Rollin!

Baby rolled over for the first time today at about 12:20 :) Video to follow.

giggle

15 week

14 weeks

3 Months & 13 weeks

This Month:

Weight: 13lbs 13 oz

Height: 24in

my love for cloth diapers!

Many said I would hate it and give up after a few days! They were sooooo wrong!

A few weeks ago we had some plumbing issues and had to use sposies, since we could use our washer and dryer. It really opened my eyes to how amazing cloth diapers are. Within one day of using sposies katelyn was getting her first diaper rash, it broke my heart...next every poopy diaper seemed to leak, we rarely have blowouts with cloth. Lastly, I couldn't believe how much sposies stink, I assume its because of the gel. Needless to say we were very excited to get back to out beautiful, colorful, and fluffy cloth diapers.

12 Weeks

She loves bath time!

1st Thanksgiving and Paul's first b-day as a father

11 Weeks

10 weeks

First big scare!

This is what we woke up to...black tarry poop (its supposed to be yellow). I just about died of a heart attack! I yelled for Paul to wake up. Katelyn didn't seem in pain or uncomfortable but we decided to call the Dr. anyway. At first they told us we had to rush her to Long Beach Memorial because this only happened when due to intestinal bleeding...Holy Crap....What! Before hanging up we happen to mention than my nipples had been bleeding recently, as soon as we mentioned that she immediately said Katelyn was fine. She was then more concerned with me. I kept asking is she ok? was she harmed by ingesting some of my blood? Luckily she reassured me that she was ok and gave me instruction on how to heal my nipples so it wouldn't happen again.

This moment has defined what the rest of our lives will be as parents, one worry after another!!

9 Weeks

Vaccines...

We are really regretting vaccinating Katelyn... we should have trusted our gut. All our research pointed against doing it. The Chemicals they put into making them are ridiculous not to mention how they make them...ie fetal cow blood, monkey liver cells...I feel guilty putting that crap into my baby's body. we've definitely got more research and praying to do. so far the pros do not out weigh the cons.

2 Months

Weight: 12lbs 8oz 88th percentile

Length:23in 74th percentile

Head circumference: 15 3/4in 80th percentile

Dr. said she is the weight and length of a 4 month old. That is so amazing to hear, its very reassuring and makes it easier to continue breastfeeding!

This Month:

• Language. Baby Katelyn has been chattering up a storm with her baby babble, we love to sit and have baby talk conversations with her.
• Motor Skills. She is starting to grab at things and she was also able to hold on to a toy. She is also starting to bring stuff to her mouth
• Focus. She loves her mobile she laughs and smiles as soon as we turn it on for her. She also loves the ceiling fan and lights. But most of all she loves to look at our faces.

baby pooped on daddy

Yep you saw that right, Paul was holding her and all of a sudden we hear a huge explosive toot, a few seconds later Paul feels a warm sensation on his belly. haha...it was awesome.

8 Weeks: voice recognition

• She is starting to recognize voices and responds with smiles.
• She now has short periods of time when she is quiet and alert. I usually try to talk to her, sing to her which makes her smile and coo.
• She is also starting to enjoy toys.

1st Halloween

7 Weeks: Coo's

New this week:

• Lots of cooing
• starting to nap more during the day
• can self entertain with her toys

First night in her crib

It wasn't really planned but we lived through it. I nursed her to sleep and when I went to put her in the bassinet it was full of stuff. She was already sleeping so I put her in her crib thinking she would wake up and then I would move her. But she didn't wake up until her usual 3am feeding. I don;t think we are ready yet to have her sleep in her crib every night though. I like being able to roll over and see her beautiful face. Maybe when she turn 3 or 4 months, Well see.

First bottle

This was a hard step for me to take, its been a rough road with breastfeeding and would hate for her to prefer the bottle over the breast, but we decided it was the right time. We thought a small 1oz bottle right before her normal cluster feed before she went down for the night would be the right time to start. She took the bottle like a champ and daddy got to get the look of love that I normally get to enjoy during breast feeding, he was in heaven. It is such an amazing feeling of full and complete trust and love. I'm glad that he got to enjoy that bonding time, and also that there was zero nipple confusion she still prefers the boob.

6 Weeks: toothless smiles

New this week: Lots of smiles and starting the 6 week growth spurt.

Mom's Stats

Weight in : 131lbs

Waist Measurement: 35 in

First Smile Caught on Camera!!

First real smile today

Today I fell in love...with my babies smile. It was the most amazing thing ever. up until this morning we had "gas" smiles, but this morning she smiled in response to my voice. its so awesome to know that she is now responding to my voice. I look forward to many toothless smiles.

First time out alone

I never realized how much work a simple trip to Target would be. Until today every trip had been both Paul and I. Today I decided to brave target on my own. Not only did it take me 10 min just to leave the house, it took another 10 just to get out of the car and into the store. All and all the trip was successful and I got what I needed but it was definitely a lesson learned in how my life is forever changed.

3 Week Check up

Three Weeks Old!

Weight: 9lbs 8oz: 78th percentile

Length: 21.5 inches: 70th percentile

Head Circumference: 15.24 inches: 90th percentile

We are in the middle of the 3 week growth spurt! It's been hard but " this too shall pass". Other than that she is doing great!

First time at the Beach

Belly Button Stump Fell Off!!! And First Bath

She actually really liked her bath. it was getting her out that she hated!

10 day post partum

Weight: 144lbs

waist circumference: 37in. :)

I can start driving this week :)

Day to look forward to: October 20th thats when i can go back to doing all things normal!!!

time for me to start researching birth control options! Thinking of going with paraguard...we'll see

My husband!

I love my husband because he is sacrafising himself for our family, wakes up for every feeding to change katelyn, brings me water when i need it, cooks dinner, brings me dessert, feeds the dog, makes our bed, folds laundry, vaccumes, fixes things, kills bugs, let’s me buy what i want, travels with me, wants to go to the same countries as me, watches the shows i want and the movies i want, puts up with me and is patient with me, loves disneyland, learns new things with me, is my best friend. i love my husband for all the things he is and even some things he isn’t.

I couldn't have asked for a better husband and father to our daughter!

I love you baby! and appreciate everything you do for us!

1 week Check up

One Week Old!

Weight: 8lbs

Length: 20.5 inches

Head Circumference: 14.5 inches

She's here!!!

Katelyn Nicole Richardson

September 8,2009 @5:15pm

8.15lbs

20.5 inches

Birth Story:

Sept 8 2009...
Paul and I went in for my doctor appointment at 10:30. Everything looked great! That is until they checked for her position, she switched from head down to breech... We went home pretty upset. We wanted to try everything we could to avoid a c section, my worst nightmare, so we went to the chiropractor to have the Webster technique done and drank a squishy trying to get her to flip with all the sugar. We then went home and waited to hear from the doctor's office. They called at 12:30 and said that we could go in to try the external cephalic version, an attempt to manually flip her. We went in very hopeful. When we got there they hooked me up to monitors to check her HR, contractions, and BP. My BP was very high from the stress, that was the first bad sign, they couldn't attempt the version unless my BP went down. For a second they thought I might be pre-eclamptic, but the blood work cleared that up. Next we went to get an ultrasound, they needed to confirm her position, the location of the placenta and the cords location. This is where the news got really bad for me. Everything looked good as far as the babies condition but looked very bad for the e version. My placenta was anterior and we had a nucal cord, basically this meant they could not attempt it due to the threat of placental abruption and the cord around the neck would tighten if they tried to turn her. At 3:45 the doctor walked in and said, "Well the good news is your having a baby today! The bad news is we can't attempt to turn her." My heart broke, all my prep and planning were out the door, I would not be having the birthing experience that I longed for, instead she would be delivered from me. I had to come to terms. As long as she and I are healthy that's all that matters. They started getting everything ready and within 30 minutes they started prepping me for surgery and 30 minutes from that she was born. She was so beautiful, and the sound of her cry was music to my ears! I couldn't wait to hold her. I was overcome with joy, I couldn't believe she was here, happy and healthy, her APGAR was 8/9 which is really good for a c-section baby.

Although I only had 1 hour to try and come to terms with the demise of my birthing wishes and although mentally I have accepted that this was the best choice for our daughter, emotionally it will be a very hard road. I know that many will not understand why this is so hard for me, but it is, its devastating to me. I love my daughter more than life itself, but it hurts that I didn't get to birth her, that she had to be delivered from me.

Love at first sight

First time daddy held her!

First family picture

Week 40: "guess date" week

Waist Measurements: 46.5" at the belly button

Weigh in: 171lbs according to the Dr..

Pregnancy Symptoms this Week:

• tiredness
• difficulty sleeping
• menstrual like crampyiness
• sharp pain under right breast

My Pregnancy Brain: is she here yet?

Pregnancy Prep:

Dr Visits: yep just my weekly visit.

Belly Shot:
What the baby looks like this week: It's hard to say for sure how big she is, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds and is about 20 inches long.

At birth your baby has a total of 300 bones. Some of the bones will fuse together later, which is why an adult has only 206 bones. Fascinating, no?

Week 39: Or is it 37??? Let she what she thinks :)

Waist Measurements: 46.5" at the belly button

Weigh in: 168lbs according to the dr.

Pregnancy Symptoms this Week:

• Muscle discomfort at the top of my belly
• Heartburn is back with a vengeance...bring it on!

Pregnancy first this week: I went to walmart, I know I should know better, and an older women walked up to me and as serious as can be said "you know your going to have a baby" NO S*** Sherlock!

Pregnancy Prep: I've worked on a few projects I just haven't taken any pictures. :) I'll take some soon. Plus the Nursery is 98% done :)

Dr Visits: Nothing new to report! Same news. I've asked to not be checked for dilation and effacement! I figure as soon as she wants to come into this world she will and there is not need to get my hopes up or down know where everything is at.

Belly Shot:
What the baby looks like this week: Is about 20 inches long and over seven pounds, maybe, depends, who knows. The lanugo that used to cover her body has mostly disappeared, but we may find a bit leftover on the shoulders, forehead and neck, we'll see. Because there is no air around your baby, when she practices breathing, it can cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe, resulting in those regularly spaced thumps that make you think you're carrying a jumping bean in your belly.

Week 38: Tic Toc Tic Toc

Waist Measurements: 46" at the belly button

Weigh in: 166lbs according to the home scale.

Pregnancy Symptoms this Week:

• discomfort sitting certain ways

My Pregnancy Brain: Rant: I really hate how everyone has an opinion about everything, especially strangers. This is Our Child and therefor we make ALL the decisions.

So that is my rant for the week :)

After much discussion Paul and I have decided a few thing, we hope that no one will be offended when we ask for privacy or bonding time, especially the first few weeks. We are going to be tired and adjusting to our new life and don't want to deal with entertaining company. We ask that all visitors please call before coming over and please do not be offended if we are not taking guests, its not personal. This will be a very important and stressful time in our new family and want to spend as much of it bonding and figuring out our new life. Now this does not mean no guests at all we just cant guarantee we will want people over at all times, this is why we ask for everyone to call, if not you might be greeted to a sign on the door. I hope everyone will understand and we cant wait to introduce Katelyn to everyone!

Pregnancy Prep:

Dr Visits: everything still good!

Belly Shot:
What the baby looks like this week: She has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long. She has a firm grasp, her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.