Introducing...

Kamryn Kay

Born Tuesday 6/18/13 at 3:26am

6lbs, 7oz

20 inches long

We can't believe she is finally here! It's been quite the journey, that's for sure. She made quite the entrance into the world!

My doctor decided to induce me on Monday June 17th at 39 weeks. He said that I was probably ready and he was also leaving town and I wanted him to deliver our little baby girl. So early Monday morning Nate and I headed to the hospital at 5:00am hoping to meet our girl that day. They put me on Pitocin right away. My contractions weren't too bad and I was able to  deal with them most of the morning and into the afternoon. Progress was super slow and it took me 8 hours to dilate from a 1 to a 2. At 1:30pm the doctor broke my water and I thought I was going to die after that. My contractions were super bad and it took the anesthesiologist about and hour and a half to give me an epidural. (A few tears were probably shed but I felt so much better after the pain relief). 

We were hoping that things would go more quickly after that but we were wrong. Into the early evening my epidural wasn't quite working like I would have liked and I got another dose which worked pretty quickly. Then around midnight (still no baby), I was getting the worst contractions and the anesthesiologist wasn't able to  relieve my pain until after 3 more doses of the epidural. Let's just say those 2 hours were horrible and I was so tired and exhausted by this point in time. Also I was dilated to a 9+, but within a four hour period not doing anything else. The doctor came in again and after checking me found out that I just happened to have a narrow pubic arch. Which pretty much meant the baby might not fit. He gave us the option of doing a C-Section, but also said we could try so I wouldn't have to have a hard recovery after the C-Section. We decided to go forward with what we were doing so I could have a a better recovery and take care of our 2 babies. Unfortunately I wasn't dilated all the way and I had to try pushing anyways. Which just so happened to make me tear pretty bad. After pushing for about an hour (yeah, I am exhausted at this point since it's 22+ hours of labor), the doctor pulled out the vacuum and miraculously little Kamryn finally came! The cord just so happened to be wrapped around her little neck and it was tied in a knot! A bit traumatic. 

We were so happy she was finally here but very nervous at the same time because she was completely white and not moving. The nurses rushed her off to the NICU to get her going on oxygen and I had to stay in the room for another hour so the doctor could stitch up my 3rd degree tear. He also mentioned that my recovery would probably take 6-8 weeks because of the tear and would be a little rougher than a C-Section. Great. Little did we know that my body was just not made to have babies this way. It was a blessing I got induced early so she was still so small and actually fit. 

The next few hours were pretty much a blur. It seemed like an eternity to be able to finally see our little Kamryn. It wasn't our favorite thing going to the NICU and not being able to hold her. But she still looked perfect to us. Because the vacuum had to be used she had a pretty bad cone head and a horrible hematoma. It was so sad to see her like that. The nurses could hardly move her because it would hurt her so bad. She was breathing on her own but still couldn't regulate her temperature and eat yet. 

 Later into the day we finally got to hold her! It was a perfect dream and she was so tiny. Her bruising even had gone down quite a bit and her head was looking so much better.  

The next day she was able to be released from the NICU and be with us in our room. We know she recovered so quickly because of all the prayers and thoughts sent our way!

 Late Thursday night we were able to be released from the hospital. Her biliruben count was quite high so over the course of the next few days we had to take her into the hospital to get it checked. We also got to take home an awesome biliblanket and she became a little glow bug for 24 hours. Her jaundice has gone down and her color looks so good now. 

 She is such a great baby. So content. Except when she is hungry. She has quite the pair of lungs on her. But she actually sleeps a lot. Something Emmett never did. It's pretty weird but I do enjoy it since my recovery is going very slow .

 But I have to say the hardest part of all of this crazy adventure was not being near Emmett. It kind of broke my heart. I was a complete basket case for the first little bit at home. He was in good hands but we missed him like crazy. Thank goodness he is back at home with us now and we are a happy family of four!! 

Little E man is so funny around Kay Kay. He starts to dance when she cries really loud. At least it's music to someone's ears. He also giggles and smiles at her when she makes noises. But we have to be super careful because he wants to poke out her eyes and pull her hair most of the time. Just a little glimpse into what life is going to be like. We love it!

Oh and did I mention I have one of the greatest hubbies in the world?! He has been so wonderful to me and has pretty much done everything for me, our little babies, and the house. I am going to be so sad when he goes back to work on Monday. Love that man!

Getting Ready....

It's almost time for this baby girl to arrive. I have been working hard on getting everything checked off on my "To Do" List. I know Nate sure enjoys my list!

Some of the things have been really silly but I feel that they are important to get done. I've pretty much deep-cleaned my whole house, made freezer meals, baby proofed the majority of the house for our little monkey boy, got my hair done, caught up on journals, packed the hospital bag...

...and finally finished baby girl's room/nursery. It was definitely done on a budget and if I had more energy I would have done a lot more to it. But alas, this will have to do. 

Ta Da! The finished room! I was really excited to make it girly. It's a bit cramped with all the furniture but we made it work. The curtains are my favorite thing about this room. I didn't have the energy to make them but I did find them on Amazon for an awesome price! And instead of having to buy 4 panels I only bought 2 and tied them back.

 This is the dresser (well the top of it at least). I had extra fabric from the pillows I made and learned how to make these cute fabric flowers and couldn't resist putting them on a lamp. 

 The pillows. They were really fun to make. The white flower ones are made out of felt. And in the corner are two pictures of ballerinas from my bedroom growing up. I inherited them from my grandma. I loved them growing up, even if I never did dance. 

 Last but not least...the butterfly mobile. Gotta love Pinterest for this one! Super easy and fun to make. I love how dainty it turned out. 

Thanks to my awesome brother and sis-in-law for lending us the crib. If this was a house we loved, I would have definitely painted, especially the awesome dark trim and closet doors. I also have a few more things going up on the walls but I am in no rush. 

Okay baby girl! We are as ready as we can be!

Babies

Baby #1 thinks he is one cool dude....well actually we do too!

He loves these sunglasses I picked up for 25 cents. He actually keeps them on which is pretty amazing. 

And I am not kidding you...he is into everything these days. He sure knows how to help me get my exercise in everyday. 

 He also surprises us each day with a new developmental milestone. Just a couple of days ago he decided at 9 months he is big enough to start walking. What?! I think he knows there are changes coming and he is gearing up and ready to go!

Then there is baby #2. She is growing very quickly as you can see by my belly. This is at 37 1/2 weeks. I'm actually 38 now. Crazy!!

 I thought I would escape without any stretch marks, but I'm pretty sure she decided to double in size within a one week span and there was no avoiding it. Or maybe it has something to do with wanting to eat ice-cream every single day. Nate must have gotten sick of my ice-cream requests and he finally went to Reed's Dairy and bought the best ice-cream in a 2 1/2 gallon size. I think that might last me. 

I've got a good hubby. 

Family Reunion and a Little Mischievous Boy

This last weekend was one final get together with the whole Esplin clan before some of the older kids go their separate ways to grad school, jobs, and missions. It was fun being with everyone but sad not knowing when that will happen again. 

To start off the events Nate got the family together to participate in a Color Run to help raise money for one of his patients. It was sad knowing I couldn't participate because I can't even walk a mile anymore without feeling like I might break in half. But they had fun. (FYI-the color does not come out of clothes). 

I wasn't surprised one bit about Nate's appearance when he got home. 

 We had a great weekend spending time outside, playing lots of fun games, and eating lots of yummy food. 

And of course this happened....

And then there's this little guy of ours that is into everything these days and thinks he can get anywhere he wants to now. I still need to get on top of baby proofing everything. 

First off, changing his diaper is an absolute joke. It sometimes feels like we are competing in a rodeo to see who can get it done the fastest before he crawls away or gets into something. 

And he now can crawl up the stairs. It seriously happened overnight. I have a feeling he is going to be a climber. Watch out!

 But all his energy sure tuckers the little guy out and he now takes some awesome naps that never happened before. The best is taking one with him in our bed. 

 His two favorites still....his daddy and the camera. Love this little boy so much!

Excitement!

Friday was one of the best days. It was an ending to a chapter of my life that I was more than happy to end at this point in time. It was my last day of work for who knows how long. (But I'm hoping a very long time!). 

I've worked at Jefferson School District for the past 5 years as a School Psychologist. It's been a great experience but now that I am finally an official mom I was so ready to be done. Unfortunately I had to finish out this school year because I was under contract when Emmett came into our family. Thankfully I was able to take about a 4 month leave of absence and negotiate with the district and only go back part time to finish the year. But it has been so hard to work and be a mom! Kudos to all those that do it. 

 It was such a happy day packing up my office and throwing things out. 

 Now I get to concentrate all my time on this little dude! Which I'm more than happy to do. I'm so grateful for family and friends who took good care of him while I had to work. 

 And since this little baby girl is due in less than 3 weeks (!!!), I am in super mode to try to prepare everything for  her arrival. I'm  acting like I won't have any time anymore. Maybe it has something to do with having two little ones under the age of 1?! Last night I had Nate help me make some yummy freezer meals so I don't have to worry about cooking when I'm not in the mood or don't have time. He was great to prepare the meat for me since it still makes me quite sick. 

I got the recipes off of Six Sisters Stuff. Love that blog. We made 8 meals and it only took about an hour of preparation. That's my kind of cooking. (Here is the link to the recipes). Now it's onto getting the nursery all ready!