Baby Fries's Blog

Milestones Reached in 2010

On August 12th, 2010,  Layla crawled for the first time.  She had been trying or getting ready to crawl for several days, inching up on her knees, getting on all fours, but never really taking off.  She would look at us and would look like she was so ready but never did make a move.  Then, on that Thursday Aug. 12th, I just happened to finish practice early and Jared and I were able to go pick up Layla from daycare together.  When we walked in her room,  Rebecca, one of her teachers, said Layla crawled today!  We got very excited when we heard the news.  So Jared and I kneeled down on the carpet and held our hands out for Layla to crawl to us.  All of sudden, she took off…. and crawled right into her daddy’s arms!  It was amazing how she went from immobile to moving, everywhere!  The next week, she just became faster and faster and wanted to explore everywhere.

On November 7th, Layla made the next step in her moving ability.  She took her first steps all by herself!  It was about 4-5  steps and I missed it (at first)!  I was away at a meeting for club volleyball on the Sunday night.  Jared sent me a text saying “Call me when you can!”  I asked if it was an emergency while in my meeting, but he texted no.  I thought immediately in my mind, I bet Layla walked.  She had been pulling up on a lot of furniture at that point and could walk around the coffee table holding on.

As soon as I left the meeting, I called Jared and immediately said “Don’t even tell me Layla walked tonight.”  And Jared responded “OK, I won’t tell you.”  She had walked!  Just a few steps, but she had walked.  So I rushed home to see for myself.  She would take just a few steps and then fall to her knees but again it was amazing to see.  It’s just incredible how babies teach themselves really.  After that first week of walking, taking a few steps at a time, again she took off!  Our little baby was toddling everywhere and quickly picking up speed.  By her birthday on Nov. 24th, she really had it down for the most part.  By Christmas, it was almost like she could take off running, she would walk so fast.

It was around the same time in November/December, that Layla made her first signs in sign language as well.  The first sign she learned was “finished”, the second “more”, and her third sign is “dog”.  She signs more all the time when we wants food, she signs finished whenever she wants out of her high chair, wagon, or anything else, and she signs dog when she wants to look out our backdoor to look at our landlord’s dog.

On November 24th, we celebrated Layla’s first birthday.  Jared, Layla, my parents, and me had a party at home in our kitchen.  It was Winnie the Pooh themed.  We sang to her, opened presents to the best of her ability, and had a little cake with icing as well.  Layla looked really confused when we put a hat on her head, sat her on the kitchen table, and sang to her.  She didn’t crack a smile or anything the whole time, she had a very skeptical look on her face like “what are ya’ll doing!’  Layla did put her hands in the little heart shape cake that I made (sugar-free per dad’s request, vanilla with chocolate icing) and tried eating cake.  She wiped the icing off on her jeans when it was sticking to her fingers and overall seemed to enjoy it.   That is also the day we learned that she understood “Bye Bye.”  My parents had bought her a toy laptop.  When the lid is closed, the voice on the laptop says Bye Bye.  Layla kept opening and closing the lid to hear the words Bye Bye.  Once, she closed the lid, heard the words bye bye, and then waved her hand as to say bye bye.

It was an exciting first year, with some many changes made in Layla’s appearance and growth, it really is incredible to think back on.  I was told by a friend on mine that the second year has even more in store and so Jared and I are happy to see what this year has in store for us.

A Slideshow of May-August 6th Pictures

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

8 months, Traveling and Growing Up

Layla turned 8 months old on July 24th when we were visiting her Uncle Chris, Aunt Rebekah, and three month old cousin Timothy in Florida. She continues to grow in personality as she has learned to be louder, chats constantly, smiles, laughs, has developed a fake laugh, and blows bubbles with her lips. Whenever we go to the store or anywhere besides home, her head is on a swivel, taking in all she can see. Jared and I love watching her reach for things, look at things, and just play hard. If she is not eating or sleeping, she wants to play and she wants someone to play with her. Sometimes she is content to sit and play by herself, but most of the time she wants one of us around.

Layla got to travel quite a bit the month of July. For July 4th, we visited some Campbell friends who live in Statesville, NC. Then we went to Florida July 21-25. Layla did well traveling in the minivan we rented for the trip! We were suppose to have an SUV but that didn’t work out so we were given a minivan. We must say we liked the minivan for the space. We definitely packed more than we ever would have originally. Jared drove the black Chrysler Town and Country to Florida and back while I rode in the back seat with Layla. When he picked up the minivan from the rental company, he called and said ” I have definitely become my parents now and grandparents for that matter,” as both have the same vehicle. It was a little more difficult traveling as Layla didn’t sleep as much and wanted to play. She definitely let us know by crying that she was not happy about getting in the car seat every time we put her in it.

We stopped in Atlanta on the way down to Florida to meet our friend Julie, who use to work at ETSU, and eat lunch at Chipotle. It was great to have Julie meet Layla for the first time. Unfortunately, at least 20 minutes of my lunch time was spent in one of the bathroom stalls, with no changing table, trying to clean up a dirty diaper that had gotten on Layla’s clothes, and herself, and then on her changing mat. At one point, I had Layla upside down on my knees, trying to put a diaper on her. Once I got her put together, I walked out of the bathroom, leaving the mess, and gave her to Jared before I went back to the bathroom to clean up the disaster! Then I tried to quickly rinse the mess on her clothes off in the sink before anyone else entered! :-0

Once we got to Lake City, we had a great time meeting our nephew Timothy and having the cousins meet, play, and of course take pictures of them. Layla gave Chris and Rebekah a glimpse of what is to come and possibly taught Timothy how to be louder with his voice by the time we left. We also had our first encounter of Layla not liking to not have something she wants. While sitting on the floor, with Timothy laying close, she saw that he had a pacifier in his mouth with a strap attached. Layla is fond of her own gator pacifier strap as she likes to chew on it. She started reaching for Timothy’s strap but we pushed her hand away and would not let her have it. She got mad! She kind of let out an aggravated cry/grunt and became upset that she could not have it. Hopefully we won’t have to deal with bad temper tantrums in the future.

On Friday after our arrival, Jared took me to Gainesville to work UF Volleyball Camp. Layla was dressed in her Gator onesie to visit campus. Layla met the Florida Volleyball Head Coach, Mary Wise, and played with a volleyball in the O’Connell Center where the Gators play. If Layla does play volleyball one day, she can say she took a picture with one of the most successful female coaches of the sport when she was 8 months old.

The weekend before our Florida trip, my parents’ came to visit Layla and to keep her on the Monday and Tuesday before we left as we took a vacation week from daycare. After getting over her initial shyness of them as she was 6 months last time she saw them and has since developed a little stranger anxiety, Layla had a great time with Grandpapa and Grandmama. They laughed, walked, played, and took naps. I think she had my parents worn out by the time they left. Layla really enjoyed her time with them as did my parents. I don’t think she will be shy next time she sees them. She was raising her arms up to them to be held by the time they left. My dad did make reference that it took two of them to take care of her all day and that it’s hard to get anything else done in the day. I don’t know that they remember now how they did it almost 28 years ago with me.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After working Florida camp, we returned home on Sunday July 25th. We arrived home at 1:30 am Monday morning. Layla woke up once we arrived home and was sooooo excited when we took her to her room. She definitely knew where she was and was just chatting away and smiling as she sat on her changing table, getting dressed for bed. Of course, it was difficult getting her back to sleep after that.

I worked one more camp away from home the last few days of July. Jared and Layla stayed home. Jared said she played hard and then slept hard as a result. On my way home, I got a text from Jared saying I better hurry as Layla was getting ready to crawl. She kept getting on all fours, which she had not done until this point, and was very close to figuring it all out. She would get on all fours and then reach forward for a toy, but then go down on her belly. I definitely wanted to speed home when I heard that she was getting ready to move. Below is the video we took that night when I got home. She hasn’t crawled yet but it will probably happen very soon.

It’s amazing how much Layla continues to grow and change each month. I’m not sure Jared and I are ready for her to crawl as she will want to be into everything but I know we’ll love it. Layla is so much fun and we enjoy every minute of her. It is bittersweet to watch her grow as I love her at this age but the changes and growth are just amazing to witness.

7 months old, 2 teeth coming in, and Swimming

Layla turned 7 months on June 24th and she is quite the active 7 month old.  She likes to reach for everything!  Anything you have in your hand, she wants to hold. She’ll almost fall out of your lap if she sees something and tries to go for it.   Layla also likes to take objects and put them over her head or shake them around, beat them on her high chair table, or of course put them in her mouth.  It’s amazing how observant she is and how she likes to look at everything as well. If her line of sight gets blocked, she’ll lean to look around and see what she wants to see.

In the last couple of months, Jared has often put his finger in Layla’s mouth and claimed he felt a tooth.  I would do the same and was never convinced.  One day in the last couple of weeks, we were playing with Layla in the living room and Jared checked for a tooth.  He said there was definitely something in her mouth.  So I felt and I was surprised to actually feel a tooth!!  Then we started looking and we could see the head of a pearly white.  A couple days later, I felt around again and tried to look in Layla’s mouth at her tooth.  She doesn’t really let you see her tooth when you try to look because then she likes to lick your finger or she’ll just close her mouth.  To my surprise again, I saw another tooth!!  Layla’s two front bottom teeth are definitely showing.  Look closely in the picture below to catch a glimpse of her teeth. She’s still shy about showing them off.

Layla has been doing much better with her eating.  She eats her vegetables and we have tried bananas so far for fruit.  We are taking it fairly slow as she just started really opening her mouth and enjoying eating.  We have to go through all the fruits now.  She’ll eat multigrain or oatmeal cereal in the morning for breakfast, sometimes with a little bit of fruit.  She eats a vegetable at daycare for lunch, and for dinner we’ll have oatmeal and a vegetable usually.  She likes sweet potatoes the best thus far.   She ate a whole jar of sweet potatoes at daycare one day last week.

On Memorial Day weekend, Layla and I drove to NC to visit my parents and to attend a wedding of a childhood friend of mine.  Layla had a great time visiting with Grandmama and Grandpapa as they bought her a little baby pool.  The first time swimming was a lot of fun.  Layla kick, kick,kicked and splashed her hands.  She really enjoys the water. At bathtime now, she still kicks and splashes but when the facet is on, she tries to touch/catch the water.  Grandpapa also pushed Layla around in the stroller a lot in the house and pushed her around the mall.  She could ride around most of the day.

Unfortunately, Layla has been sick the last two days but is a lot better now and on the mend. She had a fever when she came home from daycare on Tuesday.  It was much worse on Wednesday and so we took her to the doctor.  Dr. Gill said that Layla may have a UTI and if she still had a very high fever on Wed. night, to come back Thursday morning (on her 7mon. bday).  I took Layla back on Thursday morning to give another urine sample as the first seemed to indicate a UTI.  Layla did not like being at the doctor’s office again that morning.  After spending a long time in the office, and with some poking and proding, she was diagnosed with a kidney infection.  Treatment involves antibiotics.  She had a good day yesterday and the fever is gone today so we’re so glad!  Thursday afternoon after her nap she just felt so bad and her voice was hoarse from crying that morning.  Children are a funny thing though because Layla, after just being so pitiful, started feeling better just about the time Jared got home on Thursday.  So after she finished her bottle, they were playing in the floor.  All of a sudden, she threw up some of her dinner!  Then she laughed and tried to touch it.  And then she kept playing and smiling.

The month of July will be a busy month as we plan to visit our nephew, Rebekah, and Chris when I travel to Florida for volleyball camp at UF.  We are excited to see Timothy for the first time.  We also hope for Layla to see her great grandparents and other family.

Now check out some videos!!

Happy Mother’s Day! Baby Dedication

First, Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and grandmothers out there.  I am thoroughly enjoying my first mother’s day and I am very excited that now I get an extra holiday each year.  My day started by Layla and Jared waking me up and each giving me a card.  Layla wrote in hers something I can’t read just yet.  My husband cooked breakfast for me and we all got ready for church.

At church, in the beginning of the worship service, we had baby dedication.  We were among four other families that dedicated themselves to raising their child to love the Lord and the congregation served as witnesses to that and that the church family would serve as a support system for us.  Pastor Harrod came to each family, announced the baby’s name, birth weight and length, what the child’s name meant, and had a verse picked out for each baby based on the meaning of the name.  The pastor had Layla’s name as meaning night and picked out the scripture Psalm 42:8; “By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”  After that, he prayed for Layla and our family.

After church, we came home, Layla went to sleep, and we ate burritos.  Layla later woke up and was acting very hyper and was so funny.  She likes to sit up now in our laps and grab anything she can.  She had the best time playing with the top to her bottle while Jared held her.  She kept smiling and chatting.  She makes us laugh so much.

This afternoon, all of us got to take a nap (which is just what I wanted for Mother’s day)!  It was nice to rest with Layla.

An update on where Layla is now in her growth and development; She is 5 months and 2 weeks old.  She can roll over from her stomach to her back and sit unsupported for awhile before she leans and topples over.  She likes to put everything in her mouth which I’m not sure if that is development but she can pull her pacifier out and somewhat put it back in.   She can definitely concentrate on small objects.  Layla is doing pretty well eating her oatmeal cereal in the morning and at night.  We will start vegetables very soon.  Layla has also begun to go to bed earlier.  She starts crying for her last meal around 8:15-8:30pm and so we will feed her and she goes directly to sleep after she eats if not during.

We gave Layla a new toy on Friday.  We found a great deal on a gently used exersaucer.  Jared and I wanted to purchase one since Layla plays in one at daycare quite a bit.  When we got home on Friday and cleaned the exersaucer really well, we put Layla in it and she had a blast!  Of course one of the toys she immediately took a liking to and put it in her mouth. She is just so observant these days and so curious about her surroundings that she wants to sit up and see what is going on. Oh and she likes to kick her legs in her bathtub when she gets a bath.  Her tub is almost too small for her now as she is so long.  I think she has definitely had a growth spurt sometime recently.  When I tried to put her first pair of patent leather shoes on this morning, they were about an inch too small for her.

I did read in the latest babycenter email I receive each week that at this stage Layla may begin to have stranger anxiety and so may not take to strangers well.  Layla has no problem with anyone holding her however we can tell that she is more clingy to us when we are at home. She doesn’t want to play by herself too much anymore, she likes to be on the couch with us or in our arms, which is definitely fine with me!

We can’t believe how much she has grown in just 5 months!  We were excited that Jared’s sister recently had Baby Timothy and just thinking of the process they were going through the day Timothy was born made me reflect back on when Layla was born.  I can’t remember now how little she was just 5 months ago.

As I am still having trouble uploading video to youtube, I cannot post any videos on the blog.  I could do it on facebook so guess I still got to figure something out.  Until I do, enjoy the pictures below from Mother’s Day.

Almost 5 months!! (And I’m losing my hair)

Layla is 20 weeks old now but I say almost 5 months as we are going by the 24th date.  She recently visited the doctor this week  for her 4 month vaccine shots.  She weighed in at 14 pounds and 12 ounces and 25.5 inches so she’s a little heavier and has grown just a little since her last visit.  She also has new hair growth and has definitely lost hair.  I kept saying over the last weeks that she must be losing hair.  I didn’t realize how much until looking back at a picture from when she was born.  I am also still losing hair so I hope I have new growth!  Layla’s new growth is definitely a lighter color.  She still has her mohawk though.  Unfortunately, we had to take her to the doctor again on Friday as she has an upper respiratory infection (cold).  She is doing better today though.

Layla has been enjoying daycare. When she hit 4 months, Layla was allowed to play with some new toys.  One is called the bumbo chair.  It looks like a booster seat that sits on the floor.  It has a high back and bar in between the legs.  It is suppose to help her sit up.  Layla can sit in it by herself .  She doesn’t fall over!  Layla does very well on her tummy now too.  She rolled over by herself for the first time on Wednesday of this week!  I was staying home with her that morning because she wasn’t feeling well.  She was on her tummy and was looking behind her when all of a sudden, without any assistance from me, she rolled to her back! We haven’t tried again since then because her cold got worse.

For Easter, we traveled to Winnabow to spend the weekend with my family.  My aunt, uncle, my cousins, and my brother were there.  We arrived on Friday afternoon.  It only took us 8 hours with Layla this time unlike Christmas.  It was much easier traveling this time as she did great.  She pretty much sucks down her bottle now so it made stops quicker. On the Saturday before Easter,  the older adults hid eggs for us “kids” (Mark, Byron, Jared, Matthew, me, and Layla).  Layla had her own special group of eggs to find in the daffodil grass.  There were 0ver 100 eggs hidden, all with something inside them, whether it was candy or dollar bills or quarters.  I think we found all but 2 eggs.  Layla did a great job hunting for her 7 eggs and put them in her pink easter basket.  She also found the best egg as one of her eggs had a $100.00 bill in it!  She said she would share with her parents.  On Sunday, all of us went to church in Wilmington.  Layla wore her pretty Easter dress that Grandma Cheryl bought her.  I’m afraid that many people who sat around us did not hear the whole sermon because they kept staring at Layla.  I had to change her diaper once during the service and then was feeding her a bottle near the end of the service as it was time.  As the pastor got close to the end of his message, Layla, who was laying on the bench between Jared and me, decides that she needs to have a dirty and stinky diaper! Luckily, nothing got on her dress!

On a Saturday in April, Layla attended her first volleyball match.  We had a home tournament with some other local volleyball teams at ETSU.  Layla came with Jared to hang out for the day and watch us play.  Several of our players’ parents were there and got to see Layla for the first time.  They were all excited to hold her and see her.  Alysa’s mom, Mrs. Long, ended up rocking her to sleep that afternoon when she was being a little fussy.  I think she really enjoyed that.

Other than that, we’ve just been enjoying being at home together at the end of the day and on weekends.  Layla plays on her mat, sits in her high chair which we can wheel around, or lays on Jared’s chest while we watch tv.  A new thing we will begin when Layla is better from her cold will be rice cereal.  The doctor said we can start trying to feed her the cereals over the next couple of weeks at morning and night.  So now we have something new to tackle just as we were finally getting into a routine.  I think she will do well as she stares at us all the time when we eats.

I’m still trying to figure out how our video camera works and how to upload and convert the videos so you can see them so hopefully I’ll be able to post some soon.  We have been trying to video her as becomes more chatty.  My brother also took some awesome pictures at Easter which I still need to get from him.  I was planning on posting pictures tonight but something is going on with the upload site.

15 weeks old, Daycare, and a Sam’s membership

Layla turned 15 weeks old (3.5 months) yesterday and what a world of difference from the last time we posted.  As my babycenter email stated, she has gone from being a passive observer to wanting to be an active participant in the world.  Layla now uses her hands a lot.  She likes to grab our arms when we change her diapers and likes to hold anything we put on her chest when she is lying down.  If she is not holding onto something or scratching her chest, or waving her arms in the air, she has her hands in her mouth!  Layla likes to put everything in her mouth, including her bib.  She even trys to hold her bottle when she eats, at least with one hand.

Another difference in Layla is that she coos quite a bit.  I think she especially likes to coo at her dad.  Jared will sit Layla in her lap facing him and she just looks at him and begins “talking.”

At her 2 month check up, Dr. Taylor told us that Layla needed to spend more time on her tummy so she would get use to holding her head up.  At first, Layla did not like more tummy time.  Now, she holds her head up so well and is trying to scoot her knees up under her body and push herself forward.  Also at her 2 month check up, we found out she was 12.5 pounds and 24.5 inches long.  That was right before she hit another growth spurt. Her next check up (and next round of shots!) will be in April.

A big change for Layla has been attending her first week of daycare.  Today was day 3 of daycare and Layla is doing great.  It’s funny because when we go to pick her up she just seems so content and calm.  Her daycare worker, Kelly, said she had a great 2nd day.  Her first day was pretty good except Layla made Kelly change her outfit twice due to her diapers.  Layla is in a class with 3 other boys.  I think she discovered how to be louder today.  She was crying, but not a bad cry, more of like , I want attention cry and I’m tired, but it was a much louder Layla than normal.  I kinda laughed at her because I’m amazed out how loud and noisy she sounded.  It was like, “Mom, I’m going to yell a bit.”

I think that Layla really enjoyed the last 2 weeks before daycare when both Grandmas came to visit for one week at a time.  Grandmama and Grandma Cheryl each kept Layla for a week.  They all loved every minute of it even though I know both grandmas were pretty tired when they got back home.  Jared and I loved having the help and having Layla able to stay at home a little longer while I went back to work.

Now Jared and I are on our own.  So far so good for this week.  We started a new schedule to our lives of getting up every day at 6am now so we can get everything and everyone ready.  The great thing is that this week is spring break so we haven’t been extremely busy at work.  Next week will be the true beginning of a new schedule as I begin practices with the team so Jared and I will be trading off dropping and picking Layla up from daycare.

For Jared and me, we’re doing well.  We are tired but soo happy to be parents.  I hope I won’t be as tired soon as I adjust to a new schedule and hopefully my hair will stop falling out!  We recently bought a Sam’s club membership to buy diapers in bulk and as we left the store Jared says “I’ve never felt more like my parents.”  It’s true, we’re grown up, we have a beautiful baby, and we now shop at Sam’s, buy food for the month, and eat at home for every dinner.   Everyday is more wonderful with a baby though!

Here’s some pictures.  Lots more to come and soon! Promise.

Baby it’s cold outside! Happy New Year!

Ok, so it has been seven weeks since Layla was born and seven weeks since I have posted on the blog.  That’s because the last seven weeks have been some of the fastest, most tiring, most enjoyable, most crazy weeks of our lives.  We have been to the pediatrician’s office for Layla’s first 2 visits and Walmart a few times.  We have been to the mall to see Santa. We have been to take family pictures. We have traveled to North Carolina to see one set of grandparents and spend New year’s.  We have changed at least a thousand diapers I think, and have washed Layla’s clothes, including the changing pads 100 times.  We have got up in the middle of the night every night since she came home.  All of this has happened in just seven weeks yet Layla already seems so much bigger! She has had 2 growth spurts in those seven weeks and at times I didn’t know if we would survive.  She wanted to eat all the time!

We did have a great time during the holidays.  My parents definitely fought over who got to hold her.  They were a huge help in letting Jared and I get some rest. We didn’t realize how tired we were until we arrived in NC.  When we drove up to the house, a sign was on the door that said “A baby changes everything.”  How true!  We would normally only take maybe an hour or two to pack our things and then drive a seven hour trip to my parents.  This time, it took about 6 hours to get everything together, that does not include loading the car the next morning, and about 10 hours to reach Winnabow, NC.  Layla did travel well though.  Our stops just took longer, alot longer.  Jared washed his car during one of the stops.

During the holidays, Layla slept quite a bit. She woke up on Christmas morning to eat and then went back to sleep while the rest of us opened presents.  My mom and aunt threw a shower for us while we were there so Layla got to meet many of our friends in the community. She also decided to sleep through the shower.

New Year’s Eve was to be date night for Jared and me and babysitting night for mom and dad.  Jared and I dressed up a bit and went to a restaurant in downtown Wilmington around 8pm.  We had a great dinner and we talked and yawned while we were eating our meals.  We decided that we were still tired and that neither one of us would be disappointed if say we were to head back early in the night.  I mean, we wouldn’t want to miss Layla’s first new year and the chance to kiss her at midnight!  So we walked in the door to my parents’ house at 11:30pm, just in time to watch Dick Clark’s show.  I think I was in bed by 12:05am!

Layla and I have been hanging out at home mostly since we returned to TN.  We have had so much snow this year in Johnson City and so we’ve had good reason not to go out and about. She hasn’t taken much interest in the snow anyways.  Today, Layla is 7 weeks old! Last doctor’s appointment before Christmas she weighed almost 10 pounds and was 21.25 inches.  I bet she is at least 12-14 pounds now.  Layla’s eye sight continues to improve as now she really locks in on our faces when we hold her or feed her.  She loves to look at the flowers on the wall when she is on the changing table.  According to our baby email update, she should be socially smiling at us now.  We’ve had a couple of smiles but that’s it so she may just be taking longer. She has begun to “talk” quite a bit at awake times.  She makes the funniest sounds and has some funny expressions.  Jared and I often find ourselves laughing at what she does.  She does a good job of holding her head up sometimes and has done that since Christmas.  The girl also likes to eat it seems and has some big gas and burps for someone so tiny!  As Grandpa Paul says, she is a healthy looking baby.  That is another change for Jared and me, talking about diapers and what color they are and how many.  My friend Ada warned me about that.  You never thought you could talk so much about dirty diapers and spit up!!

I’ve posted several pictures for you to see on how Layla is growing.  I hope to post videos soon once I figure out our new software.  Jared and I invested in a camcorder for Christmas, another thing we wouldn’t have done if we didn’t have a baby but something you definitely have to do when you do have one.

The Birthing Story of Layla McKenzie

Wow! Again we say, wow!  What a week it has been and what an emotional and exciting and just crazy welcome to parenthood we have had.  What’s funny is that the post before this one was written on the night that Layla was born.  I (Tammi) was actually sitting at the computer like I am now on Tuesday Nov. 24th updating the blog and of course stating how I didn’t think Layla was coming.  I had been feeling some contractions much like I had on the Saturday before but didn’t think much of the timing of the contractions.  I guess I didn’t really tell Jared that I was having contractions either I learned.  I just told him I was feeling something he said. 

So my family and I were are in the den, had just enjoyed Papa John’s pizza, and I was on the computer around 7 pm something.  I wasn’t going to eat pizza in case I did go into labor, but it just smelled too good to pass up.  As I was on the computer, I suddenly felt a pop inside me.  Next thing I know, I was definitely wet and knew that my water had broken.  I got up quickly and my mom knew something was up because she was sitting beside me.  I started walking out of the den as everyone watched tv and just told Jared to follow me.  As we got upstairs, I told him that my water had broken and he was like ohwe got to go then!  Next came the circus!  It was something out of the movies I feel like.  I started to change, Jared started to load the car, our mothers came up and were running around doing whatever I needed them to and asking me what I needed.  I think I ended up changing 2 times because unlike the movies, the water doesn’t stop!  We finally got in the car as my dad is recording on his camcorder and everyone else finally was told what was going on.  Jared and I just laughed as we drove off as it just seemed so funny of what we just went through and how everything was an all of a sudden craziness.

That was the last of the laughing for awhile.  We arrived at the hospital and went to the desk.  We got checked in and some lady said well we’ll have to find you a room.  (Find me a room? Don’t you have a room ready?!), We walked to one end of the maternity wing and she was going to put us in a room but the room had extra beds in it so it was not ready.  Then she walked us to the other end of the hall and proceded to tell us that we would have this other room as soon as it was done being cleaned! (Seriously, was getting mad at that point).  She brought a chair into the hallway for me to sit on and Jared and I began to wait, meanwhile I started to definitely have stronger contractions and be in more pain. After a couple minutes, she came back with a wheelchair and wheeled me to the other side of the wing and put me in a room.  I remember getting into the bed around 8:10pm.  The lady told us that a nurse would be in to check me soon.

I was becoming impatient as I thought it was taking a long time for the nurse to come.  I told Jared to text my mom to come on back so she could help.  The plan in my head was to have Jared stay by my side and have my mom find out where the heck the nurse was because I was becoming extremely uncomfortable.  A nurse came in right before my mom arrived.  The nurse checked me and I was at 5cm.  I went ahead an asked for my epidural.  She said she would call Dr. Sarkodie and let her know that I was at 5cm (she said the Dr. would come in when I was around 8cm) and then would be back to start my IV and do the blood work needed for the epidural.  Meanwhile, the contractions are coming harder and quicker and I’m feeling a lot of pain.  I thought it was a little off that my contractions were soooo close together.  I wasn’t getting much relief in between.  The nurse came back to begin my IV and the anesthesiologist stopped by and said that Jessica (the nurse) would get my blood down to the lab asap and that he had to go check on another woman but then he would be back and we would get my epidural started.  I remember saying at some point “Please, Please.” Jared asked me what I wanted and I said “Please get my epidural!” (Was really starting to have pain). 

 I never did get my epidural.  What happened next was that the contractions were coming so often and I was definitely in pain.  Jessica took my blood down to the lab and when she came back, the party began.  All of a sudden, I felt this pressure and I knew the baby was coming.  I cried out “She’s coming!”  and almost began to push because I knew that the relief would be in pushing her out.  Jessica told me she needed to check me again.  Jared, who has been holding my hand the whole time, continued to coach me through the contractions.  Another person entered the room as Jessica checked me.  I remember seeing Jessica look up and say “She’s complete!”  (Meaning I was completely dilated, baby was coming ,and no epidural!).  The other person in the room, who was a doctor, told me not to push. (Don’t push??!)  The doctor told me not to push and told us and the nurse that  my doctor, Dr. Sarkodie, was about 15 minutes away.  Jessica told her that I didn’t have 15 minutes, the baby was coming now!  I remember the anesthesiologist did stop back by and put his head in the doorway. Jessica told him it was too late and I remember looking at him and he apologized to me as he left the room. (Didn’t blame him, it just happened to fast).

In an instant, the room filled with people and I was being prepared to give birth.  I was instructed on when and how to push and I began, knowing that it would not be long.  What was funny to reflect on is that I specifically remember asking Jessica to repeat the pushing instructions to me because I didn’t listen the first time completely.  I also remember the doctor and nurse asking me if I wanted to look at the coming baby at a downtime between a contraction and I yelled no!  In about 4-5 cycles of pushing, Layla was born.  It was instant relief from a pain like no other.  Her cry was amazing.  I was in such awe of the event and was staring at her that I didn’t even see Jared cut the cord.  We both agreed she was so beautiful from the start.  They cleaned her up and handed her back to me to hold.  Remember I said I got in the bed at 8:10pm.  Layla was born at 9:23pm.  Dr. Sarkodie walked in shortly after Layla was born.  I told the doctor jokingly that I’m sorry that I didn’t wait for her.  I think she was genuinely upset that she missed it. 

What an experience.  Lots of pain, lots of joy, and then lots of loss of sleep.  But as I have been told by everyone with children, it’s all worth it and we totally agree.  Jared is a happy and proud father and I am such a happy mother.  I can’t believe how it happened and that it happened so fast.  We brought her home on Thanksgiving day, just in time for dinner!  We enjoyed having our family here to share in the experience and to have all the help at home.  So we are parents now and life has changed as quickly as Layla’s birth.  We are excited and extremely happy….and very much tired too but a good tired.

Two days until the due date..two appointments..and Baby Fries wants to wait!

Tammi is 3 cm dilated, has been to the doctor two days in a row, and still no changes at this point! We wanted Baby Fries to come so we could be home on Thanksgiving with her but she has another thought in mind.  She is determined to come on her own time and seems like she wants to wait until Thanksgiving Day.

We have a house full of people in TN who are anxiously awaiting her arrival.  She’s definitely a girl as she knows how to make a entrance and obviously take her time about it. Tammi’s mother has been here for a week.  Tammi’s dad arrived on Friday night.  Jared’s parents and Tammi’s brother arrived last night.  Jared’s pregnant sister and husband arrived tonight so everyone who is coming for the event is here.  So we hope Baby Fries will make her entry into the world this week!

Jared began a beard on November 1st in honor of No Shave November and he called it his baby beard.  His goal was to not shave the beard until the baby came.  He decided to go ahead and shave it last night in hopes that this might entice the baby to come forth.  We’ll see if it works.

We received 3 wonderful gifts from family members recently to help in our preparation for Baby Fries’ arrival.  A really cool video surveillance device that will serve as the baby monitor. It’s got great picture quality and can even video in the dark.  We will be able to see the baby in her room and hear her wherever we are in the house.  We also received the diaper bag we wanted from Babies R US!  Our baby’s room has a new addition, a glider rocker that matches the crib and the dresser and will be great to put up our feet as we rock the baby.  We have received so many wonderful gifts from family and friends and we are so thankful for all of it.  Thank you for all the gifts, prayers, cards, and well wishes.  We realize how blessed we are to have so many people to impact our lives and our baby’s life.  And we are truly excited to soon be able to reveal her name to you and introduce her to you.

Here’s to hopefully posting an actual baby picture soon! We love you all!