Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Discovering new things...

Craig took this video Sunday - Parker seems to have gotten her fingers caught in one of the bugs that make noise on her bouncy seat. We thought this was pretty funny. She loves talking to them, but I don't think she knew what to do when she finally caught one...

Monday, October 19, 2009

3 Months Old!

Parker will be 3 months old this week (13 weeks), and she's really growing and changing. At her 2 month appointment, she was at 12 lbs, 1 1/2 ounces and 22 3/4 inches long...jumping from the 20th percentile to 90th in weight, from 55th to 75th in length. I just weighed her with me last week and she's already over 14 lbs. I had to go buy her some 3-6 month sleepers and long-sleeved onesies since most of her 0-3 month ones were getting pretty snug. She also went up a size in diapers...so exciting!!

She's still sleeping and eating really well - we're in the middle of trying to get her on a schedule, so that's always fun...a lot of trial and error at this point, but I feel like we're pretty close. I figured if I was working, I'd need to get her into some kind of a routine, and I think it'll be good for both of us!

Craig and I took Parker on her first trip back to Dallas and had a great time. It was so nice to spend the week with family and friends, and Parker was really good the whole time. She slept better on the road than she does here ;o)!! As you can see from the pictures, she was quite a hit with everyone she met. And on the video, you can see she's found her tongue...likes to stick it out at mom and dad quite a bit (I apologize for the poor filming - I'm still figuring this stuff out)! We head back to the doctor the week of Thanksgiving for the 4-month check-up, so I'll try to post those results before our trip back to Dallas for the holiday. Can't believe it's almost November already!!!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Almost 8 weeks...

Well, our little Parker-Poo is almost 8 weeks old! She's doing so great - getting more and more of a personality everyday. Craig and I can't stop smiling when we look at her. She has become a really good, calm baby (knock on wood)! The first 4-5 weeks were rough, but something clicked and she started being calmer. Now, she's happy in her bouncy seat or laying on the floor on her playmat and still loves her swing. She's only waking up once at night - between 3 & 4 am - and then is staying in bed until 7 or after, so I'm getting more sleep too. We're very lucky!!

With Parker's new found love of the bouncy chair (as you can see in the video above!), I've been able to run on the treadmill more often. Her routine is becoming more predictable, so that's been a lifesaver! We also took her out in the BOB jogging stroller a week and a half ago and she didn't make a sound...slept most of the time! Whew - that was a relief - I was worried she may have an aversion to it already!

We took Parker to Seattle almost 3 weeks ago - as the pediatrician said, I'd have a harder time with it than she would. She was right! Parker did well on the planes and didn't seem to have a problem adjusting to sleeping in the hotel pack-n-play. I was a little stressed, but not too bad (although Craig will probably say the opposite)! She likes her pacifier these days and that helps a lot with the evenings when she gets a little fussy. Anyway, like I said, we're super lucky!! She'll go to her 2-month appointment next week and I can't wait - the Dr. will probably fall over at how big she's gotten...weighed her last week with me and she was up to 12 lbs!! I'll post more after that appointment next week!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

5 weeks old already!

We can't believe Parker is 5 weeks old already. She's still growing and eating like a champ! We're up to a 5 hour break between 2 of her feedings at night - last night we went from 9-2, so after getting myself ready for bed, I got almost 4 hours of straight sleep. Every night is a different adventure - a lot of trial and error with bedtimes!

I haven't been able to get Parker weighed since her 1 week check-up, but I did step on the scale with her last week and my weight went up 10 lbs. A lot of her newborn clothes aren't fitting anymore, and you can see from the pictures on the right (especially the top one taken yesterday) that she's not missing many meals!

I took Parker in the jogging stroller twice last week, and she wasn't a huge fan; although the picture to the right makes it seem she is. I figured I'd give it another 2 weeks and maybe try it again over Labor Day weekend. The last thing I want is for her to have an aversion to that stroller! We finally got our treadmill fixed this week, too, so now it's running very smoothly. It really hadn't been working that great since we moved here.

Everything else is going really well - we love watching Parker grow and change every week and I think both Craig and I are figuring things out a little easier at this point too. Time does fly though - just like everyone says - especially when your day is broken into 3-hour increments! We leave tomorrow for Seattle, so stay tuned next week to hear about Parker's first flight!!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Growing like crazy!

As you can see from these pics, Parker is growing like crazy! I stepped on the scale with her Saturday and my weight went up 8 lbs. I doubt she's really up to that much already, but I'm sure she's close. The women's center has a scale that you can use without making an appointment and I've thought about taking her there just to see how much she's really gained.

All is going well here at home. Parker is eating well and sleeping pretty good too. We haven't quite figured out that nighttime is strictly for sleeping yet, but I feel like we're close (or hoping, that is). Craig is giving her a bottle from pumped milk once a day and that's been going really well too. She's such a joy for us - already changing so much and we love watching her funny faces!

My recovery has pretty much been a non-event - I've been able to run, go to the gym, walk the dogs, etc. I feel so lucky that my body has cooperated with me this far!! We've already taken Parker on her first road trip - met some good friends in Breckenridge last Sunday and stayed until Tuesday. She did really great! We're looking forward to her first plane ride at the end of the month...could be interesting!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Parker Vivian has arrived!!

Our little girl, Parker Vivian, has joined the family! She was born Thursday, July 23rd, at 2:13 pm, weighing 5 lbs, 15 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. I took her to an appointment earlier this week and she had already gained 10 oz in her first 6 days, putting her up to 6 lbs, 5 oz (after the 4 oz she lost in the hospital). Needless to say, we're not having any issues in the eating area...knock on wood. Craig's even been able to give her a bottle and she ate like a champ! She's also going 3-4 hours between feedings, so we're hoping this isn't just beginner's luck!


Parker already has both Craig and I wrapped around her little finger - she's just so stinkin' cute and we can't get enough of her.


The labor and delivery was a little rough - my water broke around 1:15 am Thursday morning, but I didn't progress much on my own in the first 6-7 hours. I was given pitocin around 8:30 am and then the fun started. I went from a 4 to a 10 really quickly. Luckily, I had an epidural after the first couple of hours and felt tons better. After pushing, an episiotomy, and a little forceps usage, Parker was here safe and sound.


This week has been spent trying to get some sleep (it's amazing how long you can exist on 4-6 hours every night) and loving every minute with Parker! We've been very fortunate to have lots of family in town too - they've all been a big help! My sister, Ally, flew up right after Parker was born, my mom and dad drove and arrived Friday, Bette, Craig's mom, landed Sat., and my other sister Denise, has also been here this week for a few days. Thank goodness for family!!


I've been feeling really good ever since the delivery - I've been able to walk the dogs and even go a little further with Parker and Peanut. It's amazing how the human body can recover from something like that! I'll be posting more pics in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!!!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Any day now...

...and we're as ready as we can be! We're very excited to meet Baby Storey and have reason to believe we will meet him/her by the end of next week. At our appointment this morning, our Doctor said we'll get another ultrasound next week and come up with a "plan" to "force it." I clarified her choice of words because I knew I'd leave there with a ton of questions in my head, not to mention from Craig and other family, and she said she'll induce and then look into a C-section as a last resort.

At last week's appointment, we had an unscheduled ultrasound because the Doctor said I was measuring small. After looking on the ultrasound, we found the baby to be about a week behind schedule in weight (around 6 lbs) and also found out that my amniotic fluids are running on the low side of normal. The baby is doing fine, and after a non-stress test today, the doctor confirmed his or her little heartbeat is very strong. However, with my fluids being even lower today and the baby growing about 4 ounces vs. the typical 8 at this stage since last week, Doctor said she'd like this baby to come out in the next week or so...and not wait until week 40 or 41. Good news to me! We're going to try what we can at home, and I'm going to try acupuncture on Monday! It worked for a good friend in Dallas (at least they think so!), but I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Everything else is going well with the pregnancy though. With the results last week, I was told to stop running, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. She said to keep walking though as that can help bring on labor, so I've been doing that and enjoying the air-conditioning at the gym. No real complaints though - no leg/foot cramping, excessive heartburn, or anything too weird! I keep hearing that I need to enjoy the rest of the pregnancy and relax, rest, etc. I have been doing that, but I've found it a little tough knowing what could come at any moment...exciting, but anxious at the same time.

Craig and I are really into the Tour de France these days, and with the limited options on things to do at this point, it's been really nice to watch that on the DVR every night and over the weekends. We've been catching up on movies and relaxing quite a bit too. We're very excited for our families to start their visits with the new baby's arrival and will be happy to see a few friends too! We'll take our laptop to the hospital and will try to post an update if labor is slow. We'll definitely post pics of the new baby as soon as we can!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Full term this week!!

Since we're wrapping up our 37th week this week, our baby is now considered full term. How crazy! We started our weekly appointments last week, which made it seem very real when our Dr. started talking about signs of labor, when to call her, etc. We're very excited! I have to admit I was wondering why I was hoping for an early delivery when I was laying in bed at 7 am this morning...my nights of 8-9 hours of sleep will be gone very soon!!

I feel like we're pretty ready as far as the baby's room and "necessities" go. I took the Jeep to the local fire department yesterday to check out the car seat - I borrowed the base and seat from my sister, so I didn't have any manuals. It's a pretty easy installation, but the guys at the fire department were able to get it much tighter. They were very nice and had lots of useful tips on positioning the baby, what accessories not to have, and suggested bringing in the other car and husband too! I put together a few things for mine and baby's hospital stay, talked to my mom about her deliveries, and have started putting some of the baby gear together (bouncer, pack n play, etc). Now all we need is baby!

I'm still feeling good overall - I really shouldn't complain since I haven't had any swelling, cramping, or anything too annoying. I'm still taking Peanut to run about 3 times a week and am able to waddle around the gym to lift some weights. Last week, I finally had a woman come ask me if I was okay on one of the weight machines I was using. I've been surprised that she was the first one to ask or say anything about me being at the gym with such a belly! I've heard stories from other friends, so I've been expecting more questions/comments. My lower back has started hurting a little more often, and since my mom had back labor with all 5 of us, I think that will keep getting worse. Guess we'll see!

Craig and I had a really nice 4th weekend - went to the Rockies game Friday night where they had fireworks afterwards and then went to a friend's house to cook out on Saturday. A very low-key, but nice, long weekend! We couldn't remember the last time we were at home for a holiday!!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Approaching 34 weeks...

We were in Boise this past weekend for Craig's half Ironman race. It's the last time I'll be traveling until after the baby is born. Not that I mind though - those airplane seats just aren't that comfy, especially when baby decides to get right under my ribs! We're in our 34th week this week and return to the doctor on Thursday for another measurement and check-up. We're going every 2 weeks right now until week 36 - then we start seeing our Dr. every week.

We had a great time in Boise and Craig did well in his race. It started pouring rain after he headed out on his bike and rained the entire afternoon until he was into the run portion of the race. I don't know how he finished - I would've stopped after 5 miles on the bike! It was pretty cool most of the day too - around 62-64 degrees. I had a really good time hanging out with Craig's family and consider myself extremely lucky to have married into such a warm group!

Since my last post, we saw the doctor around 32 weeks. She said she'll induce us on August 4th if the baby hasn't decided to come by then. Two of my 3 sisters went into labor early with their kiddos, so I'm hoping for that too...well, not too early, but a week to 10 days would be nice! It's been very nice and cool here in Colorado so far this June, but it's supposed to warm up this week. I haven't minded the clouds and lower temps one bit!!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

31 weeks and counting!

Craig and I went in for our 31 week ultrasound this week and all is going well. The ultrasound technician even asked if I'd been having a lot of heartburn because she could see a lot of hair on the little one. We still don't know if it's a boy or girl and are very anxious for D-Day to find out. The tech was sure to steer clear of the lower region, so we couldn't see anything! The baby is measuring right on track (about 3 3/4 lbs so far) for the end of July delivery - the head, belly and femur all measured around 7/31...no big head yet...thank goodness!

I'm still feeling pretty good; although, I've been pretty tired this week. I've tried running a few different times and it's starting to feel more like a struggle. We head to Boise for cousin Kevin's wedding this weekend, so I'll see how my run with Craig goes. I'm not very hopeful - I may have to do more on the elliptical or try walk/running. Regardless, I'm happy I've been able to run this long, so it's all good!!