 am, about 25 hours after we arrived at the hospital, our baby girl was born!

   

Her first cries were the sweetest sounds I have ever heard and I couldn’t wait to see her! It was so hard to not be able to see her right away and I extremely emotional because her birth had not gone in any way how I would have chosen, but every moment was worth it when they brought her over for me to see her. She was so beautiful! And she looked so much like Eric. I couldn’t believe that that perfect little angel was mine.

I can't believe that she is already 1 week old!!

40 weeks?!?!?!

40 Weeks?!?!? Seriously?

Yup, today is our due date and not much has been happening at all! In fact, more stuff was happening last week than this week. I have been feeling great all week and possibly better than I have the last few months. What gives?

I was really hoping to be able to avoid my 40 week checkup, but no good. So this morning I had an ultrasound and an NST. Everything looked good, in fact the Doctor said Brooklynn was the happiest baby she has seen in awhile. Apparently she is so happy that she just doesn't want to come out and meet the world! If she doesn't decide to come out in the next few days I get to go back on Monday and do it all again!

The weather hasn't been all that great lately, so even though I have been wanting to get out and walk it's been too gross to do that. Yesterday I decided that I would go walk around the mall, which I did for 2 hours. And today was way nicer, weather-wise, so I got outside and walked for an hour. I'm really hoping that my walking excursions will help convince Brooklynn that it is time for her to come!!

Here's hoping.....