Time to Start Dieting...

Just about 5 weeks since the delivery and it's time to start dieting...only I'm not the one who has to cut back on the calories! We had our one month appointment on Wednesday and it turns out, Sakora has gained a whopping 3 lbs!! Who would have thought the baby is the one being perscribed less food! We knew she was developing a double (almost triple) chin and huge leg rolls, but we didn't realize she was quite so large. The first thing the doctor said was, "How often have you been feeding her??" Apparently babies are only expected to gain 1/2-1 lb their first month. Well, our little pumpkin jumped from the 50th percentile at birth to the 90th percentile in just 4 short weeks. So, the doctor said she can go 5-6 hours between feedings at night (which she has started to do and it's amazing!!) and 3-4 hrs during the day. This is good news and bad news.... Good news because it means I have an ample milk supply and that Sakora is an exceptional eater that knows how to get what she needs. It's bad news because I feel like a terrible mother when I think back to how hard I have been trying to get her to eat when she seemed so sleepy! No wonder she didn't want to eat... she was probably so full! I guess I was a little to strict about getting her 8 feedings in... But, other good news is that by all measures the doctor deemed her very healthy and thriving, other than her gas problems, which are her major hang-up. the poor girl just poots and burps like it's nobodies business. SHe is also starting lose her beautiful soft hair on the top of her head, so it looks like she has a receding hair line right now because the rest of her hair is still thick and quite attached to her head. Her hair so light, though,. you can hardly see it in pictures.

And now it's time to brag...Sakora is exceptional at a handful of things already. She is a top-notch pooper. Her PR is 7 diapers in one changing. She is also very good at focusing on objects. Her favorite thing to fixate on is the ceiling fan in her room. Whenever we change her diaper, she looks up at the fan and just smiles and laughs and kicks her arms and legs. And she usually has plenty of quality time with the fan because it can takes us 20 minutes to get a clean diaper on her! She also seems to love focusing on faces and making eye contact, which also makes the person holding her feel very loved...it's amazing how good babies can make you feel :). Underneath all those fat rolls, it seems like she has some pretty strong muscles! She can already hold her head up for a while when she's trying to get a burp out and while she was napping on Kacey's chest the other day, she had a startling dream and did a push-up! When she has a lot of energy (or is trying to get some poo out!), she pushes up on her legs and kicks quite hard.

With a quick flash back to the first days of parenthood...I don't know how people survive those first 2 weeks without someone to help! I am sooooo thankful for family that wanted to be part of those first days....during the night and the day. In the beginning, Sakora woke up about every 2 hours at night, so we have learned to love naps.

Sakora's umbilical stub fell off during the 2nd week and we are giving her full baths, which she loves! This is the first time we dipped her feet in water.... She looks like a baby bird!! Didn't quite have enough fat on her yet... but she plumped up pretty quick :)

Some friends from St. Charles sent us Sakora's first baby doll! She was already holding onto it pretty tightly.

Mom got Sakora this beautiful little dress and we took a stroller ride to the park to take some family pictures. Sakora was not so thrilled, however, and we had a significant amount of trouble getting her to get rid of her furrowed eyebrows. oh well! at least we had a nice stroller ride!

So we started using cloth diapers during the third week.... One word to describe the endeavor: MESSY! Early infant poop is never neat and tidy and makes for one interesting diaper change. I think it will be worth it though. Sakora seems to like them as well, despite their oversized nature. When she wears them, she definitely has a pear shape :)

Tummy Time! Dreaming of something funny...probably her ceiling fan. She has started smiling a lot the past few days and today we think she was actually smiling and giggling at US and not because of gas :)

Visitors! Bubba and GoneGone and Mrs. Rod all were able to spend a little time with Sakora. Aunt Lisa and TJ were also able to make it.... Seeing these people really makes us miss all our family and friends in other states!

Birth Story

Today I have caught up on my sleep a little because Sakora had two stretches of 3hrs of sleep! And we actually had to wake her both times to get her feeding...what a good little girl :) So, with the extra burst of energy, I thought I'd give an update and fill everyone in on the birth story.
It all started late Saturday night (Oct. 16th) with some twinges here and there. Everytime I woke up with a twinge, I would lay there waiting for something to happen, but nothing did until about 3:30 am. I woke up to a contraction and had several that were 7 min. apart. I woke Kacey up a little after 4am (I was determined that if I started having contractions in the wee hours of the morning I would let him sleep until they were 5 min. apart, but I just couldn't wait!). I did, however, let him know that he could go back to sleep, but that I just wanted to let him know...hahah, well of course he wouldn't think of going back to sleep and began a strict timing regiment. By 5:30am we decided to wake the Moms who were camped out in the living room. I kept having contractions, but they were somewhat sporadic so we weren't entirely sure for a little bit whether it was the real thing. By 8:30 they were consistently 5 min apart, at which point we called the doctor and were directed to come to the hospital. With much anticipation, we grabbed out bags (which had been packed for weeks!!) and headed out. I was sent to triage were it was determined that, yes, i was in labor and was dialated to 4cm. We were moved to a room a little after 10am and prepared for the long day ahead. To help labor progress and to ease the pain of the contractions, Kacey and I walked lap after lap around the floor....the nurses on duty thought we were a bit strange for walking so much, but we wanted to get that baby out! ONe of the worst parts of the whole ordeal was not being able to eat! I don't know which was worse...the contractions or the hunger pains! If it wasn't for the popsicles the hospital had for us, I don't think I would have made it.

Unfortunately, labor progressed very slow and at about 4pm, my doctor recommended breaking my water. I heartily agreed as I was reaching exhaustion and not making much progress. Thankfully, once my water broke, dialation increased rapidly and within an hour, I was fully dialated and begging to push. Contractions were much worse and only about 1min - 30 sec. apart. So, little after 5:00, i started pushing and little Sakora arrived at 6:08pm! What an amazing experience.... Quite painful, but so worth it. Kacey was amazing and even though he was so exhausted from sleep deprivation, hard back rubs (my labor was all in my back), and anticipation, he was incredibly supportive, encouraging, and my loving. I absolutely could not have done it without him.

After her grand entrance, Sakora put on quite the meconium show...she pooped 6 times!! Kacey changed those first diapers and is still much better at it than I am (which generally works to my advantage!). After the first night in the hospital, we were able to be released and gladly headed back home. The first week has been amazing...exhausting and wonderful all at the same time. She is so precious, we just want to gobble her up! She already holds her head up for short periods of time and pushes up with her legs. She is very good at holding fingers and seems to really like the water. Walking outside seems to be the fastest way to calm her if she is fussy, so it looks like she's daddy's girl already. We dipped her legs in today during her sponge bath (which she did NOT like....she hates being naked!) and she relaxed right away...probably bringing back warm memories of the womb :)

So the pictures are a little out of order, but enjoy....

My first meal after birth...Arby's roast beef, curly fries and chocolate frosty.

Grandma Betty snoozes with the little one.

Grandma Marla rocks the little burrito.

Daddy loves his little girl!!

The trees have changed beautifully to welcome Sakora into the world.

First stroller ride!

Our last date night. We went to Red Lobster (where we went for out first date) and ended up meeting a couple that also has infant children and we have been hanging out with them ever since!

In triage waiting for word that we were indeed in labor.

Who exactly delivered this baby??

Proud daddy!!

It's a girl!!!

Sakora Lynn Carr arrived Sunday, Oct. 17th at 6:08pm and has been even more beautiful, amazing, and fun than we could have ever imagined. Kacey and I are head over heels and it's only getting worse :) Our little Sakora was 7 lbs 7 oz. and 20.5 inches long. She has a touch of jaundice, but is otherwise very healthy. We have been surprised at how strong she is (we can already see her tiny leg muscles!) and how well she focuses when we talk to her. Of course I could brag on her all day, but because she needs a feeding in about 10 min (she is nursing very well and has already gained back almost all of her body weight!), I will go straight to a few pictures that everyone is anxious to see....

THere will be more pictures and the birth story to come! Love you all and thank you again for all of your support and prayers for our growing family!!!

See You Soon Baby!

The end is in sight! One week from yesterday, we will be holding our baby! At our last doctor's appointment, we discussed inductions with the doctor and decided to wait as long as possible before inducing to give the baby as much time to come on its own. The doctor was only comfortable waiting until a few days after passing 41 weeks, so we are scheduled for an induction on Wed., Oct. 20th at 6am. Maybe Baby will come sooner though! Regardless, we are soooo excited at the thought that in less than ONE WEEK, we will get to meet Baby Carr! Also some exciting news, I have dialted to 3cm...woohooo!! That is up from 2cm last week. Although it doesn't give any indication on whether the baby is coming sooner, it is just encouraging to see some progress.

So here are a few pictures of the leaves in Knoxville. They were taken a few days ago, so they are even more colorful and vibrant today! Wish you could all be here to see them...

These 2 ducks are the only two at Adair Park and if you see one, you always see the other one with a few feet. They are inseperable. Hopefully this spring we see some ducklings!I forgot I had this picture of Kacey covered in white after sanding the walls in the baby room. He looked like the abominable snowman!
Our wonderful neighbor Miss Debbie invites us to swing on her porch swing...This particular day were were all sporting our Tennessee colors for the football game.

Bear wanted me to post this picture....he looks much thinner in this photo that he does in real life :)

On Pins and Needles!

So it is October 11 today and still we have no baby :(.... What surprise!! We have passed the official due date (Oct. 9) and are wondering if Baby Carr will ever come! Although preparations have been fun, we are past ready to hold our little one and in our arms. Aside from the constant anticipation and expected discomforts of being 9 months pregnant, I have been feeling pretty good, thankfully! I have been waking up at about 3am on a fairly regular basis and have trouble falling back to sleep because the baby is moving so much and every morning the feet are on the opposite side. It feels like little Baby Carr is getting restless in there, but I still have had no contractions of any sort. Tomorrow is our final scheduled doctor's appointment and we will have to discuss an induction date.... so we know that 2 weeks from now we will FOR SURE have a baby!

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to lately...

We set up the baby furniture in the guest quarters in case Baby Carr arrives before the his/her room is completely finished.

Rolf (Kacey's stuffed dog from childood) sits in the corner, also anxiously awaiting Baby's arrival.

Kacey puts some finishing touches on the trim...

The only thing left is staining the inside of the window frames!! Hopefully this weekend we will move the furniture in....unless, of course, we deliver in the next few days!

Mom and Marla helped stain the trim...

One day we made a feast of Apple Apricot Pork Roast, Cornbread Salad, Cheesy Potatoes, and a Pumpkin Roll for Kacey's office. With both Mom's cooking, it was quite the presentation!

Kacey took our pitiful mailbox down (it looked like it had been hit by a few large objects and was suffering from leprosy...) and cut/stained a new post. He also knocked out the large dings and repainted it. The man across the street was very concerned when our box was down for a few days, which is very interesting because the only thing we had previously know about him is that he drives a silver truck and always checks his mail several times a day, as if he has been waiting for something extremely important to arrive. After we put the new one up, he smiled at me for the first time ever! Haha... who knew a mailbox would be of such interest!

Kacey and I sit in our front porch enjoying the view of our "new" mailbox and the beautiful weather...
Although the weather has been just beautiful for the most part, we did have a of cold spell that lasted a few days. We had to load on the fleece blankets and borrow a few space heaters from our friendly neighbors.
Cuddlying up to get warm...

Mom snuggles up to read.

One Sunday we visited the McClung historical house in Fountain City. McClung is Marla's maiden name, so we were quite interested in the history, especially because the house is for sale. Unfortunately, when we showed up for the open house, the realtor had apparently abandoned his or her post, so we only got to view the yard (which was beautiful! and had a great view...you could see the Smokies!). We also peaked in as many windows as we could reach.

A big part of our daily routine has been taking a long walk in the morning. We make our way to the end of our street and then to Adair Park. We have found some beautiful flowers and have been able to watch the trees start to change. I'll have to take and post some pictures of the trees now that the leaves are starting to turn! Marla has been great about taking the camera and has snapped these shots of our walks...

Marla sneaks into someone's garden to take some pictures of their flowers...

The Moms also treated me to a pedicure and manicure so my nails would be pretty for the delivery. It was wonderfully relaxing (except when the lady tried to ask me questions...her english was not so good and it was a little stressful trying to figure out what she was saying! I know I answered the wrong question a few times...poor lady!). Unfortunately, the baby is taking so long that polish on my finger nails is already gone!

Some belly shots...all around 39 weeks.