Coming Home

So we only had to stay overnight at the hospital and we were able to bring you home on Friday, April 3. We were so excited for you to get to see your new home!! We were supposed to be released from the hospital around 8 pm (to allow them time to get your bilirubin lab results back to confirm it was okay for you to go home) but of course it ended up being much closer to 10 pm before we actually got to leave. We thought about staying another night since it was so late anyway, but you should have seen the cot they were trying to make your dad sleep on. There was no way he could fit there and we had already so been looking forward to bringing you home that day that we decided to take you home!

We thought we had chosen the perfect little outfit to bring you home in (a matching white shirt and pant set with hat that Nana and Papaw got you) but we completely miss-read the tag and realized as we were trying to dress you that it was actually a 0-3 month size, not newborn like we thought. Needless to say, you were swimming in it but it definitely made it memorable.

You were not very happy when we unswaddled you to get you dressed at the hospital...

You might notice you are wearing socks on your hands (thanks to Brandy Lackey for the cute little mary jane socks)! : ) That would be because mom and dad forgot to bring mittens and since your nails were so long already you were really scratching up your face. We needed something to prevent that until we got home and these little socks worked like a charm!

All dressed and ready for home... still not very happy...

Mom and dad getting you all bundled up in your carseat for the drive...

You made it home safe and sound...

Here's our little bundle for the first time at home...

When we got home, we were welcomed by Grandma Colleen, Grandpa Mike, Aunt Tina, Uncle Tyler and Baby Mason. When we walked through the kitchen to get to the living room and take you out of your car seat, we saw a whole big welcome home basket of goodies for you, along with flowers and a balloon welcoming you!! We were so surprised and everything was so beautiful!! You got tons of clothes and a special Baby Kieran bunny rabbit from the Build-a-Bear Workshop that plays a lullaby for you. We've actually made it a tradition in our family to always give mom/ baby a special stuffed animal on the day that baby is born so that once that special little baby grows up and moves out on their own, they can take it with them as a keepsake to remember just how much they are loved!! I have my elephant that Grandpa Mike gave to me/ Grandma Colleen the day I was born, Aunt Tina has her mommy and baby possum and we gave baby Mason a special little bear for him to have when he's all grown up too!

We are so grateful for everything that everyone has done for us to help prepare for your arrival. We are truly blessed!!

Hospital Crew

So here is the whole hospital crew. My mom, dad, Sister Tina, Brother Tyler and baby Mason flew in from California the Tuesday prior to Kieran's birth on Thursday. They waited it out with us at the hospital that day. We waited to call Kieran's Papaw, Nana, Aunt Kristen, Uncle Brian, Aunt Connie, Uncle Kraig, Cousin LoLo, Uncle Spencer and Chelsea until around 6 pm so that they didn't have to be there waiting for 12 hours!! I know they were all very excited to meet you baby girl and I also know just how much you love them all!!!

Grandma Colleen...

Grandpa Mike...

Aunt Tina (with Uncle Ty and Cousin Mason)...

Nana...

Papaw...

Aunt Kristen...

Aunt Connie...

Uncle Spencer...

I also wanted to let you know that your Uncle Kraig was there to hold you too the day that you were born!! But for some reason I didn't end up with a photo. Sorry Uncle Kraig. Maybe if someone else has one on their camera, they wouldn't mind e-mailing it to us for posting... :)

I also promise that Uncle Brian were there, but he was feeling sick that day and didn't want to expose you to it. He was out in the waiting room, but he was just dying to see you!! Not to worry though, there will be many photos with Uncle B to come...

Here are Aunt Kris and LoLo getting into trouble (as usual) in the hospital hallways :)

Here are your cousins Mason and LoLo playing together, waiting for you to get here... I hear they became best buddies that day!

Meeting Mommy & Daddy

After 12 hours and 45 minutes of labor, you entered this world to meet your mommy and daddy!! We waited 9 long months to meet you baby girl and you are everything that we could have dreamed of...

Born at 7:45 pm
8 lbs, 5 oz
20 1/2 inches

Labor Day!!

We arrived at the hospital at 5 am on April 2 for our scheduled induction. They got me all settled in to my bed and Ry, my mom, dad, sister Tina, brother Tyler and baby Mason (Tina and Tyler's baby boy) began the wait with me.

They started my pitocin drip 2 hours later around 7 am. They also started me on my antibiotics for Group B Strep so that I would have multiple doses before Kieran arrived, so as to not transfer it to her. Dr. Smith came by around then too to let me know he would be back early afternoon to break my water. Throughout the morning they began slowly increasing the pitocin drip to try and make the contractions stronger and closer together. It got to be around 12 pm and while the monitor was telling us that the contractions were decently strong and fairly close together, I really wasn't feeling much in the way of contractions (at least based on what I had been told they would feel like). I wasn't even certain I was feeling them at all. I even got to take a nap in the late morning.

Dr. Smith came back around 1 pm to break my water. He asked me if I had my epidural yet and I told him I had asked to wait because I didn't want to slow anything down and I wasn't really in any pain from contractions yet. He told me at this point I was going to want them to give me the epidural, since breaking my water would make the contractions much more intense. I told the nurse I was ready for it. At that point, she told me it would be approximately a 1/2 hour or so since the anesthesiologist was finishing up in a C-section. The nurse came back about an hour later (around 2 pm) to let me know another nurse had grabbed the anesthesiologist on his way into my room and told him to go to her patient's room first because she was screaming in pain. At this point, I about lost it. My contractions were getting pretty intense at this point and I NEEDED that epidural. Ry was so sweet and just kept holding my hand through the pain. About a 1/2 hour later (around 2:30 pm) when things were starting to get really bad, the anesthesiologist finally came in to give me the epidural. Thank goodness!!

The epidural only initially took on one side of my body. It was a really weird feeling. I could still feel the contractions (milder contractions of course) on the left side of my belly. They came back in and fixed it for me and from there on out I couldn't feel a thing. Not even any pressure. If it weren't for the monitor they had hooked up, I wouldn't even have known that I was still having contractions. From there I labored for another couple hours until around 5 pm. The nurse came back in to check my progress and told me I was still only at 5 cm and 70% effaced. With that news, we thought it would for sure be safe for Ry to go downstairs and grab some food. She came back about a 1/2 hour later (5:30 pm) to check me again. At this point, she looked up at me and just smiled. I thought for sure she was going to tell me I had only progressed another cm or so, but she told me I was completely ready to go and that the baby's head was right there so we could start pushing! I started to get worried because Ry was still gone. Luckily he was already on his way back up (5:45 pm) and my family (who had been waiting in the hall while I was getting checked) filled him in on everything.

The nurses called the doctor to let him know they were going to start some practice pushes with me before he came. So I pushed with the nurses from around 6:15 pm or so until 7 pm. At this point I asked them to turn off the epidural because I couldn't feel anything in order to push. Shortly after that, Dr. Smith showed up and we pushed with him. Towards the end of pushing I was starting to be able to feel pressure, but still no pain from the epidural wearing off. After about an hour and 1/2 of pushing, Kieran joined us!!!

Belly Photo- Week 39

So we completed week 38, and were just beginning week 39 when we went to the Doc for our weekly check on Monday, March 30 . He told us I was 4 cm dilated and approximately 70% effaced. We were so excited that I was already progressing along!! He asked us if we wanted to schedule an induction because he would be leaving for a week long vacation that Friday and really wanted to be the one to deliver her. Since we were definitely on board with that and we already knew she would be plenty big enough, we scheduled the induction for that Thursday, April 2. We went right out to the car and started calling all of our family so they could be prepared too. In all of the excited preparation, we completely forgot to take our last week's belly shots before Kieran joined us, so all we have is the photo my mom and dad took of me the day before our induction. Oh well!! I don't think there was too much more growth that last week anyhow!!

Belly Photos- Week 38

So we just completed week 37, starting week 38 and had our first progress check at the doctor's office on Monday. We are 1-2 cm dilated but 0% effaced so he thinks it will still be a little bit before she joins us. He did say that he could feel her head, so she is head down and ready to go! I haven't started having any contractions yet (not even small ones) but we'll keep you posted! We go back for another progress check on Monday, 3/30 and can't wait to find out if Kieran is any closer to being here! Can you tell from the front shot that she likes to sleep on the left side of my belly? : )

Kieran Moving

So I have been trying to catch Kieran moving in my belly for a long time now, but she appears to be camera/ video shy : ) She is constantly moving, but every time I whip out the camera, she decides to hide. These two little clips are the best I have been able to catch so far!

Work Shower

So Ryan's co-workers were sweet enough to throw us a baby shower too! Everyone has been so wonderful and generous. We got so many cute things and just can't wait for Kieran to use them! Here are a couple of photos of the sweet treats they had for us and what I can only describe as the coolest diaper tower supply cake that you've ever seen! It was a really fun idea. Thank you all so much for everything!

Belly Photos- Week 36

So Kieran doesn't have near as much room to move around now!! Her movements seem to be more in rolls than in jabs, etc. like they were before. I thought she was in my ribs before, but she is definitely always in my ribs now. My ribs feel so expanded, I have no idea how she will keep growing for another month, but guess it will happen somehow!! It's definitely harder to sleep at night due to the pressure inside my belly and due to all the pressure she is putting on my ribs, but I'm managing. My hips keeping going numb too as I shift from side to side during sleep. That's what usually wakes me up and causes me to shift again. She's still been great to her mom though so I can't complain too much about being uncomfortable in the last 4-5 weeks!! If I've made it this long without extreme discomfort, I guess that is more than most people are able to say, so I've been very lucky : ) Don't mind the crooked belly button in the front shot, that's just how she likes to lay so that my belly looks distorted. I think she does that part on purpose : )

AR Baby Shower

Connie and Kristen threw me a baby shower here in AR on Saturday, 2/21, and I had a great time!! Baby Kieran got so many wonderful things and I can't thank you all enough for helping us get prepared for her arrival. She is definitely one spoiled little girl and she's not even here yet!!! Thank you again Kris and Con for everything! You did a wonderful job and I'm so grateful!!