Newborn/Family Photos

While I was on maternity leave, we decided to have some family photos taken to celebrate our new family of 4.  It was intended to be Jenna's newborn pictures, so most of the pics are of her.  But she was already one month old when these were taken, so no real sleepy baby shots.  Oh well.  I'm in the process of getting caught up on my blogging and thought I would share a few...

As I look back on these, I realize just how dark her hair was when she was born.....and how much of it has fallen out.  She's practically bald now.  LOL!

Art Night

I started this blog post about 6 weeks ago, and never posted it.  Oppps!  :-\

Katie's preschool has a Spaghetti Dinner/Art Night fundraiser each year.  It is a chance for the kids to make/display/show-off some special art projects which they have made during the year.  They also decorate their room and show it off as a surprise to parents on Art Night.

Uncle Mike was visiting and we were able to leave Jenna at home with him.  This was a wonderful chance for us to give Katie our full and undivided attention for a couple hours.  She hasn't been the soul focus of the house as much lately, and I wanted to give her a full night in the spot light.  Thanks again Uncle Mike!!!

Before we left, Katie looked at me and said "Mommy, I think we should get dressed up for this special night!"  And so we did.  It was the first time since Jenna's birth that I'd gonna dressed up for anything.  :-)

Here is Katie giving one of her teachers a big hug.  We are so going to miss First Presbyterian and all her wonderful teachers and administrators!!

Jenna - 1 Month Old

Jenna recently had her 1 month well baby check up.  Below are some of the statistics from her appointment and generally what she was up to at the 1 month mark.

Weight:  9 lbs. 3 oz.
Height:   21 1/2 inches

• Jenna gave us her first "social" smile at 3 weeks
• She slept as much as 5 hours straight during the 1st month
• She usually woke at 1 AM and 4 AM for eating
• She usually was awake between 6 and 7 AM --- ready to start the day
• She is on absolutely NO schedule

Jenna's first month went rather smoothly.  She fusses when she is hungry, tired, wet, or has the hiccups.  Otherwise, she is a pretty calm baby.  Just putting that into print makes me nervous....like I'm going to jinx myself or something.

A few firsts...

This posts is for a few of Jenna's firsts.   Her first bath and her first bottle.  And one of her first smiles caught on camera.  Her first bath went as expected --- she cried the ENTIRE time.  Fortunately, she now really likes the bath.  In fact, the girls do bath time together and its one of my favorite parts of the day.  I'm not sure if I really enjoy the bath time, or the fact that everyone is almost in bed and I can relax and possibly sleep too.  Ha!

Poor Jenna --- she still looks traumatized a good 3 to 4 minutes after we got her out of the bath.

Katie had begged to feed Jenna a bottle since the day we brought her home.  I held off for a few weeks because lactation consultants advise against bottles the first month.  Big Sis did have the honors though of giving Jenna her first bottle.

Jenna started smiling at 3 weeks, but we were able to catch it on camera until she was 4 or 5 weeks.  Here is one from my camera phone (not the best pic).

Historic Snow

Don't have much time, but I wanted to post some pictures from the snow storm that arrived 3 days after Jenna was born (February 12/13).  Our final measurement at the house here was between 20 and 21 inches.

Katie and Daddy had a blast playing, shoveling, sledding, etc. Jenna and I mostly stayed indoors, although I did venture out a couple of times just to experience 20+ inches.  Matt and I remember a snow storm in Philly that was between 17 and 18 inches, but this one was the largest he can ever remember.

Originally I was schedule to be induced on Tuesday the 11th, and sent home from the hospital on Thursday the 13th.  What a mess that would have been!  I'm very grateful that Jenna came on Sunday instead of waiting for induction day.

Jenna Cole Barnes - Birth Story

 

On Sunday February 9th at 8:28 PM, Jenna Cole Barnes made her grand appearance.  Jenna weighed in at 6 lbs. 7 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long.  She was 3 days late, smaller than we thought, and the absolute picture of health.  Below is her birth story --- something I will certainly forget if its not written down.

I woke up Sunday morning around 4:30 to contractions.  They were about 15-20 minutes apart, so I thought --- no big deal.  I had been having contractions off and on for several days.  By 7-8 AM on Sunday they were as close as 8 minutes apart, but then then stopped.  I told Matt when the contractions stopped that I might as well just give up on this baby coming naturally.  My doctor had planned for me to be induced on Tuesday if the baby did not arrive before then.

We went about our normal routine that Sunday and I continued to have random contractions.  By about 1 PM, I told Matt I was going to skip lunch and just lay down because the random contractions were getting annoying/tiring.  At 2 PM, I got up from bed because the contractions were getting stronger, but not closer together in frequency.  By 3:30, my contractions were coming every 5-7 minutes.  I decided I had better call the doctor's office.  The doctor on call instructed me to come in to the hospital.

We called my mom who was out at Target and asked her to come back to the house to stay with Katie.  I packed the last few toiletries into my hospital bad and we left by around 4:15.  We arrived at the hospital around 4:30, and guess what --- my contractions had stalled again.  The doctor checked me and despite the slow contractions, I was at 6 CM dilation.  He said --- and I quote --- "Well, since you aren't contracting frequently you can go back home if you'd like.  However, you aren't that far away from having a baby in the car if you leave."  Matt looked at me and said --- "We will be staying!"  LOL.  Pretty sure he didn't want to deliver this one on his own.

We were admitted around 5 PM and I thought a few laps of walking around the delivery ward might help get my contractions going.  It worked.  By 6:30 my water broke.  I immediately asked for my epidural because I remembered how much more painful contractions are AFTER your water breaks as compared to before.  Good thing too, because I was already at 8 CM by that point.  I got my epidural --- and proceeded to tell the anesthesiologist he was my FAVORITE person that day.  No joke!  He was my favorite, until around 8:28 PM.

Things were going great.  Right?  But you know --- you can't have a birth story without a little drama.  It wouldn't be normal.  So, a little after 8, I told Matt that I didn't think it would be much longer.  I suggested he get the camera out and ready for when the baby was born.  He took out the camera and was taking a test picture when --- UH OH!  No camera card in the camera.  I went CRAZY!  Certifiably CRAZY!  I told him to leave immediately.  He HAD to go to CVS/Walgreens/Target --- WHATEVER.  This baby was NOT going to be born without pictures.  He tried to tell me the iPad and iPhone pictures would work.  Okay, that was NOT a good idea.  It just made me more NUTTY.  He kept saying "I'm not going to miss the birth because of a camera card."  I told him I would try to hold off until he got back.  (Yes, he was far more sane that me at that moment).  Poor Matt!!

Our L&D nurse (Whitney) overhead the discussion.  She said the hospital had a camera and we were welcome to use the hospital's camera card.  Phew --- boy did she save the day.  Poor Matt was rescued from his insane wife.  LOL!

In the midst of the camera card madness the doctor came in to check me.  Around 8:15/8:20, the doc said "Its time."  So, with one camera card meltdown and a very quick labor --- Jenna Cole Barnes arrived at 8:28 PM. She had an APGAR score of 8/9 and was pronounced perfectly healthy. She looks a bit like her sister Katie, but has Matt's dark hair.  We are so very blessed!

Pregnancy Top 10

I'm nearing the end of what will be my last pregnancy.  Well, if this isn't my last pregnancy, then our family planning efforts had an EPIC failure.  As I look back at my experience this time, and last --- I thought it would be fun to do a David Letterman style top 10 of my most favorite and least favorite parts of pregnancy.  If there are any guys out there reading this, you might want to skip this post.  For the ladies, I think you will understand.

TOP 10 Things I will Miss Most About Pregnancy 

1.  Feeling the baby move inside me.  No contest here.  I think its one of the special gifts that God gives mothers (possibly to compensate for some of the items on that second list down there).

2.  Knowing I'm growing a little person.  I mean honestly, it feels like some special super power or something.  Mommies --- we really do have a cool job for 9 months.  Even if we totally give up our bodies to do so.

3.  The Rock-Star parking spots.  Although I probably need the exercise, its really nice to park right in front of my work building and not have to walk 1/3 mile in the cold.  Yes, its nearly 1/3 mile from the parking lot to my normal building.  Also, lots of stores now have these --- and its a nice perk.

4.  Not having to suck in my stomach all day.  Its the one time in life you get to let it all hang out....and not feel bad about it.

5.  FOOD!  I love food when I'm not pregnant.  And somehow everything tastes even better during pregnancy.  Milk and Fruit have been my favorite during both pregnancies.  Although Chocolate/Sweets have run a close second during this one.

6.  My Skin, Nails, & Hair.  I have NO idea what makes everyone's skin and hair so much better during pregnancy.  I'm sure its a combination of the PreNatal vitamins and the crazy hormones.  Either way, I'm pretty sure this is the best my hair and skin will ever get.  Too bad I have to be the size of a blimp to get these benefits.

7.  Kindness.  People are unbelievably kind to pregnant women.  Random strangers give up their seats on a bus, assist you with your bags on an airplane (one flight attendant being an exception there), and are generally just excited/happy for you.  I realize this is a bit old-fashioned, but I love it --- its shows a certain "goodness" in society.

8.  My Hubby.  Matt is a wonderful husband and father.  As I've gotten larger and more uncomfortable, he's done a good job of spoiling and encouraging me.  Spoiling --- by taking over some additional household/Katie responsibilities....and Encouraging me when I feel like an exhausted, ugly, uncoordinated blimp.  

9.  Baby Hiccups --- this could probably fall in with item #1 above.  But the hiccup sensation is really different/odd, and Katie LOVES to feel it.  Definitely her favorite.

10.  Working from home!  This past month of my pregnancy I haven't been able to travel.  Oh my have I become spoiled.  Working from home (full-time) is NICE.  I drop Katie off at school each morning, I can start dinner during the late afternoon, or throw in a load of laundry as needed.  AWESOME!  Wait, let me say that again ---- AWESOME!  I'm going to have a major reality check when I have to go back to driving into the office/flying all over the place.

TOP 10 Things I will NOT Miss Most About Pregnancy 

1.  Sleep!  I'm a stomach sleeper.  PERIOD.  Which means for the last 2-3 months, I haven't been sleeping normally (I might be a bit cranky about it).

2.  CONSTANT bathroom trips!  The first trimester the bathroom trips picked up, then they were somewhat normal during the 2nd, and now in the 3rd trimester its RIDICULOUS!  I'm up 3 to 4 times each night to use the restroom.  

3. My Feet!  I cannot see my feet.  I make the most ridiculous/entertaining site when trying to paint my toenails (especially at 39+ weeks).  

4.  The Triple B!  What is the Triple "B" you might ask?  Boobs, Belly, and Butt.  You can probably add an "H" in there too for my hips --- or maybe a "T" for Thighs.  They all seem to grow to massive proportions while I'm pregnant.  Its yet to be determined whether or not they will return to their normal state.

5.  Back Pain.  I didn't have a great deal of back pain with Katie. Maybe because I didn't go full-term, and because she was TINY!  But this pregnancy my back pain has been quite annoying.  

6.  No Naps.  Second pregnancies are harder.  Part of that is because you have an energizer bunny (aka - Katie) running around like mad, who doesn't take naps, likes to be carried, and expects you be on your "A" game even when you are exhausted.  There has been no time/option for naps this pregnancy -- whereas last time I could be lazy for an entire Saturday if I needed time to recoup.

7.  Waiting.  I was doing great until these last 2 weeks.  But I'm not a very patient person (ask my husband), and waiting for this baby to arrive is about to drive me NUTS!

8.  People Trying to Touch Me!!  In our society there is an unwritten rule of thumb that specifies a 2-3 foot "personal zone."  People somehow forget this rule when you are pregnant --- and they somehow think its okay to touch a STRANGERS stomach.  It hasn't happened as much during my second pregnancy as with the first.  But it is weird.  If I know you, or you are family --- that's one thing.  I let Matt, Katie, and my mom all touch my stomach and feel the babies movements.  However, if you are a random person, why do you think this is okay?

9.  Shaving while pregnant.  I'll just leave it at that.

10.  Food/Drink restrictions.  Specifically caffeine, lunch meat, sushi, and wine --- I'm not sure which of those 4 items I've missed the most....but oh I cannot wait to have them back!  Although the wine will have to wait until after I'm done breastfeeding.

So ladies....did I miss anything?