Audrey is 1 month old!

On Tuesday, November 15th , Audrey turned one month old. I cannot even believe it has already been a month since she was born. Every day, I just smile and thank God that we have her in our lives. She is a true blessing!

Picture taken Nov 15th

At one month...

Audrey weighs 9 pounds, 4 ounces and measures 21.5 inches long
That means she has grown about 2 pounds in this first month! Doctor Tess, our family practitioner Audrey is seeing (in lieu of a pediatrician, which is another story for a different day), really was pleased with this growth. I believe this puts her in the 65-70th percentile for height and weight.  (Source: CDC.gov WHO growth standards) She sure does like to eat. And sometimes more often than is "convenient" or ideal for me. But I wouldn't trade those feeding times for anything in the world. I love her facial expressions and those smiles that melt my heart. I love these bonding times with her! And I also realize that the more I feed her, the more milk supply I will have and therefore the longer I will be able to breastfeed. Breastfeeding has really worked out well. It's been hard at times, but I am thankful I get to do it because of the health benefits (for Audrey and me) and because of the cost savings. Formula is expensive! And me (being my frugal self) would just rather not spend money on formula when breastfeeding is free!  Do you think she'll be tall?  We sure do hope she gets the Larson height, and growing an inch and a half in the first month is a good start!

Picture taken Oct 30th

Audrey is wearing size 0-3 months clothes
I tried dressing her in some newborn clothes at 3 weeks old, but they were really snug.  That was my first indication that Audrey had grown in weight and length.  We love the side-snap shirts for wear everyday.  They are so convenient in that you don't have to pull them over her head.  In fact, Carl went out and bought a lot more of those shirts that first week we had Audrey at home.  We have shirts and onesies.  And they have mittens which is so nice to both keep her hands warm and keep her from scratching herself.  Love them!  We also really like sleep gowns, sleep sacks, and sleep onesies with the footies.  Do you see a pattern?  We love clothes that keep her warm and make it easy on us to change her diaper.  Audrey has been in "regular outfits" a few time like when we are going out to the mall or to the store or out to eat.  But you will be more likely to find her just in a onesie or shirt and diaper around the house.

Audrey wears a size 1 diaper
When we were in the hospital, we got used to the size 1 Huggies (with the wetness indicator).  When we got home, we had some newborn diapers that were really handy because they have the cutout for her umbilical cord.  But after her cord fell off and we ran out of newborns, we switched back to size 1.  There really isn't much difference between different brands of diapers; they all do their job.  We use Pampers, Huggies, and Target brand.  But we found that we prefer Huggies to the rest.  Target's are kinda big and bulky on her, and Pampers has a mesh lining that sticks to her bum when her diaper is really wet or full.  It looks like it would hurt.  But believe me, we are not throwing any unused diapers away!  We will use anything we have.  We are so lucky and appreciative that we received so many diapers as gifts!

Audrey has accepted a bottle several times now, which makes me so happy!  That gives me the flexibility to pump and then run some errands or just be away from her for longer than a couple hours.  Carl and I were even able to go out and celebrate our anniversary on November 13th...4 years and 1 month.  Finally, right?  We were planning to go out for a nice dinner on October 15th, but Audrey had a different plan for us.  :)  Grandma Larson was nice enough to watch her for us for a couple hours and Carl and I went to Coopers Hawk for a nice dinner.  I even had a glass of red wine!

Audrey is eating about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, even during the night.  Although, she did go almost 5 hours one night.  Needless to say, that was awesome!  It's really not too bad, though, getting up in the middle of the night.  Every night's different, but I've seen this pattern quite often...11pm, 2am, 5am, 8am.  Most nights are good nights, although we have had some challenging nights.  Through her first month, Audrey slept in a cradle right next to our bed.  This was so convenient for the nighttime feedings.  The trick, and what determined whether it was a good night or not, was how easily and quickly she fell asleep again.  The first week was no problem.  She slept soundly between feedings, day or night. But after about 2 weeks, she became much more alert during the day.  Even though it's a lot of fun during the day, she sometimes would want to stay up at night, too.  And since she was sleeping in our room, I didn't want her to wake up Carl who had to get up early for work.  There were quite a few nights of rocking her to sleep only to have her wake up again after only a few minutes in her cradle.  And then there was the walking about hte house trying to lull her to sleep.  Or giving her a pacifier to occupy and calm her, but usually that's more trouble than good because she wouldn't be happy when the "paci" fell out so I had to be there and awake every few minutes.  So, after talking with the nurses at Audrey's checkup, we decided it was time to transition her to her crib. That has worked out really well, and she has been such a good sleeper in her crib.  What a good baby!  I seriously don't think we could have gotten any luckier with Audrey.


Audrey loves to be held!  We have been so fortunate to have many friends and family who want to come see Audrey.  And most love holding her.  A lot of times, she'll just fall asleep in their arms.  When I'm home during the day with Audrey, I try and put her in her bouncy seat so I can cook breakfast/lunch/dinner or eat or take a shower for instance.  She likes the bouncy seat and a lot of times will fall asleep.  But there are some times when she'd just rather be held.  And I am happy to stop and hold her.  Seriously, I don't think there is anything better in the world than holding her and looking into that sweet face or watching her sleep in my arms.  So precious!  (And because of that, I still haven't finished all our thank you notes.  I'm working on it.  Almost there.)  I love seeing Carl hold and interact with Audrey.  He was trying to give her a pacifier the other day and commented on how she'll only take it "it it's on her terms, just like her mom".  Ha!  I guess I am like that...I am more willing to do things when they're my idea.  Hopefully this means she will be strong and independent, but not stubborn or difficult.  We will see!

Picture taken Oct 21st

Audrey loves to play on her Baby Einstein activity mat.  
She loves to look up at the whale and octopus and all the other toys dangling from the top.  She will swing her arms to hit them so they make sound and move.  And then a couple times a day, we'll turn her over for "tummy time".  She's very tolerable of being on her tummy, even from the very first time we tried it.  We started tummy time as soon as her umbilical cord fell off around day 10 or so.  She proves she is a strong little girl.  She bicycles out her legs so they slide on the mat, to the point that we joke that she would get up and run out of here if she could.  Also, she can hold her head up for several seconds and turn it from side to side.  She also pushes herself up on one arm/leg at a time so her body is in the beginning stages of rolling over.  Carl did see her roll over on November 15th, but we think she had a headstart with how he had her positioned on the mat.  Either way, she's getting some muscle strength and coordination.  Gramps Patton compares her to Secretariat.  Ha!

Source:  IMDB.com

Audrey likes to make a lot of sounds...coos, moans, grunts, you name it.  Grandma Larson says Audrey is "singing".  She's just getting ready to voice her opinion!  

I think that about sums up the first month.  Audrey is such a blessing!  She's easy-going, strong, beautiful, loving... the list could go on and on and on.  

What a great month it has been getting to know our little girl.  We love you, Audrey!

Bathtime

Audrey's umbilical cord fell off on October 26th (last Wednesday).  And you know what that means?  She can take a "real" bath now!

She just loves her bathtime.  She's so laid-back but wide-eyed during the bath. I just crack up...she is so cute it just kills me.  (I'm a little biased; a proud Momma!)  But really, she doesn't cry or fuss at all.  She's really curious and seems to enjoy it.  Here are some pics from the first bath that Carl and I gave her together.

This last pic captures the "get a diaper on her ASAP" moment right after the bath.  Isn't she so cute with the monkey-hooded towel?  Our cute little monkey!

New Car!

Carl and I have been thinking for awhile that we might need to get another car to replace his 2-door Honda Accord.  Carl's Accord really has been a great car for us.  It has over 140,000 miles on it and runs like a champ.  But after having Audrey, we realize that we are challenged for space.  I kept thinking about how we would transport Chief and Audrey in the same little car.  Even in the Camry (the bigger car of the 2), it would have been tough.  We didn't even know if the car seat would fit in Carl's car.  And even if it did, it would be a pain to fold up the front seat to crawl into the backseat with Audrey and fasten her in the carseat.  The only thing holding us back (well, holding me back!) was that both the Accord and Camry are paid off.  I really didn't want a car payment again!

We (by "we", I mean Carl) did a lot of research and we really liked the Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring models.  They have 3 rows of seats, which will be important as our family grows and for taking Chief along on trips with us.  Also, when we go down to Central Illinois, we're going to be bringing a bunch more stuff now.  This car has a lot more room.  So Carl and I headed out to test drive it and find out more about it.  We really liked it a lot!  And, they had 0% financing on the new 2011 models.  Good timing!

Both photos courtesy of Mazdausa.com

Isn't it beautiful?  It's so nice and has so many bells and whistles that we've never had in our cars before.  Carl really researched it and found the right dealer with one of the last 2011's in the area and even negotiated the purchase and trade-in.  That stuff stresses me out.  I thank God he took care of it all!  And he did a darn good job, too.  Love this new vehicle!!!

Happy Halloween!

Have you seen anything cuter?  Seriously...

"My First Halloween" 

Going to "show off" her cuteness at Target with Auntie Am.  Audrey's first trip of many to Target!

Coming Home

We were discharged from the hospital on Monday morning, October 17th.  It was nice spending all of Saturday and all of Sunday at the hospital.  The nurses really took care of us!  They even sent us away with bags upon bags of diapers and wipes and other goodies.  So thankful for them!

We were excited to go home with Audrey!  We dressed her in a cupcake onesie.  Isn't she just the cutest??

Carl went down to get the car while the nurses wheeled me downstairs.  It was a lot of fun carrying Audrey while they wheeled me through the hospital.  I got to show off my baby!

Once Carl pulled up the car, our first true test... get her in the car seat.  It took us a few minutes, but we got her securely fastened in and we headed home.  Carl drove while I sat in the backseat with Audrey.  Audrey was crying quite a bit at first, but as we headed down 95th Street toward 294, we passed over some railroad tracks and some bumpy terrain.  She calmed down once we got into a rhythm with the bumps.  She came to really like the car!

Carl and I joked that it was a longer trip going home than it was going to the hospital just a few days earlier.  I know that's the biggest cliche, but it really was true.  We had precious cargo in tow and Carl was being extra careful.  

As we were getting into Lockport, Alan Jackson's Remember When came on the radio.  My last pregnancy update post had some lyrics to that song in it.  Weird, right?  Of course, I started crying.  All of my emotions just hit me.  We were bringing home our little girl.  Our lives are change forever!

Then we pulled up to our house.  There was a sign with a balloon in the front yard and balloons inside (all courtesy of my parents and sisters).  We also came home to clean sheets on our bed and a finished nursery.  I was already crying, but then seeing the balloons and the nursery finished, I just bawled.  Amber wanted to surprise us with the clean sheets and the finished nursery.  She knew it would mean so much to us, and it sure did.  I was so thankful!  They spray-painted shelves, hung pictures and decals on the walls, and added the finishing touches.  Look at the pics!  All that's left is to put pictures in the frames and finish adding to the shelves.  I love this nursery!  It is even better than I dreamed it would be.  

It was really indescribable to be home with our baby girl.  This day, October 17, 2011, was one of the happiest days of my life!  Our lives and our home is changed forever... for the better.

Audrey's First Visitors

Here are some pics of Audrey's visitors at the hospital right after she was born...

Grandpa Patton 

"Gramps"

Grandma Patton

Grandma Larson

Grandpa Larson

Aunt Amber

"Auntie Am"

Aunt Ashley

"Auntie Ash"

Aunt Jennifer

Audrey Elizabeth Larson has arrived!

It's what we had been preparing for and waiting for the last 9 months. Audrey Elizabeth Larson came into this world on a Saturday morning, October 15, 2011, at 5:58a.m. She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. She is a healthy and beautiful baby girl. To sum it up in one word... perfect. Here the story of the labor and delivery...

As you read in my 38-week update, I had a feeling that I was getting close to having Audrey. We had a really busy week, and I saw a lot of signs that it wasn't going to be much longer. Even though I wrote that I thought she might come soon and wondered if Audrey would come before my 39-week update, I was in denial about what was going to happen very soon. I was convinced throughout the whole pregnancy that I would go up to my due date, if not after. Well, Audrey had a different plan, didn't she?

Here is the whole story...

I worked all day on Friday, October 14th (9 days before me due date). We finished up the 2 remaining training sessions for our department and my boss "gave me her blessing" to have the baby since that was over. I have a feeling we will laugh about that timing for many years. Also, Carl had an important meeting/interview after work on Friday for a really good job with an engineering firm that he works alongside at O'Hare. I knew I had a little time after work before Carl got home so I went out to buy Carl an anniversary present (mind you, our anniversary was the day before on the 13th and I hadn't found what I was looking for yet). I went to a store in Orland Park, and as I was walking around, I just kept thinking "this baby is going to fall right out of me." If only it were that easy, right? ;) I really felt pressure in my pelvis, really low. She was getting heavy to carry around! I left the store very soon after getting there and just headed home. I felt "lazy" because I really wanted to show my appreciation for Carl and make sure our anniversary was "special" and not neglected this year. Especially this year because Carl has really been so supportive of me all throughout the pregnancy and as we prepared for Audrey to arrive.

So I went home and waited for Carl to get home.  I had the general feeling that I needed to go to the bathroom all the time.  I was nervous that I might be leaking amniotic fluid, even though I didn't feel like my water bag had ruptured.  When Carl got home, we he started making dinner.  It was shrimp tacos for us and black beans and rice.  Yummo!  Carl was filling me in on his interview, which went really well!  And I started to notice that my belly was getting kind tight and my back was hurting about every 10 minutes.  Time is about 6:45pm.  We commented on how much "space" I had between my boobs and my belly, which we just noticed for the first time on Friday.  Audrey had really dropped and was getting ready for her upcoming "journey".  We had talked about going to the hospital that night, even if my water hadn't broke, just to have them check me out and make sure I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid.  And then I said to Carl, "Scratch that.. let's go see Footloose". That's right, they made a remake of one of my favorite movies of all time and I really wanted to go see it.  I've heard really good things!  We laughed at that suggestion because I wouldn't make it but 20 minutes at a time before I have to go to the bathroom to pee.

Soon after that, dinner was finished and we made our plates and headed upstairs to the loft where we eat in front of the TV.  I finished one of my tacos and all of a sudden I felt a snap.  It was kind of like there was an elastic band around my uterus that snapped.  I said "Oh my God".  And Carl looked over at me and I explained what I felt and that I thought that was my water breaking.  There wasn't a huge gush of water or even a trickle, even when I stood up.  I walked over to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and all of a sudden... a huge gush of water.  I confirmed that my water had broken and Carl rushed around getting his things together for the hospital.  This was it.  Carl was excited.  I was apprehensive, and in denial still.  Time is 7:30pm.

As we were driving to the hospital, Carl was talkative, keeping my mind off of what was coming up.  We laughed and had a good time.  Once we got closer to the hospital, my contractions started to get more intense.  And they were coming about every 4 to 5 minutes.  Carl dropped me off at the main entrance to the hospital so I could head up to Labor & Delivery while he parked the car.  Time is 8:30pm.

Now, this is where everything started happening really fast and I just lost track of time.  That's good that I felt like everything happened pretty quickly, especially because I was in labor 10 and a half hours (between the time that my water broke and Audrey was born).  Apparently, there were a lot of babies born that Friday (the 14th) because they didn't even have an exam room ready where they could evaluate me before they transferred me to a birthing room.  They told me to wait in the waiting room.  I walked into the waiting room and didn't dare sit down.  My pants were soaked and I didn't want to ruin their couches (even if it was just water).  So I was pacing around the hallway and nurse's station.  We waited for an exam room to be cleaned and when it was finally ready, they told me to change into a gown and go to the bathroom before they hooked me up to the monitors and such.  I had this feeling that I just needed to have a bowel movement.  I was having some back labor, so I felt a lot of pressure in my lower back.  This was all happening and Audrey was coming that night or early the next morning.  I told Carl I didn't want to call our parents and let them know until the nurses confirmed that I was in labor.  Really?  Confirmed that I was in labor?  See, I was in denial.  While we were in the exam room, they hooked me up to a monitor that tracked Audrey's heartbeat as well as my contractions.  My contractions started coming about every 2-3 minutes while I was in the exam room.  And they were getting a lot more intense.  I remember counting the details in the wallpaper in the room to keep calm.  My body was doing what it needed to do, which is really great.  I am really thankful that I didn't have to be induced.  They talked about giving me pitocin to keep me moving along, but I really didn't want it until after I got my epidural.  In the exam room, they also confirmed that Audrey was head-down and told me I was between 2-3 centimeters dilated.  I had a ways to go yet.  Oh brother.

They transferred us to the birthing room where we were greeted by our nurse, Kathy.  She was really great.  As soon as we got to the room, she asked what my pain level was.  I told her the pain was about a 6 or 7.  She asked if I wanted the epidural now, and I quickly accepted.  She said if my pain was a 6 or 7 right now, we should get the epidural going because sometimes it can take awhile for the anesthesiologist to get there.  My contractions were intense.  I was really looking forward to the epidural.  And it was an immediate change when I got the epidural.  I was really quiet during contractions before the epidural, and I was so much more relaxed and a lot more talkative after the epidural.  They talk about feeling a poke and a burn with the epidural.  I didn't feel any of that.  I kept focusing on how much this would relieve the pain of the contractions.  They nurse told me that I must have a high tolerance for pain because I didn't even flinch when he put in the needle.  And I responded with, "Well, I thought I did until those I experienced those contractions."  We laughed.

After the epidural (I can't even tell you what time it is at this point... maybe around midnight?), Kathy told us to get some rest.  She told me I would need my strength and need to be rested when it comes time to push.  I thought I had the epidural so I would be fine!  We shut off the lights and tried to sleep.  Carl was sleeping on a little couch in the room, and I think he was able to really sleep for a couple hours.  I maybe slept on and off for about a half hour.  I was anxious and apparently intrigued by House Hunters on HGTV.  I couldn't sleep.  But I was really relaxed and didn't feel any pain.

At about 2:00am (October 15th), the resident came in to check my progress.  She looked at me and said I looked comfortable and didn't think I was very far along.  Then she checked me and said I was 7 cm dilated. She wanted to get a second opinion from a nurse because she didn't think that was possible.  The good news about the epidural was that it took away my pain, but I was still able to move my legs.  I certainly wouldn't have been able to walk, but I could at least move my legs which was good.  The nurse came in and confirmed that I was 7-8cm dilated and that my cervix was "squishy", which all means that I was ready to have a baby!  They called my doctor (Dr. Butler, who had just gone on call that night..another example of perfect timing!) to have her make her way to me.  She came in to see me about 3:30am and said that we were getting really close.  At 3:50am, Kathy and Dr. Butler had me do a couple preliminary pushes to see how the baby was moving down.  I was thinking that it was a cake walk having the epidural.  I didn't really feel much pressure, but everything was still moving along.  Yeah...

After 2 or 3 rounds of pushing, I wanted to sit up a little more in the bed so I put my hands behind me and pushed myself up.  I felt one of my cords or something pull out.  I told Kathy and she looked to see what it was.  Yup, it was the epidural.  I pulled out the epidural.  Not what I wanted to hear.  That epidural was my best friend during this process up until this point.  And I needed it.  I hadn't prepared to give birth without pain medication.  She said she couldn't insert the epidural catheter again because since it was pulled out, it wasn't sterile anymore.  She said the options were to have anesthesia redo it or not have the epidural the rest of the labor/delivery.  O.M.G.  I already was feeling some tingling in my legs and could feel a little more pressure with each contraction.  Could I really do this?  We decided we were going to push like hell and get this over with as quickly as possible and do it without the epidural.  So that's what we did.  Pushing was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  They were telling me that every time I would push, Audrey would move further down; but then between contractions, Audrey would retract back a little bit.  That was not encouraging because I felt like I was really working really hard.  At about 5:45am, I asked Dr. Butler how close we were and told her to "reach in and pull that baby out... please".  So she made a decision to use the vacuum.  It's funny because during our birthing class, I decided I was against the forcepts and vacuum.  In the moment, I was a big fan of anything they could do to just get the baby out.  Seriously.  So after just a couple more rounds of pushing, Dr. Butler said "Abby, look at this. You don't want to miss seeing your baby being born."  I looked up and saw a full head of dark hair.  My baby was being born.  It was the biggest relief and a sight I will never forget.  How incredible that Audrey was here!  Carl cut the cord, then they took her away and we heard her crying and it was all very real.  Carl and I were parents.  She was here.  This is what we had been waiting for.  I was excited and overwhelmed with emotion.  The way I expressed it?  I looked at Carl and said, "Oh my God, it's over."  Really, it was just beginning, right?  The delivery is just the beginning of the true journey of raising Audrey.

Our little angel had arrived!

I'm so lucky to have Carl to go through this experience with.  I can't wait to raise Audrey with Carl.  He was such a great support to me during the pregnancy and during the labor and delivery.  He would remind me to breathe through the contractions, comfort me, give me massages where I was really feeling the pain.  He would just look me in the eyes and let me know how strong I was and that this pain was only temporary.  Carl is such a great person... someone I truly respect and admire and love.  He is going to be a great Daddy!

Funniest quote from Carl during the delivery... Between pretty intense contractions and pushes, I looked at Carl and said I didn't know if I could do this.  He looked at me with a straight face and said, "Abs, just think how many calories you're burning."  I don't think I laughed then, but we laugh really hard about it now.  He was trying to lighten the mood and make a joke.  I was thinking "F- the calories. F- a good workour. Get me out of this pain."  I think this Carl quote was the funniest not only of the delivery, but of the entire pregnancy.  What a funny guy!

We were in this birthing room only another hour or so.  They bathed Audrey (I will post pics soon), I got up to the bathroom, and I nursed her for the first time.

Amber was our first visitor.  I think the hospital workers thought she was a resident and they let her up to see us while we were still in the birthing room.  Visiting hours weren't until 12noon, but she was able to come see us at about 7am.  She was up early and so excited to meet Audrey!  Then, when we moved to the "post-partum room" Carl's parents and my parents came to visit and meet their granddaughter.  When they arrived, Audrey was down in the nursery.  They needed to get her blood type and the darn resident threw out the placenta.  Since they couldn't draw the cord blood, they had to stick Audrey and get her blood the hard way.  And this was important since my blood type is A negative.  If Audrey's blood type was positive, I needed to get another Rhogam shot.  Audrey was down in the nursery for about 3 hours while they tried to draw her blood.  It was really hard being away from her.  So strange to have just "met" her, but really miss her not being with us.  Carl took his parents and my parents down to the nursery to see Audrey.  They came back up to the room so excited!  We all couldn't wait until Audrey was in the room with us!

They finally brought her up to be with us.  The lactation consultant helped me while I fed her this time which was really helpful.  And then after Audrey was fed, everyone was able to hold her for the first time.  Early that afternoon, Ashley arrived at the hospital.  It was so nice having our family there... so supportive and so excited.

This was one of the best and most memorable days of my life.  Really, it is only comparable to our wedding day.  But it was just all different feelings, so I guess not at all comparable.  Both really exciting and life-changing days.

We are now a family of 3!

The newest Illini fan...

Speaking of the Illini, Oct 15th was the Ohio St game in Champaign.  Carl and his friends decided to sell their tickets kind of at the last minute.  I kept telling Carl I thought he was fine to go (see, I continued to think Audrey would come after her due date), but good thing he didn't!  And that's all I'll say about the game... we won't talk about the outcome.  ;)