The Kenley Marie Story

My baby is a week old today. Time, to me, is a funny thing. It never changes, but yet never feels constant. A minute is a minute, right? But yet those last weeks of pregnancy take forever to be over, and those first days go by in a blink of an eye.

I am sitting here in a quiet house with my baby sleeping and my children off to the zoo with their dad. It is almost feeling a bit surreal. But what better time to actually sit down and remember Kenley's birthday.

As I alluded to in previous posts, we started to notice some questionable behavior of her heart at my last doctor appointment. Nothing that was exactly wrong, but it wasn't right either. Basically, she would have moments that her heart rate would be high and moments when it would be low, and some how those were the moments that they were checking me, which lead to more testing.

My wonderful husband, wonderful doctor, and wonderful (amazing) nurse.

At my last doctor's appointment on April 19, we heard her heart rate decelerate, so they sent me over to the hospital to be monitored. She was fine, I was fine, so we were sent home to follow up with a non-stress test on Monday.

So Monday, I went to my test and while she was pretty excited and moving around, the nurse felt that I was good to go. However, that evening around 4:30, she called me and said that the fetal monitoring doctor thought I should come in to be monitored again to make sure. I headed back to the hospital around 5 to be monitored again, and again, I was good, baby was good, I was not anymore dilated than I was on Friday. Home I went with my next non-stress test and ultrasound scheduled for Thursday morning.

Life was pretty normal Tuesday and Wednesday. And then with Bob watching the kids, I walked into the hospital Thursday morning feeling like today was not the day and I would be going home after a quick ultrasound and test. I was wrong,

Her lungs definitely were strong. I was so happy once she settled down. 

My bio-physical ultrasound went well. Baby looked good, She measured well and was doing everything she was suppose to be doing. Yeah. Then I headed to my non-stress test to monitor her movements, heart rate, and my contractions. Well, that did not go so well. She was CRAZY active and her heart rate was again all over the place. Again, this was not exactly a bad thing, but it wasn't a good thing either. She just would not settle down enough for them to find a baseline heart rate.

So the doctor came in and said Kenley's eviction was here. It was my due date and this was my third test with issues. It was time. I am pretty sure I looked like a deer in headlights. When he used the word induced, I am pretty sure my skin crawled and my stomach turned. This was the last thing that I wanted.

Phone calls were made, I was checked into labor and delivery, and I was realizing how not ready I was for all of this. Panic was striking.

Luckily, when the resident doctor came in, we were able to talk a little more about the situation and set up a game plan that I was way more comfortable with than just inducing me with drugs.

Because I was so far along and I was having regular braxton hicks contractions, we were going to monitor me and see if I went into labor by myself before my doctor arrived that evening around 7:30 and if I didn't, we would start with just breaking my water and hold off completely on using pitocin till or if it was necessary. That plan was perfect for me. It meant a long boring day at the hospital, but it gave me time to calm down and relax.

She definitely had a grump face right from the beginning.
Now, she seems happier about life. 

Well, I never went into labor by myself, but my contractions did grow a bit stronger and continued to be very regular. At 8:10 p.m., we broke my water. It was game on.

As my husband and doctor sat and watched the NFL Draft (yes, that really happened), I began to go into labor. I quickly got an epidural since I knew once again, this would be a short labor, but a painful one none-the-less. I am no super woman, so I had an epidural with all 3 of my children.

This time the epidural did leave a little pain on my right side, which I actually didn't mind because it let me know that I was still contracting and that she was moving down quickly.

At about 10, for some reason, my monitor was not picking up my contractions, so my doctor thought my labor had stalled. He threw around that Pitocin word again, and again, I looked like a deer in headlights. I knew I was contracting, my nurse knew I was contracting, I was contracting.

Thank heavens for my wonderful, wonderful nurse. I can not tell you how amazingly wonderful she was to me. She listened to everything I said and really helped me have the delivery that I wanted under the circumstances.

We convinced my doctor to check me in 30 minutes if I had not progressed than we would pull out the drugs.

Snug as a bug and ready to head home. 

Well, that 30 minutes never happened. Just after my doctor left the room, the pressure in my right hip increased tenfold. My nurse checked me and I was complete and ready to have a baby.

My doctor came in announcing he was wrong and let's have a baby.

He had me push once and I got a half push in before he yelled for me to stop because she was there and crowning and they were not ready. They scrambled and I struggled to hold in the girl we had been waiting to meet.

Literally, 2 half pushes, not a single full push, later, Miss Kenley Marie was laying on my chest. My tiny little peanut arrived at 10:36 p.m. April 25 just 2.5 hours after they broke my water. No pitocin needed.

She came into this word a bit feisty crying for about the first hour with nothing settling her down. I just kept hearing that "Look Who's Talking" movie line "put me back in, put me back in" as she was telling me she was not ready to be here.

But she was here and we could not have been happier. A bit freaked out by the crying wondering what we got ourselves into, but immensely happy to have completed our family with this tiny nugget.

And she is little. She weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and measured 18 inches long. That is about a pound less and 2 inches shorter than her brother and sister.

She has barely made a peep since her first hour of life. She is eating well and sleeping decently. I am loving every moment of her.

The one thing I have learned is that no delivery is the same, and no delivery is what you have planned. I am just glad I never had a baby on the expressway and my children at home were well taken care of. Despite having quick labors, I was always able to have enough time to figure everything out, which is what my husband always reassured me would happen. (Though it didn't help that my friend had her son 5 days earlier on I-275, thanks Kelli.)

Calan came into the room so excited telling me that Baby Kenley was here and asking did I see her. Maisie, however, is just now warming up to her. She wanted to stay about 5 feet away at all times. 

Our bad attempt at a self picture before we left the hospital Saturday Morning. 

I am a little baby obsessed with how little she is. I never thought I'd have a baby in the 10-25th  percentile since everyone else was 50-75th. She seems so little in everything. 

Already a pretty happy sleeper. Though, she doesn't always settle well at night. 

Anyone in my family will appreciate this picture. She started sucking her two middle fingers the other night. She is definitely my baby. 

Dear Maisie

Our little Bug, well, we made it. You are no longer a baby. You are on your way to being a full-fledged toddler. You turned 1 a week ago. I can't believe it. You came into this world as a joy and you are still my joyful little girl.

You love to clap and dance. Anytime there is any type of music playing you will stop what you are doing and clap or dance for it. You love to be praised. You light up with every loving word.

You are a determined little girl and are not easily distracted if there is something you want. You know what you want when you want it. (Very girl of you.)

You seriously think your brother is the coolest kid you know and try to be around him at all times. You and him say "da, da, da" back and forth all the time. He says it to you, you say it to him, and you both laugh so hard at it. It melts my heart.

You love to be touched and kissed and hugged. You squeal with excitement and giggle with joy. You are so precious.

You are days away from walking. Not sure if we am ready for you to be taking your first steps, but it will be so fun to watch you run all over the place. You are very cautious, so hopefully you will have way less injuries than your brother.

This birthday letter is a little belated because on your birthday you gave us quite a scare when you had a seizure on our way home from Charlevoix. While later in life you might find it cool that you rode in an ambulance, it was not a fun experience. We hope to never have a repeat. You are much better now. Thank goodness.

As you grow, we pray that you continue to explore your world and continue to find joy in the simplest of things. We pray that you maintain your happiness and always know how loved and adored you are. You are so amazing and the prefect addition to our family.

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Not the First Birthday I Had Imagined

Every time a nurse or doctor asked me her date of birth, I just shook my head and said today. Needless to say, no baby should be in the emergency room on their birthday.

I had thought Maisie's first birthday would be a day where we smile, where we eat a small cupcake for lunch, where we visit with my mom for a little bit before driving home from vacation, and where our drive goes smoothly and uneventful.  

The day started out as planned. Maisie woke up happy and went down for her morning nap just fine, but she woke up with a fever. She was pretty warm, but we were on vacation and I did not have a thermometer, so I am not sure exactly how warm. I gave her some Tylenol and she cooled down a little, but was still acting a bit sick. 

She barely ate lunch and was not into the cupcake I tried to give her. We went for a little walk and headed home from vacation at about 1:30 p.m. She fell asleep instantly.

However, about an hour and a half into our trip she got pretty upset and threw up. We pulled over as soon as we could. I tried to calm her down in some shade holding her and rocking her, but nothing was really helping. I was feeling car sick from the road we were just on, so I figured that she was feeling the same. We got back in the car and were heading toward the closest hospital when she fell back to sleep, so we thought OK let's just try to get home. 

She woke up a few times over the next 2 hours, but wasn't acting upset. 

We stopped at a rest area about an hour away from home to change diapers. Maisie was still warm and acting sick, but was smiling and even giggling at Calan. Bob put Calan back in the car and I bent over to put Maisie in and all hell broke lose. 

Maisie started to convulse and seize up. 

I yelled to Bob to call 9-1-1 and I held Maisie on her side watching her seize for what felt like FOREVER (but what was probably 3 minutes). 

She convulsed, her eyes dilated, and she turned a bit blue. She luckily breathed through most of it and did not bite down on her tongue. 

We took an ambulance to the closest hospital where they watched her for the next 3 hours. It took almost 2 hours for her to start acting normal. I guess after seizures it can take awhile for people to act normal again. For adults, they act confused; for babies, they basically lay not moving at all. 

They did a couple tests to figure out what was causing her high fever and from a chest x-ray, she has the beginnings of pneumonia. 

She does not have a cough, running nose, or wheezing. So, I asked the doctor how I was suppose to know and he basically said I wasn't and that is why they usually do an x-ray to rule it out. In babies, pneumonia symptoms do not show up like adults. 

We were released about 3 hours after we arrived with a prescription for antibiotics and instructions to follow up with our doctor this week. 

This morning, she is already 100% better. She barely has a fever and is smiling and eating just fine. She is dancing and clapping like the happy baby she is. 

Not at all how I wanted to be spending her first birthday, but so glad that we didn't panic and that Maisie is healing quickly. 

We will be taking it very, very, very easy this week. 

Already feeling and acting so much better this morning. Thank God!

The Breakdown: Fire Truck and Butterfly Birthday Parties

Well, the last two months or so have been all about my kids' birthdays. I am happy that everything turned out so fabulous, but I am even happier that they are done. Not sure their birthdays will be more than a special breakfast and dinner next year. We shall see.

So here is what I did and where I found the ideas for Calan's Fire Truck 2nd Birthday and Maisie's Butterfly 1st Birthday:

Decorations

• Calan's fire truck birthday was inspired by FREE fire truck birthday printables I found online. I used the printables for the everything from the invitation to his birthday banner to party favors. It was a life saver. I kept everything in the red, black, yellow color scheme. I used crae paper and fire hats I found at the dollar store decorated, as well balloons. Pretty simple and easy. 
• For Maisie's, I did a few things the same and added a few more. I fell in love with butterfly printables from Amanda's Parties to Go on Etsy months ago and used that to base everything else from. I used it for her invite, birthday banner, high chair decorations, and cupcake toppers to name a few. I even used it to make a Butterfly Hunt in our backyard. For her dessert table, I found adorable butterfly wall stickers from the Dollar Store of all places and then got a few photos together that I clothes-pinned to some extra ribbon from her birthday banner. I also found a pink flower garland and pink butterfly nets from the Dollar Store. I used a 50-percent-off Michael's coupon to get Martha Stewart's tissue pom-pom kit to finish up outside. 

Food

• Calan's party I did not do a lot of homemade foods. A lot was easy prepared food from Costco. A big hit was the Spinach Ravioli served cold with olive and the seasoning mix that comes in the package. The main dish was just Costco pizza. I thought about making our own, but just did not have the time. I did try to keep the food related to his color scheme of red, black, and yellow. Red, orange, and yellow peppers and did, chopped strawberries, carrots, cheese and crackers, etc. 
• For Maisie's party, I again hit up Costco. Easy peasy. We had pulled pork sliders on pretzel buns,  Asian coleslaw, pesto tortolini (served cold), and chicken caesar salad. Appetizers were meatballs, cheese and butterfly crackers, goat cheese spread, chips with guacamole and salsa. I also made homemade strawberry lemonade and had izze pops (delicious). 

Dessert

• I made vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting with red sprinklers on top and served with vanilla ice cream. My mother-in-law made adorable sugar cookies cutout as fire trucks, hydrants, and fire hats. 
• Maisie's desserts were obviously pretty amazing looking and absolutely delicious. I baked and decorated strawberry cupcakes and frosted with vanilla and Duncan Hines Frosting Creations strawberry shortcake frosting. My mother-in-law again made her amazing sugar cookies decorated to match Maisie's butterfly decor. And Bob's aunt made the amazing cake served with vanilla ice cream. I also had chocolate covered pretzels for anyone with a chocolate sweet tooth. 

Miscellanous

• I found a cute reasonable definitely be able to wear again shirt for Calan at Kohl's. I had to buy Maisie an adorable butterfly pillow-case dress from Etsy that matched her party perfectly. 
• For party favors, Calan gave fire hats, whistles, stickers, and fire truck tattoos. I found bug catchers from the Dollar store that I filled with stickers and butterfly tattoos for Maisie's party. 

Everything was pretty easy to put together. I hope this helps some else plan a fun party for their little ones. Not sure if I mentioned everything, so if there is something you saw in pictures and want to know what I did, please feel free to ask. 

Happy Birthday Party Day

The special guest of honor

Well, I am done. My party planning for the year is done. Maisie birthday was celebrated with friends and family. My little girl played, got covered in cupcake, and smiled the whole time. It was perfect.

The amazing desserts. I made the strawberry cupcakes, Bob's mom did the adorable cookies, and Bob's aunt made the amazing cake. Everything was delicious too. 

The dessert and gift table. I'll break down both Calan's and Maisie's party tomorrow on where I found ideas and what I did for them. 

Our best attempt at a family photo. One day these will be easy again and not torture, right?

My baby girl. She turns one July 29. Can't believe it.

Really was so happy all day. It made all the work worth it.

I kind of sped through opening gifts because it had started to get pretty warm and we needed to get inside to cool off. 

She investigated everything.

Singing Happy Birthday and another look at her adorable cake.

Getting her first taste. It was love at first taste. 

Love her face here as Calan started to move in on her cupcake. 

She ate all of it. 

(For all my friends and family who have already seen all these pictures on Facebook, sorry for showing them all over again.)

Tomorrow I will breakdown both parties and share links to recipes and how-tos for everything.

The Big 2!

Big 2nd Birthday! 

The Birthday Boy ready for the party.

Presents and cake. One very special and blessed little guy.

Dear Calan, 

My little buddy. You are 2. Can you believe it? I can not begin to tell you how wonderfully blessed we are to have you in our lives. You bring such joy and happiness everywhere you go. Your smile is contagious. 

We celebrated your birthday with family and friends at our home. You spent most of the afternoon completely soaked from your water table and pool. And when you weren't splashing, you were cruising in your Cozy Coupe you got from Grandma Robin or chasing bubbles.

 

You were blessed with so many fun trains and fire engines. You didn't even no where to start. You just wanted mommy and daddy to take the toys out of the boxes, but we were trying to get you to open everything. You were taking the boxes to any adult you thought might help you when you realized we were useless. It was perfectly adorable. It will be something I will remember.

I hope that you felt special. You are my little guy and I love the toddler you have become. This year is probably going to be filled with more craziness, but it will also be filled with plenty of joy and happiness. My wish for you this year is that you continue to grow and learn and feel the love that we have for you. You are amazing and we love you. 

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy