Violet at 10 weeks old.

Hello, again!

Well, I believe we last left off with a 4 week old Violet and the insanity of life with a newborn. Oh, how far we've come!

Violet began sleeping through the night at 5 weeks, and that has made all the difference in the world. It's amazing what a full night's rest really does for the psyche!

Weeks 6 and 7 were still challenging and V began her "cranky time" in the evenings. At first I freaked out because I didn't know why we couldn't make her happy! Once I heard that almost all babies go through this, I decided to calm down and just take it one day at a time. I was expecting too much out of my baby... why couldn't I just be happy with her sleeping through the night?! Thank goodness for Adam. He was here to bounce her and rock her and do such a great job of calming her as well as give me a much appreciated break!

Vi came down with her first cold at 8 weeks and it broke my heard to hear her breathing like a little pig with her congested nose. I got the cold too, just in time for our visit to Texas. Cold or no cold, we weren't missing out on Violet finally getting to meet her aunts and Grandpa and other Texas friends. The flights were nerve wracking because I just knew she was a ticking time bomb! Luckily she slept through all of the flights and the only hard part was lugging Violet and all of our stuff through the airports and finding places to feed her. We had SUCH a fantastic time visiting family and Violet loved all of the attention!!

Violet with her aunts and Grammy!

Four generations

Violet looks like my baby picture!

Violet sharing a laugh with Grandpa.

We also got to visit with my good friend Michelle and her family.... loooove this shot!

I was so sad to leave Texas but can't wait until we are back at Christmas!

In other news, Violet took her first bath with no tears on Sunday! Up until then, she HAAAATED baths.... nothing soothing about them! Here's a shot post-bath in her robe... ready to call it quits for the night. She's still rocking a bit of the attitude... but hey, no tears!

Side note: She still abhors having her clothes changed and riding in the car for any amount of time!

Another wonderful development was when I tried putting her in the Exersaucer for the first time last week. I was amazed at how she could "stand" propped up in it and loved figuring out all of the toys! She LOVES anything with a face on it. She'll stare and smile and talk to it! She has started reaching for toys and touching them. It's so funny because before I had a baby, all of these little achievements would have sounded so lame to me if it was someone else telling me about their baby. Now I see how every smile and coo is life altering!

She has been "fake" laughing now for a few weeks and I can't wait until it develops into real baby laughter! She had her first 2 shots today at the Dr. and only cried for a few seconds! I had prepared myself for a full on meltdown. Violet has become so much happier of a baby and I love how she interacts with us now and is able to entertain herself already! Here are a few shots I took of her today at 10 weeks old. I just love her. :-)

A few stats: Today at her check up (10 weeks old) she weighed 14lbs, 5 oz (almost exactly double her birth weight) and was 24 inches long. That's 95th percentile on both counts! She is a "little porker" according to the doctor, but hey, you gotta love those baby thunder thighs! I love that the doctor said, "don't worry, it's no indication of what her thighs will be like as a young lady." Hah!

Violet Jane: Birth through Four Weeks.

Note: The actual date of this post should say Tuesday, September 29, 2010.

Warning: Long Post Ahead!

I have been putting off blogging for quite awhile now. There has been so much new territory and I didn't know how to even begin putting it all into words. Oh my goodness. Has it really been 4 weeks since I gave birth? In some ways I can't believe it has already been a month, and in other ways it feels like years have passed! It has been a time full of emotion, uncertainty and near insanity, though I can say as of the past fewdays things have finally begun to calm and I have gotten to know and finally enjoy my daughter.

Daughter?! It still feels so foreign to say that. Being parents has definitely felt so right for Adam and I while still being a concept we have had to grow into. So many times we would just look at her and say, "is this real?!". My favorite is when Adam will say, "I just can't imagine life without her!". This has turned our relationship upside down in so many wonderful ways. We have seen each other at our most vulnerable and it has been such a beautiful experience. I can already see how God has used Violet to make us better people, despite the many agonizing and tear-filled moments along the way. People say to me, "Isn't mommyhood the best?!", and I have to behonest and respond,"Well, not currently, but we are getting there!". Every time I see her beautiful smile and hear her coo (and most recently make little laughing sounds) it redeems everything. I have been meaning to blog my birth story and have decided to give the slightly abridged version...

After reaching the point of being two weeks "overdue", I was scheduled to be induced on August 30, 2010. Adam, my Mom, and I arrived at the hospital around 8am and the induction began at 9:15am with me already being 2cm dilated. They began induction withthe Foley catheter balloon and cytotech inserted internally. By 3pm I had reached 5cm and was very encouraged by the progress! We felt I was handling the contractions well, staying on top of my breathing and focusing.

Two hours later they checked me again and I was at 6.5cm and they decided to let me wait it out a bit longer to see how much more I could progress. By 7pm I had still not dilated any further and they broke my water. O-U-C-H. The contractions then became R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S. I became very nauseous and they gave me medication to help with that. I then tried water therapy but it did not help at all and by that point I had lost my mental focus and the pain was overtaking me. The only thing that helped was Adam squeezing my hip bones and I made him do that with the contractions coming every minute and a half. He is a strong guy but after several hours of that, he was wearing out! At this point I was sobbing with every contraction while remaining determined to breathe through every one. At this point I remember telling people "I might get an epidural! I just want everyone to know I might not be able to do this!" After getting out of the tub, I decided that I wanted to be checked for dilation and if I had progressed, I wanted to stick it out, but if not, I was getting that epidural! I couldn't imagine going much longer in that much pain. At this point I was offered Stadol to "take the edge off." Had I been in my right state of mind I would have refused it, but by this point, Adam and I were completely out of it and couldn't remember anything we had learned in Lamaze about medical interventions. I chose to get it, thinking anything was better than having a full on epidural. Bad decision. Stadol just made me drunk and basically fall asleep between contractions. No edge was taken off. Around 9pm I had them check me because things were feeling a lot more intense and I was feeling a lot of pressure down low. I was still between a 6.5 and 7. At that point (much to Adam's relief!) I asked for the epidural. Long story short, the anesthesiologist didn't make it into the room until almost 10:15. I spent another hour and a half in agonizing pain during each contraction. My epidural was administered between off the charts contractions and finally I thought I would get some relief. Unfortunately, the epidural didn't take effect for 40 more minutes as I was laying on the bed, numb up to my hips, breathing through slamming contractions. Everyone knows your back is the most uncomfortable position for labor. At this point, Violet had also turned posterior so they tell me. Ouch. Finally, the relief came! My midwife checked me and I was at 10cm!

Apparently, all my body needed this whole time was for me to RELAX, go figure. She let me relax for 30 minutes and around 11:15 I started pushing with each contraction. TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER, Violet Jane was born at 1:44am on August 31.

Rewind. As her head emerged, the cord was wrapped so tightly around her neck that it could not be slipped over her head and had to be cut immediately. Adam was still able to catch her. They quickly showed her to me and rushed her over to the cleaning station and the NICU nurses were on her in a flash because she wasn't breathing. Adam said the timer went for 6 minutes before she cried and was breathing on her own. She had a 1 on the Apgar score (a zero is basically dead). All I remember was being completely exhausted (I had a fever of 103) and half drunk still from the Stadol. Everything was in slow motion for me as I just stared at the nurses working on Violet. No one was talking and I just knew she was dead. Adam and I were crying and it was the most bizarre moment of my life. Finally hearing her cry was the greatest feeling of relief! After everything settled and she was whisked away to the NICU for further monitoring, "How GreatThou Art" began playing on my playlist and I was filled with an incredible peace... so grateful that God so perfectly took care of us and our precious new baby throughout such a traumatic process. I am so grateful for the support of my Adam and my Mom as well as my fantastic nurses, Betsy and Jaime. I could not have done it without them!

So... this is why I sigh and pause when people say, "Tell me your birth story!".

Needless to say, Violet made quite the dramatic appearance and has not slowed down since! It has been amazing to see how much she changes even week by week. The first week was a complete zoo, just trying to figure out how to take care of her and meet her needs. I was a train wreck in so many ways. The second week was much the same. Feedings began to take on somewhat of a schedule but she was still quite a little firecracker of a baby. So many days I just wanted to scream, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOU HAPPY!" Motherhood did not feel like it was coming naturally to me. By the third week, we definitely had a predictable feed/sleep schedule going and I finally felt like I could somewhat anticipate what she needed. This past week has been SO MUCH BETTER! She sleeps so well (though I still greatly anticipate her sleeping through the night), she smiles and talks to me all of the time and has finally started to just relax and let me cuddle her instead of screaming! I love her little chipmunk sneezes and coughs and the perpetual hiccups. This has been a whirlwind experience and I cannot wait to watch her continue to grow and change and keep us guessing along the way!!

Our first moments together...

One Week

Two Weeks

Three Weeks

Four Weeks

While I am Waiting... Weeks 4-40

Happy Due Date, Violet!

It has come and it is almost gone with no more indications of when she will actually arrive! I never thought about how this actual day would feel... it was always just a distant goal in my mind. When we first found out we were pregnant back in early December 2009, August seemed a lifetime away. Now that we are here, it feels like we have been waiting for her for an eternity! I have to remind myself that God has had her birthday planned way before I even knew she existed. As I sit here through sporadic contractions that still make no sense, I remind myself that the longer I have to wait, the more precious the moment will be when I finally get to see her sweet face. Pregnancy has not been nearly the horrifying experience I expected, and many of those naysayers were proved wrong. I have really enjoyed being pregnant through the summer, I have had only a handful of hormonal ups and downs, and have felt generally wonderful up until these last few weeks! I absolutely cannot WAIT to sleep on my back again, enjoy a nice glass of red wine, have a waist, paint my own toenails, and BREATHE again! Most of all, I cannot wait to experience life with a tiny new little piece of us. I know that everything will change in the blink of an eye, I will experience complete sleep deprivation, probably completely doubt myself as a new parent, but again, I cannot wait! I am so ready for this new life transition. Now all we need is the baby. :-) Here's a quick trip down memory lane from weeks 4-40. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Shadowboxes and my general fear of hanging objects on walls...

So, I've been trying to decide what to do with this one large empty wall in the nursery. I found a really cute shadowbox at T.J. Maxx and wanted to create something with it. I decided that one wasn't enough, so I went back this week and found two more, completely different ones.

For the first one, I found this adorable little bathing suit (i thought it was a dress because the material is cotton) boxed up that I had worn as a baby. It is too cute not to be displayed! (sidenote: i didn't feel like breaking out the fancy camera, so please bear with these fuzzy photos from my phone!) It is so vintage looking and has little red clothespins all over it!

So, come to find out, my MOM actually wore this bathing suit as a baby and THEN gave it to me to wear as a little one. Awesome factor doubled! I am such a sucker for this stuff. Of course, Violet will be trying it on for size when the time comes!

Now, what to do with the other two boxes? I have a set of baby silverware that was given to me that I decided would be brilliant in box #2. In typical Kristin fashion, I found a way to completely ghetto rig the mounting. I laid out the pieces how I wanted them and then strung a ribbon around each one. Straight pins were inserted to hold the ribbon to the fabric backing of the shadow box, which in turn held the silverware in place! Voila!

And yes, box #3. My sisters and I took a trip downtown to one of the antique shops and found these miniature saucers and teacup for a total of $4.20... love it! This rigging was even more ghetto fabulous. I took the mesh sticky tape that is keeping my rug in place and cut it into tiny squares and stuck it to the back of the pieces. You guessed it! Straight pins were inserted through the mesh backing into the fabric of the shadow box. So far so good, they have stayed in place for 3 whole days now so hopefully I won't have to break out the hot glue gun!

Final product... please note that this setup took me a full HOUR to hang. I was a maniac with the measuring tape, measuring stick, level and mechanical pencil. Mind you, each frame has TWO holes on the back and each set of holes is positioned differently on each box. GEEZ. Oh yes, each is perfectly level and spaced. I know I have done a good job when my OCD husband sees my work and says, "Wow! I am impressed!". This coming from the man that says, "Ooooh man, I am just going to leave the room... let me know when you are done here..." anytime I attempt a project, especially with a hammer and nails.

Full corner view.

And now onto the infamous "violet" letters. Each one of these little darlings had two holes in the back, all in different spots. My brilliant friend Jenn suggested tracing the letters onto paper, cutting them out, and tracing where the nail holes were. After staring at these letters for a solid month, that's exactly what I did! Adam helped me find the center over the closet and drew a straight line with a measuring stick to follow with the bottom of each letter. I roughly eyeballed the placement of the paper letters and taped them where I wanted them. After they were in the right place, I hammered nails into the traced on holes and then ripped off the paper letters and hung the real ones. Did that make your head hurt? Yeah, I am still twitching.

Luckily, it looks perfect. :-)

Now I just need to find some cute decorative pulls to hold back the closet curtains and finish the wall over the glider (Jenn, that involves the sign you made... just trying to find some shelving to hold it with some books and small items...).

Two weeks from tomorrow is the big due date and I am feeling great about these accomplishments! I think I have pretty much everything I need for Violet. I never thought this room would come together, and I love it! Adam and I go in there and just sit and stare and imagine how much life is about to change! It is also just a little bit messed up that our daughter already has the nicest room in our house!

New nursery additions!

Just a quick post with some new items in Violet's nursery!

First things first. I had forever been battling with what to do about a glider and ottoman. I knew I wanted something fully upholstered but ideally only wanted to spend $400-500. This ended up proving almost impossible because everything I liked was in the $700-800 range! Oh, the high maintenance of it... Adam finally jumped in to help after hearing me complain and stress for the 100th time about how there was nothing to be found! He found a glider and ottoman on... wait for it... walmart.com... whaaaat? At first I was vehemently opposed to the idea, but eventually put aside my snobbery. Wal-Mart has this great "ship to store" option in which you can order an item, pay no shipping, and have it delivered to your local store. The best part is, after you pick it up, you can return it at no cost if you don't like it! Adam found what looked like a great glider/ottoman combo which had amazing reviews. We went and picked it up and it is perfect!! Even more fabulous was the price! I believe we ended up spending right about $500!

Another great find was this adorable blue side table from "Shabby to Chic" for $35! I have been trying to pull more color into the room, especially this certain shade of blue, and my sister Jessica convinced me that I could not pass it up. I am so glad she did! It also is a great spot to store all of the new books Violet has acquired. :-)

The pillow on the glider was an impulse buy from Target (Dwell Studios). I love how it looks and loooooove the little roses that mimic the ones on the lampshade that resides on the fabulous blue table.

Here is a shot of the newly organized changing table. We found some cute canvas bins from Target that complement my pink/taupe theme along with some baskets I received from my shower.

I pulled out the fisheye lens for a view of her room as it currently looks... I still have a lot of empty wall space that I am trying to decide how to fill. I must decide where to put the "Violet Jane" sign as well as the letters of her name. Yesterday I found an adorable shadowbox cabinet with a beautiful shabby chic style white frame around it. Now to decide what to fill it with! Blank walls intimidate me... any suggestions? I realize I have a lot of things with her name on it, so I don't want to be redundant here! I thought about putting a collage of frames on the blank left wall... some of our maternity shoot and eventually some of Violet's own portraits. I want to find some vintagey old frames for this but haven't had much luck. Behold the room:

Attention must be paid to the adorable bunny chair from PB Kids that my Mom bought for Vi. I cannot wait to photograph her in it! :-)

Finally, the diaper bag! Lauren told me about eBags, which is an awesome site with killer deals on handbags, diaper bags, etc. We found this timi & leslie bag for $40 something with free shipping (it originally retailed for $350... are you kidding?) The site will e-mail coupons that will take off additional discounts! The only sad part was that I assumed it would come with a changing pad zip up clutch thingy, but I found one from Target that works great! I'll be stylin' now!!

In other news, my hospital bags are packed! I am about 3 weeks from my due date at this point and getting excited! The anticipation is mounting... :-) It has been super difficult to stay motivated at this point, but I have been so blessed to have my sisters Mary Beth and Maggie visiting me for two weeks. They have been so much help with groceries, cooking, and general slave labor! My Mom will be here on the 12th and staying for a month, so hopefully Vi will cooperate with her flight itinerary. :-)