Cousins (and my poor parents)

Haley is blessed to have MANY cousins! She is slowly getting to know them all and they have had such a good time meeting her.

In fact, 6 days after Haley was born she got ANOTHER cousin! Yes, as you saw in the bump photos I posted previously, my sister Holly and I were due exactly 7 days apart. She was due first (9/16) and I was due second (9/23). It was so fun to be pregnant together, but even more fun to play with the kids together.

So...onto my funny story about my parents (I swear this is all related)...

My parents knew I had an ultrasound the morning of the 5th and were actually on their was from Duluth to Lincoln, NE to visit my oldest sister and her family and celebrate my niece's 1st birthday (9/8). After my ultrasound I called my mom to tell her that the doctor might want to see me that day, but that I didn't think would be a huge deal so don't worry about changing plans yet. Then the nurse called and told me I had to go the hospital for additional tests, so I called my parents and told them that they should just keep on going until we have a little more data.

Long story short, but the time the doctors finally decided that Haley would need to enter the world that day and scheduled my c-section, my parents were almost to my sister's house. After talking with them more we all decided that since it is such a long trip that they should just stay there as planned unless something is wrong and then they would visit the following Sunday and Monday.

So...they were able to celebrate Kinsey's 1st birthday and then drive back up to see us at the hospital and meet Haley! They visited again on Monday and then headed back up to Duluth.

Meanwhile...

My sister Holly had a routine appointment on Monday (9/10) and her doctor noticed she was a little further along than she would like to see 4 days before her scheduled c-section (set for 9/14), so her c-section was moved up to the very next day (9/11)! She called my parents and they were literally in downtown Duluth when she broke the news that their grandson was also making an early appearance. So, my sweet parents went home, did laundry, repacked the car and headed back to the Twin Cities the next morning to meet Max.

Wow! Talk about being devoted to your family! My parents are amazing (and are troopers) and are also lucky they are retired so their schedule allows for all this craziness!

Now for the pictures!

With cousin Andrew (8)! 

With Auntie Mysie!

With cousins Channing (almost 4) and Maxwell (born 9/11/12). 

Max's foot and Haley's foot...too funny!

Tummy time for all!

Backing Up...Bump Pics!

BEFORE Haley Mae came along, my good friend Laura over at Laura Shaleen Photography took beautiful maternity photos of both me and my sister. I wanted to share a few of them...so great!

Thanks again, Laura!!

Tutorial: Nursing Cover

I recently made this nursing cover, with some minor modifications of course! It was SO easy, took only about 1/2 hour and saved me $27!

Follow the instructions as written in the blog link above. When you get to the strap, I used suspender clips instead!

I sewed one end of the strap into the seam and put a suspender clip on the other to make it easier to take on and off.

Be sure to measure how long  you need the strap to be!

Here is the finished product. Wally was such a good sport to model!

Then, I used the extra suspender clip and piece of strap to made a toy clip. When Haley is big enough to bring toys in her stroller they will NOT fall on the ground. :)

Welcome to the world, Haley!

Sorry I have been MIA for a while...we've had our hands pretty full trying to get ready for our new addition, which turned out to be a really good thing because she arrive 2 1/2 weeks earlier than we thought she would!

Here is Haley Mae's story...

About a month ago I talked to my doctor because I was concerned/worried/nervous I would have a BIG baby! I was measuring right on but two of my sisters had babies that were on the larger side for people of our stature (we are all around 5 feet tall) and one of them had a pretty hard time delivering so I just wanted to make sure the same thing wouldn't happen to me. So, we set up an ultrasound for week 37 just to get a good look. Also, my second oldest sister, Holly, and I were due a week apart and her little one was measuring to be not quite so little. :)

So, the morning of the 5th we went over to get the ultrasound and it revealed just the opposite of what we were thinking...our baby was small...very small, but looking healthy. AND...I had almost no amniotic fluid left. So, the ultrasound tech sent us home and said they would have the doctor give us a call and that they would probably want us to go in later in the day just to check things out.

Jesse dropped me off and home and headed up to work. He was almost there when I got off the phone with the nurse, who had told me the doctor wanted us to go the hospital (to triage) for some additional tests (non-stress and biophysical profile) and that we should bring our hospital bags "just in case there is a delivery today". Woah!

So, I called Jesse and he turned right back around. We finished packing up the last minute things in our bags. Took some time to snap ONE last picture of my pregger belly (just in case!) and headed up to the hospital.

We got up to the hospital 45 minutes later, got all checked into triage and immediately began the non-stress test. Haley passed with flying colors! Then they sent me off to another ultrasound to get a biophysical profile of the little squirt. Again, she passed with flying colors. My amniotic fluid, however, did not. I was at a dangerously low 2 cm...at this point in my pregnancy I should've had 10-11cm. (Just in case you were wondering there was NO indication of this at any of my previous check ups. I always measured right on with the exception of the Friday before when my fundal height measured 1 cm short.)

The doctor came in and explained that he had spoken with his neo-natal associates and they said that even if they kept me on the IV they had already started (again...just in case) for a few days there would still not be enough fluid and the chance of cord collapse and stillbirth was too great. Since little miss was doing so well, we decided she just needed to come out. I just praise God that He gave the doctors the knowledge to know how to take care of my little girl!

Oh, yeah...she was also breech and with almost no fluid, turning her was not even an option. So, we schedule a c-section for 5pm and I wasn't allowed to eat anything else for the day (good thing we stopped at Panera for bagels on the way home from the ultrasound!). 5 pm would've been fine...but then 6 rolled around...then 7...then we got word that someone else "needed" a c-section first. OK...I get that, but I was REALLY hungry...really.

Finally, just after 8 pm they brought be back to get prepped and had Jesse wait in the room and change into his scrubs. The next 30 minutes seem like such a blur. First the spinal, then Jesse came in, then suddenly the doctor was holding a crying, tiny baby in my face and it hardly registered that she was all mine.

Jesse went with the nurses to take pictures and soon brought her back to meet me. She was just perfect...small, but perfect...weighing in at 3 pounds, 8 ounces.

Hey! It is REALLY bright out here!

First family photo! She even smiled AND looked at the camera!

They stitched me up and brought me up to recovery where I spent the next several hours waiting to be able to feel my legs enough to get into a wheel chair and see my little girl. Jesse, being an awesome dad right from the start, went with Haley to the Special Care nursery, taking MANY pictures along the way and then kept coming back down the hallway to show me how great she was doing.

At 11 pm, I was finally able to wiggle my toes and got to go snuggle Haley. Amazing.

Haley was so small they were very concerned about her ability to eat, gain weight and hold her own temp. We were told she would be in Special Care (a level II nursery) for 2-3 weeks. She had to prove she could gain weight and get out of her isolette before she would be in the clear.

Since I had a c-section I was able to stay in the hospital for 4 days, so we spent each day welcoming visitors, heading down to Special Care every 3 hours to feed her and between just to snuggle. The first night going home without her was horrible, but when we walked in the door we found this:

Jesse's mom had cleaned our room and done laundry and Jesse's sister had made two delicious meals for us. And our neighbor had a "Welcome Home" cake, pink champagne, balloons and a whole bag of preemie outfits waiting for us in the kitchen. Talk about feeling loved and blessed!

See how small she is compared to Daddy?

After just 8 days of growing and lot snuggle, Haley blew all the doctors away and when she was 3 pounds 12 ounces they let us bring her home. It was the best day ever! Five days later at her first doctors appointment she is already 4 pounds 5 ounces!! Amazing! 

We are getting settled in at home and there will be MANY more stories to come. Stay tuned...