8 weeks already?

Can it be? Our little peanut is 8 weeks old already? I cannot believe how fast the time has gone, though it is hard to imagine life without her! Rylee is an amazing baby. She is very content and LOVES to be held. We are excited because she is starting to stretch her nights out. She is going between 4.5 - 5.5 hours at night. Yay!

Rylee has done a lot of things already in her little life. At about 3 weeks old we drove down to Salem, OR with my parents to attend a friend's wedding. Rylee did great on the drive and pretty much slept the whole way. On the return trip we stopped in Olympia to go to another friend's wedding. It was fun to catch up with friends and witness new marriages!

We were excited to welcome her cousin, Rhyson James, on Aug. 10. Even though Rylee was a month older, Rhyson beat her out in size and length, weighing almost 9 lbs. It has been fun hanging out with my sister and her kids and between the 2 of us we provide enough baby time for anyone who wants it!

Rylee checked out great in her 6 week appt. She weighed 9 lbs, 7 oz so we are definitely on the right track! She is in the whoppin' 10-25th percentile on all her measurements. :) It was a relief to know she is still eating well and we don't really have to worry about that anymore. The doctor was really cute when he was examining her. At the end he said she looked great but had to double check his list. His reason? Sometimes he just gets too enchanted and doesn't want to forget something :)

I am enjoying being at home though definitely staying busy. I have been able to do a lot for my dad from my computer. I can't work quite as efficiently though...rocking a baby and reconciling bank statements takes a new kind of skill. :) I love being a mom though and every day is a new adventure!

Smiles!!!

North Beach

Getting some tummy time lessons from her cousins

Rhyson and Rylee

The Story...

She's here! Our precious Rylee Grace arrived on July 15 at 7:10 pm. She arrived healthy and perfect in every way. She was 6 lbs, 6 oz, and 19 inches long. It is still hard to believe that she is finally here. Yesterday (Aug 2) marked Rylee's official due date. So she was still supposed to be inside until this week! Crazy! Yet here she is, going onto 3 weeks on Thursday.

I was scheduled to go in for my induction on the night of the 13th. However, late in the afternoon I got a call that the birthing center was incredibly busy and I needed to wait until morning. Grrr! Needless to say, I was a little upset as I had been working myself up for everything all day. But after a restless night of sleep we finally checked into the hospital at 7:00 Wednesday morning. The induction process started almost right away, but it was a long and slow process. I almost immediately started having contractions about 3 min. apart, but fortunately they were not very painful, just kind of annoying. On Thursday morning my doctor decided I was finally ready for the Pitocin and I started getting that around 9 am. Once again, it was a slow process and much did not happen until mid afternoon. They kept upping the dosage hoping it would kick things in gear. Well, if finally did around 3:30 pm. My water broke around then and contractions started getting intense. Around 6:30 pm I started to push and Rylee arrived at 7:10!

During the entire process the doctors were worried about Rylee's heartrate. It would drop with every contraction so I was stuck laying down on my left side the ENTIRE time. That got quite old. :) Near the end the doctor said it was a race whether Rylee would arrive first or they'd have to do a Cesarean. (Fortunately she won!) My doctor recommended an epidural to help me relax and to help stabilize Rylee's heartrate, but things started happening so fast there was never time! In the end they decided she had a short cord which was causing the problems. We are just so thankful and blessed that Rylee arrived healthy, and we are so in love with our little girl!

We went home from the hospital on Saturday morning. Then on Monday we had Rylee's 3-day check up. At the doctor's office we learned she had dropped more than the normal 7-10% of her birth weight and they wanted us to check back into the hospital. We knew she hadn't been eating well so it was almost a relief to go somewhere where we could get help.

At the hospital the nurses learned that she was not sucking correctly; she was tongue thrusting so it was impossible for her to drink. Apparently this is not uncommon for small and early babies. It only took a short while for the nurse to train Rylee how to suck properly. For a while we had to use a syringe to supplement her but we eventually got Rylee eating on her own. We went home on Tuesday with a very detailed feeding plan and a nervous mama...but we are starting to get things figured out. At her 2-week appointment Rylee had not only regained her birth weight but she was well past it! Yeah!

I think we are getting settled into a routine now. We don't have to go back to the doctor until her 6-week appointment. I am definitely done with doctors for while and sick of surprise check-in's to the hospital. :) Rylee is an amazing baby. She is very content and pretty much sleeps all the time. I still have to wake her up every 3 hours but she is just now starting to wake up hungry on her own which is a good sign. She is a precious bundle and she is quite a miracle!

Anxious and Excited

Tonight is the night! I met with my doctor yesterday and she said that my protein levels were increasing so she wanted to induce as soon as possible before things got worse. My non-stress test went fine on Saturday...the baby looked great. We also saw baby doing some more practice breathing yesterday on the ultrasound and that is a good sign.

I was told the induction process could take a couple days. Yikes. I go in at 7 tonight to get started but probably won't be in labor until morning, so at least I should get one more normal night of sleep before my life changes dramatically! Nate is finally home for a while; he is still a little overwhelmed about everything but I know he is going to do great. So now for a long day of waiting and hopefully next time I post there will be good news to share!

Last pic...37 weeks!

Ready or not...

Well, after 35 weeks of an extremely uneventful pregnancy, I was surprised by the sudden turn of events yesterday. At my weekly doctor appointment they noticed elevated blood pressure and presence of proteins in the urine, signs of preeclampsia. So the doctor wanted me monitored at the hospital for a while. That turned into an overnight, 24+ hour stay as they monitored me and baby. I was completely shocked when the doctor said if my protein levels were still high today they would induce today. If they were okay, they'd get me to 37 weeks and then induce.

Fortunately, this afternoon I was given the okay to go home yet stay on strict bedrest. They want me back on Saturday for a non-stress test and then again on Monday to see the doctor. She said she wants to induce within the next week. WOW! Not at all what I expected.

I was quite relieved to have an ultrasound this morning and find everything okay with the baby. Size and weight looked average for 36 weeks and lungs were functioning, so Baby Sak should be okay to deliver early. I will be 37 weeks on Monday but want to wait as long as the doctor will let me! The news is still settling in...I was fully expecting to go to 40 weeks (or longer) and still have lots to do, but that will all have to wait for now. Baby...ready or not, here you come!!! :)

Finally...New Countertops

Yesterday held the arrival of our much anticipated countertops. After a week of no kitchen due to tearing out the old ones, the new ones were installed in less than 4 hours. Of course Nate was gone all week and didn't have to deal with it, but fortunately my dad and mom took care of my dietary needs. :)

We love the countertops, and now just have to work on installing the tile backsplash and remaining trim around the windows. This was one thing I really wanted finished before baby, and I can't believe it actually happened! It's nice to have a kitchen back. Nate even got the new cooktop working, so now we just have to wait for the glue to dry before using the sink and we're set! Yay!

The Before: The Original Kitchen

After refinishing the cabinets and installing recessed lighting

Almost finished...just need a backsplash and trim! Well, a new dishwasher too but that will come eventually. :)

33 weeks and counting...

Well, I see it's been a while once again. I've hit my 33 week mark and am slowly marching towards 34. Yeah! 7 weeks seems like an eternity, but I know it will come eventually. I had another appointment today and my doctor confirmed Aug. 2 as my due date. We are gradually gathering things for the baby and have most of the basics now. Fortuanately my sisters have allowed me to borrow their things which really helps a lot.

It's hard to believe it is almost summer...it sure doesn't feel like it here. We've had too many rainy and overcast days. I am very ready for some warmer weather. Nate's busy season is picking up. He is out in Eastern WA right now for the week. I just tell him he's not allowed to travel within a 2-3 week window before my due date. :) We'll see how that goes.

Samson finished obedience school a few weeks ago. While he has all the basic commands down, he has a hard time with "come"... chasing bunnies or sniffing up in the woods is much more fun. We've had our hands full with this little pup. He still keeps us quite entertained and we can never stay mad at his big, innocent, puppy eyes for long.

Our graduate

33 weeks!!!

Static

This is for my sister's sake...she was wondering how Raya's hair got so tangled and messed up yesterday. Well, here is the reason.

Samson Memories

I was looking through my pictures and couldn't believe how big Samson has gotten since bringing him home. Here are some favorites from the last 7 months. I laugh every time I watch that video...he is so tiny and clumsy!

Baby Samson...the day we brought him home

Helping (?) daddy with our house construction

King of the hill!!!

Out cold while watching TV

His "sling" he was carried around WSU in

So sleepy

Kisses!

I think he forgets how big he is sometimes

More kisses

So big!

Life Update

Busy busy busy...that's about all I can say for the last several months. We have been working like crazy on our house. The bathrooms are our latest project. I am very excited that finally we have one almost finished bathroom downstairs and the upstairs one is coming along. I did laundry the other day without having to put on my shoes and didn't need to do a balancing act to get in there!!! We were able to get away for a weekend in San Francisco/Monterey. We joined 8 other college friends there for a mini-reunion.

Baby Sak is still doing well and everything seems to be moving along nicely. I am 23 weeks along and feeling great. Nate was able to come to my 20-week ultrasound and enjoyed seeing the baby move and stretch. I think it helped make it a little more real for him.

Here are some highlights of our trip: Alcatraz, walking along the pier in San Francisco, the gorgeous down Hwy 101, Monterey Acquarium, Pebble Beach Drive, hiking along the beach, and many games/chats with friends.

As you can see we had BEAUTIFUL weather

Part of the gang on Alcatraz

Puppy Pics

Boy is Samson growing fast! I am sad I no longer have a tiny puppy, but I am glad the early morning walks and potty training days are over (well, almost). He continues to make us laugh with his "brilliant" puppy antics. (As I type he is chasing his tail). He has made friends with the neighbor dogs, so that is a good thing. They have a puppy about his age he gets along with well.

Nate has been doing a significant amount of traveling so we haven't gotten much done on the house lately. The bathrooms are STILL unfinished but we hope to get them going soon. I am now 16 weeks along and still feeling great. I haven't busted out any maternity clothes yet and hopefully can hold off on that for a while. Thankfully things are going smoothly and we are praying this continues until the end!

Finally...some pics

So here are some of the "Before" pictures (the "After's" yet to come):

Front door on the left, taken from kitchen. (All the wood paneling went)

Upstairs bathroom (The first thing we did once we bought the house was tear down this hideous wallpaper!!!)

Downstairs bathroom...once again I couldn't wait to rip that paper off

Basement (that is the master bedroom door)

Basement from other direction. Once again, all the wood paneling on the walls is now gone.

Upstairs living room (looking towards dining room then kitchen)

Kitchen

Living Room

Upstairs bedroom...we turned this one into our office

So, although we are not near finished I will work on getting some after pictures on what we have accomplished. So far, the office and master bedroom are almost completely done with just a little trim work remaining. The kitchen is almost done; we just need to get new countertops yet. The living rooms up and down are mostly done except they need all the trim yet. Much to do yet we have come so far!

Big News

For those who haven't heard, we have some big changes coming up in our life. This big change will happen around August 4 when our baby arrives. A baby? Yep...though it still hasn't even sunk in for us yet. I am almost 13 weeks, so into my 2nd trimester now. (yeah!) Things have been great (too great I worry at times) since I haven't been sick or even felt pregnant yet. An ultrasound a few weeks ago did confirm the fact and we are now eagerly looking forward to the summer.

Hopefully, our house will be finished to a certain degree so we can turn our attention to more important things in life, namely, a baby. Samson, who is growing FAST, will almost be 1 and he will have to learn to adjust to being a big brother. :)

We learned other very exciting news at Christmas when my sister Juli announced that she too is expecting. Her due date is August 14, so our babies will be only a week or so apart! Needless to say, my mom is very excited. Nate's family is also ecstatic as this will be the first baby on their side of the family.

So for now as we try to wait patiently all we can do is pray for this little one and hope you remember us in your prayers as well!