Just some pictures :)

Heading back down to the water!

Watching how daddy makes those sand castles!

Hard at work!

Apparently, chairs are great to play with too! :)

Look closely at his mouth...EVERYthing goes in the mouth! Even sand ;-)

Another one...

Of those interesting pictures!

I'm sure once we get back, I'll post even more pictures of the beach, but somehow, again, today, I got another on of those "bright flash on a cloudy day" shots. Not quite as good as the other two, but I still have no idea how I did it!

The Beach, Day 3!

Once again, we started the day at the beach. For some reason, that just worked best for all of us.

After lunch, we headed to Barefoot Landing for some more impromptu shopping. We only had one goal in mind: Mary Jane crocs for myself. I saw them last summer while in Roanoke. I'm not a fan at all of the "regular" crocs - they remind me of clown shoes, but these were so cute! We found them at a store (Comfortable Soles, where I wanted to buy VERY shoe in there. Definitely my kind of stores, Tevas, chacos, birkenstocks galore!!!!!!) Anywho, I digress! They had them, but not in my size in the color I wanted, so the hunt is still on! :)

Keaton was beyond awesome at Barefoot Landing. He normally tolerates his stroller for a while and let's us know when he's done. He was in it for about an hour & 1/2 before we took him out for a first: Ice Cream!!!! Cherry ice cream at that! That child loved it, of course!!! Anything pertaining to dairy, I think this kid could eat all day!

Tomorrow, we have to check out and head home. So here are the last pictures of Beach Trip 08!

Loving playing in that sand!!!

My adorable red-head!

He LOVES doggies!!!!

Doing what boys do best! :) I love being a mama of a boy!!!! :)

Snack time at Barefoot Landing! (OK, mama had to sit and rest her aching feet, legs, hips, back, head.... hahah!)

Interesting Pictures

Somehow, I took these two pictures and the flash made it look crazy - like I used a bright flash on a cloudy day...which neither was the case!

I love them and wish I knew how I did it!

Anyone??? (Jenny???) :)

The Beach, Day 2!

Today was a bit less rushed. Keaton oh-so-kindly slept until 8am (not mentioning waking at 3 & 6am! haha) So that was wonderful! We got up, had first and second breakfast (we have a Hobbit!) ;-) and then greased up and headed for the beach! Zach dug me a belly hole and I enjoyed laying on my tummy for a bit as well as enjoying the sun!

Keaton really enjoyed sitting and playing in the sand, as well as running back and forth from his "sand castle" to the water. We avoided any falls into the ocean today!

Zach & I got to enjoy a nice date night to the Outback this evening (Thanks Eric & Susan!!!) Keaton, however, was not excited about us leaving for a bit! But once his grandparents got dinner started and his high chair tray was filled with food, he forgot all about us being gone!

We have one more day here before heading back to Raleigh & reality!

Here are some pictures from the morning on the beach!

Enjoying the beach!

Dumping water

So very excited!

Running to mama

I just thought this was a sweet picture - digging in and working hard in the sand!

The Beach, Day 1!

Well, before we left town, tooth #3 started to come in...Made for a *wonderful* 4 hour car ride! ;-) Keaton did well in obeying me and waiting til he was a year old before allowing anymore teeth to come in haha!

We had a semi-rough night, not as bad as we thought it would be (considering his pack & play was in a closet! haha!) At 5ish, he woke up and Zach gave him a bottle and put him in bed with us...which was fine until I woke up at 7, hanging off the side of the king size bed...crazy kid!

We ate breakfast and headed out to the beach. I didn't think Keaton would mind the sand, but I was curious about his reaction to the water. The child would have run out in it if we let him. Zach was walking with him along the shore line, Keaton then did a face plant right in the water - in his clothes (NOT his swimming trunks!) after we knew he was OK, it was rather hysterical!

We came back, he took a great nap and then we headed to....McAlister's for lunch!!!! And outlet shopping! Yay! :)

We just hung around the condo the rest of the afternoon and went to IHOP for dinner.

Now, what everyone is waiting for ;-)

Let me at it dad!!!

After the fall :)

And THEN I fell in the ocean!

So happy to be at the beach!

Mama and her boy! (24 weeks pregnant!)

Heading out...

To the beach!

And it's been an ordeal & a half to get ready this time. Keaton is dealing with major seperation anxiety, so if I even walk in the kitchen to get something, the world ends! So I have to wait for him to take one of his crummy, short naps and try to get packed (all the while, walking around on our squeaky, upstairs floor which wakes him with every step) while he "naps" - needless to say, I've been packing since Sunday (just for Keaton and myself, Zach was on his own this trip!) and I'm STILL not done!

I really just want to put my feet up and sleep while he naps, maybe next week!

What I'm looking forward to at the beach (other than seeing family) ;-)
1. Floating, weightless in the pool to relieve my sciatic nerve pain (and all my other aches and pains!)
2. Eating at McAlister's!!!!!!!! this was one of my favorite places to eat in college and I thought it was a Middle TN thing. When we were at the beach in Oct., as we were LEAVING, I saw a McAlisters and I've been craving it since then! (However I learned last week, there's one in Raleigh...who knew! haha)
3. Possibly eating at a Japanese steakhouse. Another craving of mine! I hope we can take Keaton as I look forward to his reaction to the "show"!
4. The possibility of eating some fresh flounder (why is 3/4 of this list dealing with eating??)
5. As a dear friend, Hollie, suggested, having Zach dig me a "belly hole" so I can lay on my tummy in the sand for a bit!
6. Shopping. Hey, I am a girl ;-) We have a specific list of things to buy at the outlet, but it's still fun to look :)

We leave around 430pm today and we'll be back Sunday at some point.

Pray for my sanity as I strive to get done with packing ;-)

Seriously?

Yesterday morning we had a bunch of errands to run. We stopped at Babies R Us first and managed to not spend that much money considering! (We touched everything in the store I think!)

Our next stop was at Tiger Direct (a "nerdy" store) :) But they did have D-SLR's that I wanted to look at since we'll be using our Christmas money to buy a NICE digital camera. So we were checking out (background info: I have this "rubber band" on my key chain, it's blue and says, "I 'heart' my baby!" kind of like the cancer bracelets and whatnot...I just hate having something on my wrist so it goes there. Keaton LOVES chewing on it - it allowed me to shop for over an hour in Old Navy the other day. He (screamed) and sat and chewed) So, he's chewing on it, getting drool all over me, my keys, and the counter. The cashier, a young naive girl, said, "He's teething! How cute!!!!!!" I wanted to look at her and be like, "really? Have you ever been around a TEETHING baby?! It's ANYthing but cute! Come to our house - you won't last 5 minutes!"

We walked out and all I could say was, "Seriously? Teething and cute don't go in the same sentence..."

Speaking of screaming babies....Keaton was 'kicked out' of the nursery today! ;-) Zach dropped him off and said to me, "You may want to go check on him in a few, he was screaming LOUD!" Whenever we drop him off, he's as happy as a clam! After worship, I went to go check on him and Stephanie, the Children's director had him in the hall and said, "Just the mom I was coming to get!" Poor guy, could barely catch his breath he was screaming so hard. I walked around with him for a few, and then realized they probably didn't give him a bottle. We went back in his room (which caused another bout of screaming) and grabbed his bag, sure enough - that was SURELY the reason why. So, he took half the bottle in the sanctuary and then just wanted to run. Zach took him to the lobby and I could hear Keaton-squeals every few minutes.

Alas! :) He'll get it figured out one day! :)

We're also asking for prayer for our family as we continue our house search. I've been looking for a house since the day we moved into this apartment, but with Benjamin on the way, we really need more room. This area of NC is beautiful but I would never choose to live here because of house prices! It's ridiculous. A dear friend of ours from church/small group is a real estate agent and has been helping us look. This afternoon, we have plans to go check out a couple of houses on the other side of Raleigh and in Garner. We wanted to wait until Zach had a ministry position in place, BUT in a couple of weeks, we'll have to re-sign our lease for this apartment ... and we do NOT want to do that! So pray that this would be a fruitful trip today (and that Keaton won't scream the whole way there and back!) and if not today, soon, we'll find the house that is just perfect for our needs at this point in time!

Keaton's napping - I'm going to rest and wait for the storms :-D

Turning...

Too tired to write too much...

We turned Keaton's car seat today. I wanted to wait a couple more months ("they" say 1 year & 20 lbs., but babies necks still aren't completely strong enough to handle a full-on impact collision facing forward.) However, we go to the beach next week. Zach has been patient (well, maybe not entirely!) and traveled twice to the beach already, all scrunched up with a car seat behind him. We are van shopping, but have not found one yet (well, I fell in LOVE w/ the Kia I drove last weekend, haha!) so, we flipped Keaton around today. Can you imagine - your whole life (literally) you're in a car backwards and then suddenly, a whole new perspective on things! He was hysterical (as always!) to watch. He was completely enthralled with all the new sights! He kept laughing and clapping and squealing :)

We treated ourselves to dessert at Steak & Shake tonight and we came home and he fell right to sleep. He was so worn out from all his observing!

This tired mama is off to bed (yes, at 820pm!) too long of a week!

"boo"

As one of the nursery workers at church said, Keaton could play peek-a-boo all day. He loves to walk around with a blanket over his head until we say, "Where'd Keaton go? I can't find him!" and then he pulls it off and says, "Ah-Boo!!!" and busts out laughing!

We're not 100% sure where the "Ah" part came from, I guess it's his own spin on the phrase :)

He's also starting to shake his head "yes" (while signing 'yes') and "no" when I ask him certain things...and sometimes just if he feels like it ;-)

It's amazing everyday to watch him, understand and learn so much.

And the after...

I remembered to get some shots of Keaton post-hair cut today (who knows how quickly it will grow out and we'll need another trim!)

I'm still getting used to his new hair. He doesn't look like my crazy baby anymore - he sure still acts like it though!

In other news, we are now officially addicted to Guitar Hero (thank you Greg & Nicolle!) We played it over at their house and we were hooked. Zach was blessed with a huge raise at work and so we splurged a bit and bought Guitar Hero III with a wireless guitar controller. It's definitely doing its job and keeping Zach away from all the reading he's supposed to be doing for class!!! ;-)

Ignore the pasta sauce on his face, we just ate dinner (and ignore Guitar Hero on the TV!)

A very bright close up (and Zach rockin' out in the background)

Mama putting her swollen ankles up and Keaton stopping for one second for a photo-op!

My sweet pea :)

It finally happened...

No longer will we walk into a restaurant, store (or car dealership!) and have someone comment on what a beautiful girl Keaton is...dressed in all blue and basketballs...

We finally got his hair cut today. He did SO well! I wasn't too sure a couple of times, but, the hairdresser (?) was great and we will definitely be going back to see her! He got to watch Veggie Tales (though I watched and sang more than he did!) and drive a tractor while Deborah cut his hair!

They gave us (for $1.00, haha) a "First Cut" certificate and a little baggie for his hair.

After I loaded the pictures onto the laptop, realized that I didn't take any "good" ones since the cut, but have no fear - there will be many, many pictures to follow!

Also, Jenny has been so kind to give us a sneak peek at some of the pictures she took on Friday afternoon! You can go here: http://moniermontage.blogspot.com/2008/04/poster-child-for-cuteness.html to see them

Here are the pictures from the hair cut:

Fun Afternoon...2 in a row

Let's do this in reverse...

This afternoon was so much fun! A sweet friend of mine, Jenny is an 'aspiring' photographer (she's already amazing!) and has been asking to do a photo shoot of Keaton for months and months. Well, tomorrow is the dreaded day - haircut day :( She wanted his 'wild man' look for the pictures so today had to be picture day! Thankfully it was a beautiful day (although, I'm sneezing my head off since we walked in the door! haha) We met a park and let Keaton go to town!

She got his picture of him walking and climbing (and falling and crying!), playing in a tunnel (and falling and crying) and on the swings, upside down, in his cloth diaper running around, playing with a dandelion (which he hated and kept throwing down!) and finally yawning and giving in...after an hour and 1/2!!! He did SO well (I thought so atleast!) for being there that long! He's napping (I never let him start a nap after 330pm...but I needed the rest too!)

We were also at the park yesterday. We were supposed to meet a friend but, kid's...naps...yeh :) Next week! We were not there for 90 minutes yesterday (other wise we wouldn't have been there for 90 today! haha) I feel so bad that as Keaton perfects his walking/running skills and starts to enjoy the park more, I can't be there because of the heat and my back!

Wednesday afternoon, after his dr's. appt, we got a phone call from one of the nurses at his office telling us his CBC (iron) was low and Dr. Dirk wanted him to be on iron supplements. He also wants us to come back in a month to recheck his CBC and make sure his iron is going up. I was so bummed. Keaton doesn't seem to mind the supplements, they're just a super pain to "schedule" ...
He cannot have them 1 hour before having dairy, eggs, whole wheat, blah blah blah...
He cannot have them 2 hours AFTER having dairy, eggs, whole wheat, blah blah blah...
He cannot have them 30 minutes prior to laying down

That makes it REALLY tough to schedule when he usually has dairy, whole wheat and all the other items mentioned at just about every meal! I still haven't figured out an exact schedule yet for the medication so he's only gotten it twice a day so far. This weekend I plan to sit down and try to figure it all out.

Stay tuned for pictures from the park after Jenny edits them! Thank you again Jenny!!! We had so much fun!

12 month appointment

We got THAT over with. First they had to prick his precious little finger to test for lead and his iron. When Dr. Dirk came in, Keaton was running every where. Dr. Dirk just laughed and said, "Poor mama!" (Aaaaamen!) He asked about the pregnancy and was all excited that we are having another boy. He deemed Keaton perfect, was very excited about his weight gain (I was hoping for more, but, he gained - the only important matter at this point!) We also learned why nothing fits Keaton anymore...

Drum roll please...

Head circumfrence: 45cm (75+%)
Weight: 19lbs. 13oz. (25%)
Height: 31.25 inches! (90+%)

2 weeks ago he was 29.5 inches!!! haha!! I love it :)

After all that he got 2 out of 3 vaccines - we decided to delay the MMR until next visit (at 15 months). I thought for certain Dr. Dirk would be cool with it, but I had to fight him a bit. But I got what I wanted, haha!! :)

Here's a video of Keaton walking at the park yesterday:

Keaton is Officially One!

Well, as of 9:05am, Keaton is officially one! What a year it has been! "They" say the first year flies by...I didn't believe it until it actually did. There were long days (and weeks) but the year just flew by. I really fell that it wasn't that long ago that we brought him home from the hospital, put him in the pack & play and said, "OK, now what?!"

I think the hardest part of the past year was Keaton's spell with colic. I should have known we were in trouble the 2nd night in the hospital when they brought him back to be after about 90 minutes and said, "We've tried everything..." (and he had a paci in his mouth and I was beyond livid. Zach took the paci out and the screaming began - we put it right back in! Luckily Keaton grew to hate it after awhile! I didn't want that thing hanging around in his mouth!) We came home and he was this sweet, happy baby...for 3 weeks. And then it began. One afternoon he started crying. I'm sure it was one of Zach's long days at work - I really don't remember but it was definitely a long day for me. I never took him to the pedi. to have it confirmed as colic, but everyone I talked to said the same thing. (The highlight of it all was in a baby book I had, it had a section on colic and a drawing of this baby making an AWFUL face - I would look at Keaton and see that same expression) We went through about 6 weeks of him sleeping from about 9pm-2am (if we were lucky) and then he would be up screaming the rest of the time. I would get up with him anytime before midnight and Zach would take over after midnight until he had to go to work, bringing him to me when it was time to nurse. I compiled a list of things to try next time if we ever have any other colicky babies (we're praying against red hair and colic this go 'round!) including "wearing" Benjamin from the start in a wrap or a mei tei (Carrie! We NEED to sew soon!) as Keaton didn't dig it at 1.5 months. I think had we started it from the beginning it would have been more of a hit - he would tolerate it for about 15-20 mintues. But also to remember running water and vacuums are GREAT at calming babies!

The second hardest thing was Keaton weaning himself from nursing. We were very blessed and, other than weight gain issues, we never had any issues with nursing. He was a champ right from the beginning - I remember the Lactation Consultant coming to see us at the hospital and comment on how awesome he was doing. People couldn't believe that I nursed on demand until 10 months, but, it worked for us and so we did it - I will do it again with Benjamin and any other children we may have. I hope next time (and future times) I'm able to nurse to atleast a year. I have some plans in mind to achieve that goal (starting with no solids until atleast 6 months - I think that was the biggest mistake we made.)

I was trying to think of the biggest "joy" from the past year and I just can't narrow it down to one thing. Keaton never ceases to amaze us! Everyday he pulls out a new trick! Today it was stacking all of his books, one on top of another, on top of a plastic bucket. Every couple of books, he'd look at me for approval (that's my OC child, woohoo!!)

To think that a year ago he couldn't hold up his own head and now he's practically running. A year ago he depended on us for every single little thing, now he wants to feed himself, drink by himself, play by himself, walk by himself (he still needs us, of course, but his inherited independence is shining through already!)

For those curious for the "birth story" I will include that below, after some pictures :) That way if you don't want to read, you do not have to!

Just moments old, 4.8.07

Fun at the park, 4.8.08

Climbing the slide, 4.8.08

---------------

Due Date, Wednesday, April 4th, 2007

Good Friday, Friday, April 6th, 2007 - I woke up with contractions but nothing consistent. I went throughout the day having contractions off and on, nothing too serious. I had to run by a friends' around 3pm. She's a friend where I go to her house for 5 minutes and leave about 5 hours later. Well, around 4, the contractions were starting to be a little stronger than I had noticed before...and about 10 minutes apart, on the dot. About 6:30, I decided that I should go home and try to relax a little. I came home, took a hot shower and the contractions slowed. (I was having them off and on, but not 10 mins apart anymore!)

Saturday, April 7th, 2007 - At 1am Saturday morning, they were so painful I couldn't sleep. So I came downstairs and got online, pulled out the pen and paper and started timing them. They were between 8-12 minutes apart, some SUPER strong, others just painful. I went back to bed at 6am, when Zach got up for work and was able to sleep until about 8, when I woke up with another VERY painful contraction. I got up, got a shower and that didn't stop the contractions. Around lunchtime, the pain was moving to my back and I had a feeling that things were about to get interesting. The only way I could keep my mind "off" the contractions was to watch movies...I watched probably 7 movies that day! Around 10pm, My contractions were still about 8 minutes apart, but they were lasting about 90+ seconds and VERY painful. We called the OB to get them to page the on call dr. The phone rings, Dr. Segal was on call!!! (My fav. dr. at our practice) He said to wait until they were closer together or too painful for me to handle. So, I handled it until about 11:15 and I decided to get another hot shower...I didn't have a single contraction for 15 minutes. I turned that hot water off and I had one, I looked at the clock and it was 11:30. 11:35 another comes. 11:40, another one. 11:44 I sit on the couch to tell Zach that it's going to be soon...before I could say anything, 11:45 hits and there was no "wave" sensation to it like we discussed in my class, it was just intense pain! I looked at Zach and yelled, "NOW!!! WE LEAVE NOW!!!" We grabbed a few last minute items, I wrote a note to the neighbors and at 12am, we headed to the hospital. A trip that normally takes about 40-45 minutes took 27.

Sunday, April 8th, 2007 - On the way to Rex, the contractions were about 3-5 minutes apart and getting more intense with each one.We got there, they took us into triage and hooked me up to all the monitors to check my contractions and check Keaton's heart rate. They have this machine to monitor the contractions. Basically, there is a line "symbolizing" the contractions they go up, up, up, up and then "flatline" if they're above the 100 line and then come back down... They were going above the line and staying there for atleast 90 seconds! They checked me and I was 4cm and 100% effaced (At my appointment the Wednesday before, I was STILL at 1.5cm and 50%, where I had been for 6 weeks, so I was REALLY glad all those contractions did SOMETHING) The nurse (who was AWESOME!) informed us that we were definitely there for good (which I was glad, no way was I going home feeling like that!) So, I walked to the delivery room at 1:15am and I got in the gown and we started calling family (both of which we had talked to earlier in the day to give them a heads-up on the contractions).

I told the nurse that I did want an epidural, but I didn't want it quite yet, but go ahead and do the blood work. So they stuck me 9 billion times and got that taken care of. So, we watched Little House On the Prairie and my contractions on the monitor.

At 2, I decided that it was definitely time for the epidural So I went to the bathroom one last time on my own and the anesthesiologist came in and got that going. I had them set it on the lowest setting because I did want to experience as much of it as I could...so I could still feel the peak of the contractions along the top of my tummy.

At 4:15, Zach's parents got there. Originally I didn't want anyone in there, but we were bored, so I agreed to let them in for a few minutes. ((sorry you had to hear it this way! haha!))

My mom got there around 4:40ish...and so Zach's parents left and my mom stayed in the room for about an hour. Dr. Segal came in and checked me and I was 8cm and 100% and my water still hadn't broken so he went ahead and did that.

So then we waited some more...and then sadly, we had a shift change, but the next nurse was just as awesome! She checked me and I was still at 8, so she "got me" to 9. About that time, I had my epidural turned up "just a hair". I could still feel the contractions, but, I could tell before they turned it up that they were getting more intense.

At 7:20, Dr. Segal came back in, checked and I was at 10cm and 100%. He got all excited and said, "Time to push!!!" So we ran through how to push and for how long and all that good stuff. So, I did my thing and Dr. Segal was thrilled at how well I could push! And then he said, "OK...I'll be back in a little bit..." I said, "WAIT! No, where are you going?!" He said, "Tracy (the nurse) will call when you get closer...see you in a bit!"

So, at 7:30, I started pushing for real and about 8 they had me flipping from my left side to my right and back to my left in between contractions because Keaton's heart rate would drop with about every 3rd contraction.

At 8:10 Dr. Segal came back and saw that Keaton was crowning, he asked Zach if he wanted to see and, to my surprise, Zach said, "YEH!!!" I said, "WHAT?!" And Zach goes 'down there' and says, "Wow...that's amazing!" I kept pushing and pushing and Keaton just wouldn't budge anymore. So, Dr. Segal said that he was going to use a version of the vacuum, called a kiwi, that it was much smaller and I most likely wouldn't tear with that, but we needed to do something soon because of Keaton's heart rate. We all had a scare when the monitor slipped off my tummy and his heart rate couldn't be heard...I could feel enough around my tummy to quickly say, "The monitor!! Fix it!!!"

At around 8:40, Keaton's heart rate (it would go back and forth b/w 140 or so down to between 50-70 when I'd push) dropped below 50 and the next thing I know, Dr. Segal is yelling to the nurse to push all these buttons, nurses come running in and he's throwing scrubs at Zach and putting his gown on.....Let me back up and say that at our 2nd OB appt, when we were supposed to hear Keaton's heartbeat for the first time & he couldn't find it, our appt. was with Dr. Segal and he was amazing. He did such a great job of reassuring us while we were waiting for the ultrasound machine. He was just awesome. I'm SO thankful that it was he who was available to deliver Keaton. I have absolute confidence in all the dr's. at my practice, but, as far as bedside manner and all, he's amazing.

So, in the midst of this chaos, he takes 20 seconds to come to my head and say, "Baby is fine. I just don't like his heartrate dropping every few minutes like that. He IS going to be fine. YOU are going to be fine, but we are going to have to do a c-section. I know that is not at all what you want, but he will not budge past your pubic bone and it's causing too much stress. Zach will be in there with you, but we need to get this baby out now. They're going to wheel you down and get you ready. Everything is going to be fine."

So they run me down the hall and get me prepped, the whole time, I'm screaming "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND?!?!" (He wasn't allowed to come in until they had prepped me.) Finally he was able to come in and the "new" drugs they had to give me were finally kicking in. The new anesthesiologist was awesome as well...told me everything that was going on. There was a nurse by my head who was PHENOMENAL! I wanted to take her home with me. She sat by my head until Zach could come in and she did a great job of keeping me as calm as possible in that situation :)

Zach came in, and apparently, had been talking with a nurse in the hall and she had reassured him that every thing was going to be fine, since Keaton's heart rate would rise back to normal when I wasn't pushing. Zach came in and relayed this info to me and while we waited for what seemed like FOREVER, he prayed for me and for Keaton. Zach is not a cryer...but he was crying the whole time which was not making things easier on me.

Dr. Segal was awesome, along with that nurse by my head, they both did an amazing job of letting me know what all was going on (Dr. Segal) and what I was going to be feeling (the nurse by my head)...such as this crazy pressure on my chest when they pulled him out! THAT was weird!

I heard Dr. Segal yell, "9:05am!" and then the most amazing sound on the face of the earth when Keaton just started screaming! He had this little lamb sounding cry, a little "baaa" to it. All the nurses were laughing. They brought him by so I could get a quick look before they took him off to clean him up. Zach went with him while they put me back together. That's when I remembered that I wanted to see my placenta, so Dr. Segal said a nurse would bring it around in just a minute. I got to see it and it was amazing! After about 10 minutes or so, Zach came back in carrying Keaton with the biggest smile on his face and tears just rolling down! They unstrapped my left arm so I could touch him. Keaton was screaming his little head off and as soon as he was close enough, I touched his face and he immediately stopped crying! It was so sweet.

After that, Zach took Keaton back to the L&D room where family was waiting and they would do more poking & prodding to my sweet baby under the warming lights. They got me all back together and Dr. Segal assured me that I could indeed do a VBAC with our next pregnancy, but they would be doing more detailed ultrasounds next time as his cord was VERY short (I never heard the exact length, but that contributed to his not wanting to budge!) And we'd take it from there. But for now, my orders were to go enjoy my little man and he'd (Dr. Segal) be in to see me in a little bit. The nurses got me onto a clean bed and bundled me up b/c I was having major chills from the medications. And then they wheeled me back to the L&D room. Our family was waiting outside looking in as they were checking Keaton over. Once I assured them all that I was OK, they wheeled me in the room and I had them close the curtain and the door so it could just be us (and staff, haha) for a little bit. After about 30 agonizing minutes, I finally got to hold my precious boy. He just lay there looking up at me. AGH, I could live that moment over and over and over!

Sunday, my job was to lie in bed all day. The epidural wore off MUCH quicker than I had expected and I didn't have a single complication (backache/headache/anything that we talked about in class, other than some chills) with it.

Monday, they took my IV out and had me get up and sit in a chair for awhile and then take a shower, which I did NOT want to do, but I felt so much better afterwards.

Tuesday, they had me "walk the halls" 4 times throughout the day. We did it 5 times for good measure :) and I stayed in a chair most of the day. And as soon as they took the folly catheter out, I changed into normal clothes, I felt like a new woman!

Wednesday was our discharge day. They came and removed my staples, which also, didn't hurt. I actually had a student do it and she was great! We ended up leaving the hospital around 2:30 that afternoon.

He was born 8lbs. 9oz and 20.5 inches long!

And that was our Easter weekend, 2007 - I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate!

My mom had to head back that Monday morning because of tax season. Zach's parents left Tuesday. Jason & Tara came to visit us that Sunday and were the first non-family, non-hospital-staff to see Keaton. Ron & Whitney came Monday afternoon. The Bowers Family and Daniel Creswell came on Tuesday. We were blessed with many weeks of meals from our church family that made my recovery (and those sleepless, colicky weeks) SO much easier to deal with.

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An aside, as I've had many ask about it before even posting this: a VBAC - Vaginal Birth After Cesarean. "Back in the day" it was assumed that once a c-section, always a c-section (for fear of uterine rupture). After many years of research from people way smarter than I'll ever dream to be, it's been concluded that the risk of uterine rupture after 1 c-section is the same as that in a normal delivery, it's after multiple c-sections (and many scars on the uterus) that it becomes a huge issue. I'm so thankful that my OB/practice is supportive of this and I can still deliver at Rex (where I had an amazing experience).

There are some "conditions" that apply though: I cannot be induced (as induction medications cause greater contractions than normal putting more stress on the uterus, increasing the chances of rupture) I have been told I'm allowed to go to 41 weeks, at 41 weeks and 1 day, I will have a c-section (praying for an early baby!) It's not been "proven" but statistics show that moms are more likely to have a successful VBAC if pain medication is not administered. Therefore, I will be attempting to go "au natural" this time (we're looking at a Doula to assist us in this as we cannot afford, nor do we have the time to do Bradley classes (12 weeks of classes for $800+...no can do right now...) I think I could have done it last time (minus the c-section) if I hadn't been so tired. 40 hours of labor can wear a person out! ((another aside: I do not HAVE to avoid pain medication, it will just improve my chances)) I will also avoid having my water broken for me. We realized after Keaton was born (and the kiwi vac was used) that he was not coming straight down as he was supposed to (the kiwi left a 'hickey' on the side of his head that was coming out first!) I feel that my water wasn't breaking yet because he wasn't in the best position - causing him to get "stuck."

Keaton's 1st Birthday (party!)

He doesn't turn 1 until Tuesday, but we had his party today! I was so worried about the weather - but it ended up being "perfect" (ie: No storms and the rain (heavy rain) held off until the end! - Thank you to all those who prayed for a great day!!)

We had about 20 show up to celebrate Keaton's 1st birthday and we had a ton of fun just hanging out, eating and talking - because that's what we all do best :)

We had hamburgers and hot dogs and had everyone bring a side - if you need any potato chips, please come see us, haha! Then of course - the cake! Keaton wasn't too sure what to think of his very own cake - he kept looking at me with this look that said, "I get to eat ALL of this?!" haha :) And then he proceeded to do just that :)

We learned a lot from our 1st birthday party and will be even more prepared in 16 months when it's Benjamin's 1st birthday! haha!

My biggest concern (other than the weather) was the sugar rush from the cake - Thankfully, it didn't really seem to affect Keaton - he was running around so much at the park, I think it quickly left his system :)

Shoes outdoors with BeBe!

We took Keaton outdoors with his shoes for the first time. He absolutely LOVED it - however, he refused to step on the grass - unless he was stomping it with BeBe :) I got to sit back in our neighbors' rocking chair and enjoy the cuteness!

Today (Saturday) is Keaton's party! We're praying hard because it's supposed to storm and rain - of course! We're having a BBQ at a nearby park with about 20 people expecting to come (give or take some!) Hopefully the weather will hold off until 230! And don't worry - whatever we end up doing - there will be LOTS of pictures.

Fun w/ Bebe!

The tough part - coming up the sidewalk!

Stomping the mean, old grass with Bebe!

My mom and my red-headed love!

Popsicle and Appt.

Yesterday, I could tell Keaton's gums were hurting pretty badly, so I decided a popsicle was in order! Who doesn't love an ice cold, banana popsicle?! Well, Keaton had NO idea what to do with it at first - finally, good "What in the world is this?!" faces (over something SO amazing! haha) Sit back and enjoy (like he finally did!) :)

Well, this looks fun....

ok....

SO COLD!!!!

YUMMY!

He finally got around to enjoying it - he did end up eating it all :)

I also had my 20 week appt today - That's right! I'm half-way there!!! Everything went great and I scheduled my glucose tolerance test (yummy sunkist drink!!! I've been waiting ...a long time for that drink again!!) I unfortunately will be making this trek without Zach (which is bad because of th whole needle...drawing lots of blood...me passing out issue...) Hopefully nothing too serious will happen!!