Friends and Family Baby Shower

     My mom and sisters hosted a second shower for me. They had it at my house since it's a little more convenient.  A lot of my family and close friends were there.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of pictures. :(
    Once again Ms. Kendall got so many wonderful gifts!  We are truly blessed with the best family and friends!

The cute birdie plates and napkins matched my baby bedding.

Kendall's Birth Story Part 1

    The past 5 weeks have been life changing. I honestly can’t imagine life without my little Kendall now. This will be a long post but I want to record all the details of her “birth” day while they are still fresh on my mind.   I know most people could care less, but it's important to me. Since it is so long I am going to divide it into two parts. 
     
      Monday (1/28) I had worked like any other normal day. By the end of it I was tired! I had put off going to the grocery store for days. It was to the point we were out of everything and sick of eating out! I pulled into Kroger parking lot and had to give myself a pep talk to even go in. It was a miserable trip. By the end I was hurting with a ton of pressure. And of course I chose the checkout line with the most annoying customer ahead of me. I was thankful for a buggy to lean over. I absolutely hate when people are extra dramatic just for attention but I must have been a sight because the bag girl offered several times to help me with my groceries to the car. I didn’t think too much about all the pressure I was feeling. With your first baby you don’t know what is normal. I just assumed this would be my new normal for the next 4+ weeks.

      On Tuesday I had an appointment with my OB. When they took my vitals, they found my blood pressure was really high. My doctor told me to start having the school nurse check it twice a day and if it was high to call her office. I went on to tell her about the pressure I was feeling. She assured me it was normal. As she listened to the baby’s heart beat, she chuckled and said that Kendall was still really high and that in regards to pressure I wasn’t feeling anything yet. When she dropped I would really be feeling pressure. She quickly changed her mind when she checked me. I was dilated to 5 and thinned out at 35 weeks and 5 days. She laughed and said I just have a really big baby for her to be so high and so low at the same time. She went on to tell me that I couldn’t go back to work. The baby would most likely be here within the week and possibly that same night. She couldn’t believe I wasn’t having really strong contractions at that point.

      The next morning I got up and went to school to drop off my grade book and some text books. I also wanted to tell my kids what was going on. Before I left I had the school nurse check my blood pressure again. It was even higher than the day before. 
   
     Once I got home I called my Ob who wanted me to come into the office. Kiah rode up with me. My blood pressure had come down a little but was still high. I was still dilated to 5. She decided to admit me to the hospital overnight for observation. She said most likely she’d let me be discharged the next day and go home on bed rest. I never realized how miserable a night in the hospital can be. It was a long long night. Anytime I moved the nurse came running in to adjust the baby’s monitor. At one point my blood pressure was so high I had to lie on my left side for awhile. 

     The next morning my ob came in at 8:30. My blood pressure had been all over the place the night before. I was dilated to 7 and still not having contractions. She was afraid to let me go home, especially since I wasn’t having contractions. She said I would be one who ended up having a baby in the car. She decided to go ahead and break my water and start the process of inducing me. Michael started calling our families to get to the hospital. It was pretty comical because both of our families were worried about making to the hospital in time. I got a text from Punky that said, “Mom is bawling her eyes out. Dad is in the shower singing. And Kiah is yelling for him to get out because she needs a shower. “  

 

Mineral Park Baby Shower

    The week before Kendall came, I was blessed to have 3 baby showers.  With Kendall arriving so quickly afterwards, I never got around to posting about them. 
    It would be an understatement to say we were blessed with lots of gifts!   I'm not sure if Kendall is really blessed, or really spoiled.  The showers were a reminder of how many great friends and family members we have.
     The first shower was given by Mrs. Shayla Graham.  She is a member at the church where Michael's Dad pastors.  Before we were married, Michael had been a part of that church since he was four.   They have always been so sweet to us!   I never expected them to do anything for the baby but they wanted to.   These pictures are from that special day....enjoy!

Meeting Her Cousins

     Saturday we got to go down and spend time with Michael's family. It was the first time Kendall got to meet her cousins.

Isaac was so sweet with her.  He kept talking to her.  He decided to call her his little Paige.  

 I grew up always being close with my cousins. I hope Kendall is able to have a close relationship with hers! 

Kendall is One Month!

     Kendall Paige, You are a month old! We have laughed all week about today being your due date. You have already grown and changed so much in a month’s time, and have completely stolen your dad’s and my heart! 

     A week ago at your doctor visit you weight 9lbs 0.5 oz. And were 20 ½ inches long. During the day you eat every 2 to 3 hours. Our nights vary. Some nights you will eat every 3 hours. Last night you went 5 ½ hours. You really don’t cry in the middle of the night. You lie in your bassinet and start whining and give a weak cry. After you eat, you tend to go right back to sleep. Mom is trying to help you develop good sleep habits. Although I love to rock you (and dad does too) we try to put you down while you are still awake. You do awesome with soothing yourself to sleep. And some days we can’t help but rock you some. At night we use a swaddling blanket to wrap you up tight. During your daytime naps, you sleep with your hands above your head. 

     You have totally made your own schedule this month. I was happy to let you do that. Now I’m ready for a schedule and have started using the babywise method. We're still adapting it to what works for us!

    It's tiring being one month old!

    You have finally started to nurse a little again. We are still having to supplement with a bottle and formula, but hopefully not for too much longer. (That’s a whole ‘nother post in itself). 

      Most of your newborn clothes are too small. You are mainly wearing 3 month outfits now. I’ve been putting you in size 1 diapers because we are out of newborns (Don’t worry grandmas, they fit her just fine!) 

     You are such a good baby! I brag about you all the time. You are mostly content and easy to please. You are not crazy about diaper changes. You like to keep us on our toes during these changes. You tend to surprise us with an extra pee or poop when you are diaper-less. You get dad more often than mom because I use the quick get in and out approach. Dad says he is more thorough.

      You are totally chill with bath time. Mommy is still giving you a bath in the kitchen sink and loves doing it. It is the cutest thing. You are totally content the whole time. The first two weeks you would get a little fussy at the end, but just because you were getting cold. Now that the ole belly button stub is gone, you enjoy being down in the water. 

     During the day, we try to switch up where you spend your time. You spend a little being held (and snuggled!), some time in your swing, and some time on your activity mat. You are starting to hit at the toys hanging above your mat. I’m thinking you are gonna be super smart, but I am bias. We also think you may roll over early. You can get pretty close now.   I read you your first book today.  Unfortunately, you could have cared less...but that will change!
     

   You have totally lit up our lives. We watch you constantly and laugh at every little noise you make. You are constantly stretching.  When you do, you throw your head way back and your eyebrows are up as high as they can go. You also still make your sweet fish face. I think you might be a great whistler one day.

      Kendall Paige, You are so loved!

 

Favorite Picture to Date :)

Some little girl will be a month old tomorrow!