1st 6 Weeks Report Card

Camryn will be 6 weeks old on Sunday...whoa! In teacherly fashion, I am going to give her a report card on how she has been doing.

• I gave her a B in Sleeping because she has some missing assignments. ;) One assignment that hasn't been turned in yet is Sleeping Through the Night. Hopefully she will get this turned in during the next few weeks!
• She received a B- in Smiling because it is still very inconsistent. Sometimes it seems like she is doing it on purpose, other times not.
• Camryn still needs improvement for her grade in Tummy Time. She earned a C for this class because of her behavior. She does not enjoy this class, so she is not putting forth her best effort. ;)
• Lastly, her B in Going Out is due to the fact that she left early from the assignment titled "Walking the Mall with Mom and Gigi" that took place on March 19th because she was crying. She did make up this assignment by completing "Walking the Mall with Mom and Dad" on March 21st, but it is still affecting her grade.

And Camryn received a A+ in being cute because...well...a picture says 1,000 words!

One Month!

Wow! This past Sunday, Camryn was officially one month old! We have had a long, fun month of learning, growing, lack of sleep, and falling in love with her! :)

Camryn at one month old...with a couple of special friends! :)
Here's what has been going on with us during her first month:

1. We are working on getting Camryn on a schedule. Right now, she's eating about every 3 hours and taking 1 1/2 to 2 hour naps between each feeding...that's a lot of sleeping! We're trying to go by the book Babywise...seems to be working well so far.

2. She still wears newborn sized diapers and clothes. Some of the 0 - 3 month things fit, too. I can tell, though, that she is growing little by little...she's starting to get the cute, baby rolls on her legs!

3. She gets the hiccups about once a day. (Check out this video)

4. She sleeps really well when she's swaddled (aka burrito baby!)...but she also loves to wiggle her arms free.
5. Her favorite place is snuggled up next to my chest.
6. We think her eyes will be blue...they started out very dark, but are lightening up.
7. We have had several visits from family...we are so blessed with how much Camryn is loved!
8. Camryn can hold her head up for a short period of time...we're working on that a little every day! (Watch this!)

9. She is getting much better at making eye contact...she loves to look at our faces. :)
10. I try to take Camryn out somewhere every day. So far, that has included church, small group, the grocery store, Target, the mall, and on walks through our neighborhood.
Thank you, Lord, for the sweet blessing of a child! We're looking forward to what month 2 has to offer!

Our Little Bundle of (Camryn) Joy!

I think it's a little ironic that I'm just now getting around to posting about Camryn, and today was supposed to be the day she was born! Ha! She certainly had other plans! I have been enjoying the last 2 weeks, but it has definitely not been easy. There have been several tears and moments of frustration, but all in all, it has been wonderful. :) So here's how the whole thing went down...

Saturday 2/14/09 @ 11:59p.m. - I get up out of bed to go to the bathroom...not at all an unusual occurrence at this point in the pregnancy.

Sunday 2/15/09 @ 12:00a.m. - My water breaks! I hadn't had any contractions, so there was no warning at all. It was an especially big surprise since it was 12 days before my due date! I run back into our bedroom and wake up Tyson. I say, "Honey, I think my water just broke." Poor guy was so groggy, surprised, and confused! He got up, and while both of us are crying and shaking, he prayed over me and the birth of our baby...sweet memory for me. :)

12:10 - 12:45a.m. - We rush around the house getting last-minute things together for the hospital. Oddly enough, that day we had set up the pack-n-play and packed Camryn's bag of things for the hospital...but we were expecting to have 2 more weeks to get everything else packed up! During this time I start to have some minor contractions. They're definitely noticeable, but not too painful. They basically started right after my water broke!

1:00a.m. - We arrive at the hospital and get taken up to labor and delivery. I had the best nurse for most of my labor! Her name was Lisa, and she was very positive, kind, and funny! I was very sad that her shift ended before Miss Camryn arrived!

1:00 - 4:30a.m. - Contractions. That's about all that was happening at this point. They got longer, closer together, and more intense...and that's probably all you want to know. :) Tyson was very sweet and helpful throughout my labor...I just love him so much! He kept telling me what a great job I was doing, and was very sweet to help me and get things for me...Thanks, honey!

4:30a.m. - I realize that my pain level has increased to the point where I'm ready for some meds. I told this to the nurse, and I was thinking she would give me some demerol or something because I was still a long way from needing the epidural. Well, she checked me and said that it was epidural time! Whoa, this was much sooner than I was expecting! Actually, about an hour earlier, Tyson and I made a short video (between contractions!) where we talked to Camryn. I said in the video, "It's very early in the morning, and we're looking forward to meeting you sometime this afternoon." Ha! :) So, things are progressing faster than we or the nurse were expecting...this is a good thing for me!

5:00a.m. - Epidural time! It really wasn't too bad getting the epidural except that I was having contractions while the anesthesiologist was working on me...that made it tough to be still and stay in the right position. I did tell him, "I just don't want to see the needle!" and I didn't...I think that helped. :) It was around this time that we called our families to tell them that we were having the baby. We decided to wait until 5:00 thinking that would let them get some sleep and give them PLENTY of time to make the drive from Tyler...things just moved more quickly than we anticipated.

5:00 - 7:00a.m. - Labor continues to progress, but I'm not feeling the pain from the contractions...yay! I am, however, feeling quite a bit of pressure during the contractions. That pressure increases throughout this time, to the point where I feel like I need to push. I tell this to the nurse (Ashley now, instead of Lisa because her shift ended), and she calls the doctor on call to let him know it's time!

about 7:30a.m. - Nurse Ashley calls the doctor again to make sure that he's on his way. I'm really feeling the need to push, so the nurse lets me push a little during the contractions. She eventually has to tell me NOT to push because the doctor's not there yet!

sometime between 7:30 and 8:00a.m. - The doctor arrives...whew! He has just enough time to get all set up before I really start pushing. Later I find out that it's a good thing the nurse called him a second time...he was on his way to Starbucks to get some coffee before coming to the hospital! He thought he had lots of time since it's my first baby and I had an epidural...usually two signs that the labor will take a while!

about 8:00a.m. - Our families arrive just in the nick of time! I promise I didn't know the labor would go so quickly!

8:16a.m. - After just over 8 hours of labor, Camryn Joy arrives! She is crying and pink and perfect!

She's Here!

Well, much to our surprise, Camryn Joy Kirksey has arrived 12 days early! I'll do a quick post and picture for now, then follow up later with more details.

Camryn Joy Kirksey
Sunday, February 15, 2009
8:16 a.m.
7 pounds
19.5 inches
Mom, Dad, and baby are doing well. :)

We're in the Red Zone!

That's what Tyson is calling it now...the red zone. :) My due date is 18 days away, which basically means that I could go into labor any time now. Wow, that's a sobering thought! It didn't really sink in until my doctor's appointment last Monday when I found out that I am 1 - 2 centimeters dilated already. I freaked out just a little (OK, maybe more than a little), but then later found out that many expectant moms stay there for even a month! Regardless, it was a reality check! (At today's appointment, I found out that I haven't progressed any in the last week...thanfully!)

We have been spending the past couple of weeks making some "final" preparations, realizing that our time before Camryn arrives is getting shorter and shorter. We've installed the car seat in my car, finished the nursery, and we're in the middle of a 3 week childbirth education class.

So here are some pictures of what we've been up to. You can see that the belly is definitely getting bigger, and boy, am I feeling it! I'm not in pain or anything, I just feel like she's pushing on everything inside me when she moves! Also, here's the latest progress on the nursery:

This weekend, we went on a shopping trip, and used gift cards to pick up some things that we still needed for her room. We got a diaper pail and a changing pad/covers, plus we have put a little shelf on the wall for wipes, etc.

Last weekend, my parents stopped by on their way out of the country (on a trip to Israel!...they'll be back this week), and they dropped off the crib skirt and bumper. Oh, wow, they turned out so good! I was thrilled with the result, and I think they look great in the room! Here's the whole crib put together...

And here is a better view of the inside of the bumper...I love how the fabrics all look together. Girly, but not baby-ish...just what I wanted!

So we're in the home stretch! I am so thankful for how I have felt throughout this pregnancy...the nurse today even commented about what a great pregnancy I've had...and she sees LOTS of pregnant ladies! We are prayerful for a healthy baby and mommy, and for Camryn to wait until at least her due date to make her arrival (the longer she waits, the less I have to go back to school at the very end of the year!). We'll keep you posted...

Sneak Preview

Last night my mom emailed me a sneak preview of the bedding that we're having made for the crib! Here is the glimpse that I got of the crib skirt....I LOVE how these fabrics look together! Especially with the pom-pom trim! Now I'm looking forward to seeing it all in person and actually in the nursery...so fun!Also, my blog got a new look thanks to having the day off of school yesterday! I had time to play with our digital camera, then play around in Scrapblog. So, enjoy!

Camryn in 3D!

Over our Christmas break we had the opportunity to get a 3D sonogram! We went on the Tuesday before Christmas to a place in Tyler called Stork Vision. It was a full house! My mom and dad, Tyson's mom and dad, Tyson's brother, and my sister and brother-in-law were all able to join us! Unfortunately, Miss Camryn did not cooperate with us. The cord was in front of her face the whole time, so we weren't able to get a good picture of her. The nice people at Stork Vision let us reschedule for the Friday after New Year's so that we could try again. So we went back and had much more success. Here are some of the best pictures that we got!

Profile view of her face:

Front view of her face. Chubby cheeks and a dimple in her chin!
Big yawn!
She had her feet crossed over each other...not much room in there!
Thanks so much to my mom and dad (and Aunt Babe) for this fun experience! Now we are just looking forward to seeing her in person in 7 weeks or so!