Baby Pictures!

Hanging out by the pool

Chillin in the baby hot tub

At our neighbors for a Puerto Rican feast with Rucco the puppy

NumNumNum

Practicing yoga

Oh, How Time Flies...

To follow up on my previous post:

Oh, how I miss Walla Walla! Karsten and I, although both very sick, had an amazing week relaxing with the grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Karsten met his his great-grandparents, great-aunt Rhonda and great-uncle Tony. We had a clam bake, and a lot of fun hanging out on the farm.

Karsten spent most of the week (including the early morning hours) with his Nana. (Mommy needed sleep to get rid of the double ear infection I was plagued with).

In addition to his family, baby K got to meet some other very important people. One of my best friends from high school, Kaelen, got to meet my little man and gave him an adorable little stuffed monkey that he is completely obsessed with.

The Saturday I was back home was my 25th birthday and we had some very important guests - my best friend Pam and her daughter Anayiah. Anayiah was loving on Karsten the whole time we were out at dinner, and Nana babysat the two kiddos while Pam and I went to the Feast Walla Walla festivities with my dad (wine and AMAZING food included!).

We followed up that awesome day with a DELISH dinner at my favorite restaurant in town, the Whoop 'Em Up Cafe.

The week was so much fun - one of my other best friends from high school, Matt, came out to the house and then we met up with Kaelen, Dannie, Ben, Zac and few other high school classmates at the bar while Nana and Papa babysat the little dude.

I miss home like crazy, and I can't wait to take Karsten back there for another fun trip :)


More recent updates:

We are nearing the six month mark.

While I was pregnant, and when I referred to Karsten's age in weeks rather than months, six months seemed to be decades away. I had an image of my head of a six month old baby - talking, sitting up, cry-free, ready to go - pretty much a full-blown adult in a smaller package.

When baby K turned 5 months on May 31st, instead of being amazed by how much he's grown, I realized how off-mark my previous baby expectations were.

Although I overestimated some things about Karsten, I have been completely shocked and awed by his developing personality. He is nearly sitting up, and can hold his own bottle. We even began feeding him infant oatmeal! (He's not a big fan, but he loves to smear it all over his face with his spoon).

Poor little dude has continued to have a cough, and be sick in general. The doctor told me that he has allergies, and there isn't much we can do other than avoid taking him outside. Bummer, because he loves going to the dog park and swimming!

Yes, SWIMMING! We go in the pool for the first time on Sunday, and it was incredible to see him in the water. While Eric held his chest, Karsten kicked his legs and splashed the water with his arms as we carried him along the pool. The other pool-goers referred to him as the "baby that looks exactly like the baby from the Hangover." Maybe it was the big sunglasses and hat that I had him wearing?

Anyway, within the next month, we are traveling as a family to South Carolina. It will be our second big roadtrip all together (puppy dogs included!). We'll be heading off to Myrtle Beach and Lake Murray to see Eric's family and friends.

Can't wait!

Updated pictures to follow later today!!!

A Guardian Angel

Karsten showing off his pouty lips!

I haven't been a mother for long, but I have learned some valuable lessons. A lot of people will tell you that traveling (by which I mean air travel) with an infant is traumatic. They are not lying, but they are exaggerating. As a country, we have seen some severe trauma inflected in the Northeast and the state of Texas. From that trauma, those scary scenes and changed lives, came a very beautiful thing - the kindness of human nature. Whomever teaches that human kind is evil by conception is very diluted. And God has literally placed in front of me amazing examples of the loving hearts of strangers.

I was beside myself as a 14 week old Karsten and I made our way to the airport with three bags of luggage. Eric left for a week to go surfing so the little dude and I made our way to Washington to see family and friends (and seek solace and sleep!)

We arrived at the airport 4 hours prior to takeoff. Everything was okay- I got a beer and some barbeque and relaxed with Karsten for an hour. Then the fun began. Karsten was really sick, and had been on a nebulizer for three days. I had to give him treatments every four hours, and the timing landed perfectly in the middle of our terminal stay. The screaming baby and I hogged the handicapped bathroom for 30 minutes while I held the little turtle-mask on his face.

When Alaska Airlines called for "those traveling with infants or who need assistance" to board, Karsten and I made our frazzled way to the plane entrance. In front of us stood an old man and a little boy. The boy boarded the plane with the airline attendant and yelled "Bye bye grandpa! Love you!" to the old man. The old man proceeded to cry, wave and walk off. Wow, that was sad. I start tearing up, but I hold it together. Well...I held it together until we walked down the little make-shift hallway to the plane. I had a gigantic carry-on bag, a screaming (sick) baby, a stroller and a carseat. Help. I looked at Karsten, who was bawling, and started bawling right back at him. A woman grabbed my shoulder and said "No, no honey, please don't cry! You're going to make me cry. Let me take this. You take your baby and sit down." This woman folded my stroller, gave the carseat to the flight attendants and carried my obscenely obtuse bag to my seat. Karsten and I were seated in the last row of the plane...right next to the woman who was helping me. Her two 6 and 8 year old boys sat in the row in front of us. I was still teary-eyed when she started tearing up.
"I know how hard it is to travel with children alone. My husband passed away in Afghanistan a few years back and left me with the boys. My fiance is currently overseas and is being transferred to Texas from Fort Lewis. I've been traveling along with my boys for a long time. No one ever helped me- especially women. They looked at me like I should be doing better, like they had everything together and I should too. I don't ever want someone to struggle like I did."

I didn't know what to say. Thank you? That didn't seem good enough. She asked to hold Karsten, and I gladly handed him over (he looooves strangers!). The rest of the flight, after the takeoff, was amazing. The flight attendants, instead of glaring at me when Karsten cried, came over to offer a comforting word or to hold him. They heated up his bottle, no problem. And carried out my bag and stroller for me.

It was hard, but I felt guilty for feeling sorry for myself. I might have been alone at the time, but I was surrounded by the most caring people I've ever randomly come across.


Day One ended with my parents picking Karsten and I up, and I will tell you all about the week at home in the next post ;)

Nearing 3 months...!

The last month has been a big one for Karsten (and Eric and I!). He successfully received all 6 of his vaccinations. I decided to do these in two separate visits spaced out over the month for two reasons. 1. I couldn't stand to see his little chubby legs get stabbed by 5 needles and 2. There are a few studies floating around that when children receive all vaccines at once, they are at a higher risk for autism. Not going to risk it, so it was an easy decision to split up the shots.

He handled them really well- better than I would have!

We're coming up to the 3 month mark, and it's astonishing to see his personality form. The biggest aspect of his little personality jumped out at me pretty early on- Karsten is a total ham. He loves people, getting his picture taken and being interacted with.

Last night, we took him "contra-dancing," also known as barn dancing. He was the star of the show. It was amazing to see him interact with my coworkers and complete strangers. Every time someone came over to say hi, he would cheese it up with gigantic smiles, very loud "goo gah woo" sounds and clapping his hands.

Karsten has also started to get a little attitude. There are times when he will be sitting in his bouncer with one of his stuffed toys and he will rip his binky out and scream at the toy. He then proceeds to smack his toy until I move it. Kind of a "get out of my personal bubble you creepy little stuffed lamb!" reaction.

Daycare has been amazing. The women at the Lutheran church we take him to shower him with love, and I can tell being around the older babies helps with Karsten's development.


Pictures to come soon! I have a million of them and need to pick the top few to post.

:)

A very big decision...

All smiles!!

The time has come for me to return to work...and send Karsten to daycare. Leading up to this point I was terrified that I would be an emotional wreck having to leave him all day, but after touring our daycare I feel a lot more confident that he will thrive there and I will be able to make it through the workday.

I struggled with the idea of being a working mom. As a family, we have a main goal to provide all we can for Karsten. While he is still young, Eric and I want to make sure we are at strong places in our careers.

I hope that when he is older he sees that women and men are equal; and can both hold powerful positions in the workforce. To me, going back to work means setting an example for Karsten and also setting up a bank account that will pay for any education, summer camps or trips he wants. Ok- he will probably end up being a little spoiled, but we are going to make sure he has the hard-working mentality that Eric and I have.

Monday, the 18th, will be a difficult day. We are excited to see where this career takes me though, and I know Karsten will be safe and sound at Abiding Love Lutheran daycare. He's going to be the youngest child there, so no doubt he will be getting loved on all day!

In slightly related news, I have reached my prepregnancy weight and will continue daily workouts consisting of distance runs, yoga and weight lifting. I am so thankful I have Eric- he knows how important working out is to me and my mental/physical health. I believe that taking care of myself will make me a better mother...plus I need to stay strong so I can keep up with Karsten as he grows!

Little bitty baby isn't so little anymore...

Growing boy! This picture was taken around January 28th

Wearing his camo hunting outfit from Uncle Greg and Aunt Donna

The little man has been in a growth spurt for a solid two weeks...he's no longer wearing his newborn outfits and diapers. He's grown into the 3 month sizes and a size 2 diaper. Thankfully, we have a stock pile of clothes for him to grown into.

Other updates:

He's holding his head up on his own ALL the time

He now loves bathtime...he's all smiles whenever we pour water over him. It's adorable.

He got his first cold. Sneezing non-stop and I used the nasal aspirator for the first time...lots of baby snot haha

The picture to the left was taken on January 15th.

We have a solid schedule down with him. Bed around 11 or 12, he wakes up around 3:30 am for a feeding/change, then goes back to bed for 3-5 more hours. When we get him up he's usually cranky until he gets his 6 oz breakfast. Then he likes to play- we play music for him (he loves Johnny Cash and old country), I dance with him and he sits in his bouncer and slaps around the little toys dangling in front of him. We do tummy time around 3 pm (which he has a lot of fun with). He's almost able to flip over! For the rest of the afternoon, it's feedings every two hours and a lot of diaper changes (and sometimes a clothing change...diaper blow-outs happen a lot with a growing newborn haha). In the evening we give him a bath with lavender soap from Auntie Pam. Eric and I are able to get at least 6 hours of sleep each night, so things are becoming a lot more sane in our house.

Karsten's favorite toys are his Glowworm from Nana and Papa, an underwater themed mobile from Oma and Opa, and the giraffe in the bouncer from Aunt Jane. He coos, stares, smiles and slaps his toys. It's so much fun to see him interact  and watch his personality develop.

Napping in his bouncer with his Cleveland Browns blanket. Picture taken February 9th (look how much he's filled out!) 

A few of our favorite things...

Before we had Karsten, we did a lot of shopping and guessing what kind of baby items we would need. We listened to a lot of advice and made a lot of purchases for the little guy.

Of course, I will always love buy his clothes and cute toys, but there are a few key items that have made our lives easier and Karsten very happy.

1. Vibrating bouncy swing- Eric's sister Jane purchased this for us. We use it for a huge portion of the day, every day. Karsten has acid reflux, and so we have to keep him upright for about 30 minutes after feeding and whenever he isn't napping. The incline on the swing lets us set him down for awhile and keeps him entertained. He often falls asleep in the swing and he loves the music it plays.

2. Dr. Brown's bottles- Because we are bottle-feeding Karsten with the milk I get from pumping, we had to find a good brand of bottles. His acid relux and gas has definitely declined since we started using these.

3. Nuk binkies- Karsten loves these. We have about 10 different brands, but these are the only ones he keeps in his mouth for an extended period of time. Plus, they are orthodontic.

4. Sleepy Sheep- The cute little stuffed sheep that plays nature sounds is perfect for Karsten's nap times. At night, we always have waves playing over our speakers but during the day the sheep helps keep the baby relaxed and fall asleep.

5. Baby Ka'tan sling- I love this thing!! It's a super easy to use sling that I can put on really quickly and secures Karsten while I'm walking around in the apartment or outside.

I'm sure as Karsten keeps growing we'll find more items that we all love :)

Back in the comforts of home

With Grandpa (my dad)

With Nana (my mom)

Dr. Seeker with a very sleepy Karsten post-circumsicion 

After a three day stay in the hospital, we made our way back to our apartment. My parents and sister were still in town, thankfully, and made our place a lot more comfortable. My mom cleaned and made us every meal and everyone pitched in holding Karsten and giving him lots of love. My dad of course already started spoiling him with clothes and a cute camo hat that says "Grandpa's Huntin Buddy." Perfect.

The first night back home, and all of the nights the first week, were terrifying.

Is the baby in our bed?!? No...that was just the dog moving.
Why is he crying?!? Hungry...again.
Why is my phone alarm going off at 3:45 am?!?! Time to feed the baby.
Stay awake, stay awake! You're still feeding the baby!

Ya, it was all new territory. After discovering that I wasn't producing enough milk, and a teary-eyed trip to the ER because I was worried he was starving, we started supplementing breast milk with formula. I set up a meeting with a lactation consultant and rented a pump.

I started pumping eight times a day for 15 minutes...hard to fit in when I'm with Karsten all day. It's been worth it though. He's having a lot more breastmilk and is a LOT less fussy.

Eric is the best daddy (and partner). Karsten loves when daddy holds him and rocks him.

Watching a Bob concert with daddy....

Unfortunately, Karsten also loves his binkie. It's a habit that we started and need to break asap. His favorite time to play "spit out the binkie then cry til mommy picks it up" happens to be from 1 am to 5 am....More updates on how sleep is going to follow.

From the hospital to our home...

The last pregnancy photo I took...right before Christmas mass on Dec. 24th

The first post is a little late (a little over two weeks late to be exact), but I want to start documenting Karsten's growth and exciting adventures while I have time (aka- baby's nap time).

So, let's start from the beginning...

The pregnancy was a whirlwind. Living in Seattle, I started working as a barista at Starbucks when I was 18 weeks pregnant. I had a pretty easy first and second trimesters, some morning sickness, mostly at night, and aching feet from working long hours standing up.

When I was 33 weeks, Eric got a job in Austin, TX and we loaded up his Tahoe and drove ourselves and our two dogs down to Texas.

At 36 weeks, I was offered a job at a software requirements firm working as a requirements analyst and I started immediately. Awkward timing to start a job, but it was a miracle that I got such a good job when I was so pregnant. I kept working until December 28th, and then the real fun began over the weekend.

That Sunday, my parents and sister flew down to Austin (that was my due date). When they arrived, I had been having mildly uncomfortable contractions but I didn't really notice them until nighttime. We went out to eat some Tex Mex...little did I know I was actually in labor. I had no appetite and the pain was getting worse as we sat at the restaurant. Eric and I decided to head to the hospital. The nurses put me in triage and my contractions weren't very close together. I was still only 1.5 cm dilated. So we started walking. For an hour and a half...in a circle. I was in crippling pain during the contractions. After all of that, I didn't dilate any more. So, they sent us home....with a dosage of Ambien that they wanted me to take so I could sleep through my early labor.

My parents came over to our apartment to take me to my 10 am appointment the next morning. Eric was at work, so they came with me to the doctor's. In the waiting room, the contractions increased. I told the receptionist...and they got me right into a room to monitor the strength of my contractions. Laying down in that room, I started having contractions that felt as though my insides were being ripped out. Poor nurse...I squeezed the crap out of her arm and screamed at the top of my lungs right in her face. The doctor came in, Dr. Seeker...the best in Austin, to check how dilated I was. Barely 2 cm. He sent me up to Labor and Delivery and told the nurse to get me an epidural immediately and start me on Pitocin. I had already been in labor for 15 hours, I wasn't dilating, and I was in excruciating pain.

Cool fact...as I was being wheelchaired to my room, my nurse let me in on a secret- Matthew McCaughnahay and his wife were in the suite a few doors down from me (hence the security guards and police on the floor). Pretty sweet!

After another 8.5 hours of labor (much more comfortable since the epidural!!) and a warning that if I didn't dilate anymore in the next hour, I would have to have a C-section....Dr. Seeker came in to check on us. Karsten's heartrate was dropping, and when the doctor checked I was 10 cm and the little baby was on his way out! That was the most overwhelming news...baby is coming....now! After ten minutes of pushing, our little man was in my arms. Eric cut the umbilical cord and my mom was in there as well. I had amazing support.