Baby Kaczkowski's First Blog

Six months is no excuse...

2009-11-24T11:36:00.001-08:00

But it happened anyway. Let's see, here's the short version of all that has gone on:
1. Jake started crawling
2. Summer vacations (up north to Cheboygan and Traverse City)
3. A few trips to the Toledo Zoo
4. crawling fast like a super hero
5. Oh yeah, mommy is having another baby...it's a boy!!
6. Jake turned 1 and celebrated with lots of good friends
7. School is so much fun!
8. Halloween means costumes and candy? Who knew??!!
9. Getting brave about taking steps
10. The new baby is almost here....there's now a second crib in my room and I know a baby goes in there, I just don't quite understand what that means to my life....yet.

So there's the short version. BBK#2 is estimated to arrive 12/28/09 but at the next doctor's appointment we'll be discussing his current size (surprise, surprise - he's a big boy) and whether that means we'll be trying to schedule a c-section ahead of going into labor or not.

Hope you're well and I promise I'll post some pictures of the summer and fall (including his 1-year pics) as soon as possible. What a whirlwind this year has been!!!!

I know it's been a while....

2009-05-10T18:00:00.001-07:00

Jake is growing by leaps and bounds. I have been sick and tired of looking at the computer since tax season ended, but I think I'm finally ready to get back to updating this thing :)

Jake is rolling both from tummy to back and back to tummy and all the way around whenever he can. He's starting to get up on his knees and rock back and forth which means crawling is just around the corner. He got his first tooth and it's finally peeking through the lower gum. The one right next to it is on the way as well. Time to break out the toothbrush and baby paste!!

We took him swimming the night before Chris' graduation and he LOVED it...no surprise to me really, I mean Chris is part fish or something. He got a swing and treats from the Easter Bunny and grandma Bunny got him a whole swingset....hopefully someday soon Chris can get someone to come over and help him get it put together so Jake can enjoy the swing.

We visited my parents last weekend for Derby. It was very tame this year compared to previous years but it was nice to go down nonetheless.

Here are a couple of pictures to enjoy until I get another change (sooner rather than later) to get more (and recent) pics updated.

Happy Mother's Day!!

6 month update

2009-03-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it's been some time, but I finally made myself sit down and write Jake's happenings for the 6 month mark. He's doing well and growing so fast it's almost unbelievable :)

At his appointment he weighed in at 20 lbs 8 oz. He only measured at 26.5 inches, which is half an inch longer than his 4 month appointment, but the doc assured me the length measurements are difficult, especially with how wiggly Jake is since he's always trying to sit up or roll over or just scooch around.

Jake is now eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with bottles in between. He's a big fan of most everything he's eaten to this point and we're happy to have a good eater on our hands!!

I took Jake to Portrait Innovations in Brighton today for some professional shots....enjoy the few I've posted here. This place was great! They include a CD of all his poses with your order so I have every shot at my disposal.

The quick update and some pics

2009-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been way too long. Thanks to all those who chastized me into updating finally. I wanted to take some new pictures so I could post the latest and greatest and the days just aren't long enough with everything going on.

We have made our first visit to Louisville to see my parents. They were so happy to have us and the trip went very well. We only stopped once (well twice on the way home cause I didn't have a nipple for the bottle in the bag, it was in the trunk so it had to be retrieved) so it was a success indeed.

Jake has rolled from tummy to back and is working diligently on back to tummy....I think he'll get it any day now. He's drooling up a storm (as evidenced by the rosey - chapped - cheeks) so I think he's starting the teething process. I'm happy that I'm pumping and not nursing anymore so I don't have to risk getting bit. I know moms who have smacked the baby as a first instinct then felt terrible afterward and I won't have to ever feel that, which is kind of a relief.

Chris has separated himself (what a nice way to put it) from his job at Habitat for Humanity and is now concentrating on his heavy school schedule for the semester and helping/visiting his mom who is scheduled to have surgery later this week. Keep us in your thoughts that all goes well for her!!

My busy season is over and we're just helping support these days. It's a nice time of the job cause I'm very comfortable with support having done that as my job for over 5 years, so it's nice to wake up and know exactly what I'm going to do most days.

I have no idea how much he weighs or how long he is at this point. He's about out of the last (biggest) size 3-6 month clothes and wearing mostly size 6 months from Carter's. The 6-9 month clothes will probably come out this weekend though they seem HUGE!! I know he's a big dude but he holds his weight well and is compact and dense which has kept him pretty true to size ranges, which is nice (makes clothes buying sooooo much easier).

Enjoy the little man....he loves his toes and isn't afraid to show it. And that smile.....oh my!!

My bad...4 months, Hello 2009 and MMM....foood....

2009-01-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a busy few weeks, that's for sure. We celebrated Christmas with my parents over the New Year's weekend and Jake was so happy to see them!! We went to the Schaffer's for New Year's Eve and Jake woke up just in time to see the ball drop in Times Square. We celebrated with good friends which is always my favorite way to ring in a new year! Jake had his 4 month checkup and he took the shots like a pro. He weighed in at (hold onto your shorts) 17 lbs 5 oz and measured 26 inches tall! Yes, yes....he's a big boy, that's for sure. We don't have to worry about our little chunker not getting enough meals in, that's for sure. We got the go-ahead to start feeding him cereal. We started with rice and he's not the biggest of fans but I think he likes a little something different. Last night I was so disappointed with his dislike of the cereal that I tried peas. Boy was that a change!! Jake loved the peas and ate almost half the jar. He didn't even mind when I mixed some cereal in. I think he just wanted some taste finally. It's funny that he ate peas on my mom's birthday because she hates peas...it's good to know her grandson can celebrate her in such a way...hehehe.

I'm almost done with my busiest season at work so I'll try to keep the posts much more current starting in just a few days...I can't wait for the last product to have it's initial release. That's not to say I won't have updates, but the initial release is always the most stressful and I'm counting down the hours until that is out of my hair.

Mr. man passed mommy and daddy a nasty stomach virus this weekend but luckily it didn't seem to bother him so much. I don't think mommy and daddy have been that sick since we were little kids ourselves, but thank goodness it's over!

Enjoy some updated pics and we send our love to all!

16 weeks, Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

Jake celebrated 16 weeks this week and it fell on Christmas day! Of course all three of us had a pretty gross cold too, so we kept it low-key and relaxed as much as possible. Jake has vacation from daycare until 1/5/09, so he'll be at my aunt's family's house a couple of days this week and with his dad the rest. My parents will also be here next weekend so we're looking forward to celebrating the holiday with them.

For a kid who wasn't going to get any presents, he sure made out like a bandit! He got a full Lionel train set from grandma Bunny, some fun toys and outfits from Noreen and Scott, Joanne, Magic great grandma and great grandpa Paul, great grandma Gates, great aunt Ginger and aunt Jessica, a tucan puppet from Papi and Cecily, a toolbox with some starter tools (real man kind, not baby kind) from his daddy, exersaucer triple fun from mommy and daddy and Cookie and Ernie TMX from Santa. What a haul!!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and enjoy a fantastic New Year!!

Time flies when you have deadlines...

2008-12-18T19:46:00.001-08:00

Well, one deadline down....the product doesn't go on CD for another few weeks so there is plenty of time for tweaks if anyone finds something....it feels good to have accomplished something although being at home w/ the wee would be better :)

Speaking of the wee, he's 15 weeks old today!!! How is that even possible? They love his outfits at daycare - they say I'm always dressing him like a little man. I'm sure they have a point.

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Little late on the uptake...

2008-12-16T03:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, sorry for the delay. Both Jake and I had our first colds resulting from daycare last week, but we're over them (for the most part) now and ready to conquer the holidays!! He's been a shopping trooper and I can't wait for our first Christmas!!

Otherwise things are going pretty well. Chris' mom is into her treatments now and feeling pretty good so we're thankful for that. My parents are well - though I'm not sure what my dad is really doing with some time on his hands for shutdown, but hopefully he's being productive. Chris has his final presentations for his classes this week, so that's a relief that he'll have some down time before next semester starts. Work is still there and I'm still going, so I guess that's a plus :)

Hope you are well!! Yet again the pictures are uploading sideways, so I'll be back later to add those.

Three months old....you've got to be kidding me

2008-12-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

I don't have an updated pic just yet, but I promise I'll get one up later this week.

Jake is loving daycare - they're wearing him out cause he's sleeping from like 9pm right through till I wake him up at 5:30am, which isn't a bad thing. They love him and he's the only baby who doesn't crawl or walk so they like holding and loving on him.

We got out the doorway jumpster today and he hand a grand time. He's grabbing and playing with the toys on the bouncy seat and in the swing and he loves to jump and bounce. He really made some big movement leaps this week and I'm sure daycare helps that along.

I'm still wishing for a lottery win so I can stay home with him and see every moment, but at least I know I'm comfortable with the care and love he's getting at Joyland!!!

12 weeks and Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, our little man is almost 3 months old. He is chatting up a storm and loves the interaction. He enjoyed his Thanksgiving with all the family and friends we spent time with. What a joy to see so many people and share him in such a short amount of time.

We start daycare tomorrow so hopefully I can make it through the day without coming to tears...I mean, I do feel good about this place but it's so hard to think of the things I'll be missing!!

Here's our little guy at Thanksgiving dinner with Chris' family...he's stuffed...who knew you could fall into a turkey coma without eating any turkey? :)

11 weeks old

2008-11-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

My goodness! I can't believe how fast he's growing. We moved to size 1/2 this week....honestly I thought all the diapers Melissa gave us were plain old size 2's but they were the in-between size...well at least if I don't get through them all I know Noreen will take them for her soon-to-arrive little one :)

Mr. Jake is all smiles and doing well. We enrolled him in daycare yesterday only to find out the woman who heads up the center (the director) was married to Bunny's cousin (Bunny is Chris' mom) and her daughter and niece work there too, so the little guy will really be with family which is so much what I wanted....I honestly believe a relative was watching from above and helped me to make this decision as it was the only place I really ever felt warm and comfortable...funny how that works isn't it?

Remember how he used to look so small in his swing? Now I'm dreading the day he grows out of it (cause it's coming sooner rather than later)...what ever will I do for relaxing time cause he loves it so much!!??!! I'm hoping maybe he likes the johnny-jumper just as much in a different way. Anyway, look how big he's getting!!

10 weeks old...check out that smile!!

2008-11-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how much faster time flies when I have to work some days in the week....bleh. Mr. Jake seems to be picking up on the fact that sleep is good and sleeping in longer segments during the night leads to a happier mommy...last night he slept from 10:30 till almost 6am....holy crazy!! I hope this just signals more sleep to come. He's also been crashing out for longer naps during the day which probably means he's transitioning to a more regular schedule...thank goodness for small miracles, right?

My job situation is in flux and discussions are being held at various places...if one of them works out I'll have a nice long holiday this year then down to the grind for some good ol' fashioned tax work...but we'll see. I have a feeling it's all gonna come down to money. Dang lottery ;)

9 weeks old and the 2 month checkup

2008-11-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

Jake had his 2 month check up this week. He now weighs 13.5 lbs and measures 23.5 inches long. This puts him in the 95th percentile for weight and 70th percentile for length. What a healthy boy!! I was dreading the immunization shots cause I didn't think I could handle my precious son screaming in pain, but he didn't start till the third poke and once the fourth poke was done I picked him right up and told him everything was OK and let him finish his bottle so he was fine and really forgot all about it. What a good idea that was.....I can't take credit for it since really I read it online before we went there, but I can take credit for having the idea to look for suggestions online.

I'm going to have to take some naked baby pictures (with diaper of course cause Chris would be furious if I really posted naked pictures of his son) so you can see the rolls on his thighs and arms...he's just so beautiful! I also keep trying to get a picture of him smiling or laughing even but mostly when the camera comes out he just gets this look on his face like "what the H are you doing, mom?". He's definitely my son!!

Work wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be this week...and it's not work that's the problem it's being away from the little man for so long that really sucks. Chris is doing a fantastic job with him during the day (of course...he's such a good daddy) but all I want to do when I get home is plant kisses on those cheeks and hold him close to me. I'm still holding out for a lottery win before this whole going back full time and daycare crap starts....one can hope, right?

Speaking of hope, hooray for Barack!! Being a well-known bleeding heart democrat myself means of course you know I was backing him all along, but the fact he actually won is just so incredible. I was driving in to work yesterday morning and Dave and Chuck the freak (on 89X....my Canadian radio staple) were talking about how much this means for their kids and I realized when I actually get around to a baby book for Jake and mention all the things that have happened the year he was born, I can include the fact that our country elected it's first african american president and that made me start to cry. It's amazing how far this country has come in a relatively short time....now if only we can further expand the sentiment of equality to include everyone in my lifetime (yes, I mean prop 8).

How is it November already?

2008-11-01T08:23:00.001-07:00

I'm still dreading my return to work on Monday, but thems the breaks I suppose.

Good news to report though, on Thursday night Jake slept from 10pm until 4:30am. I thought maybe it was just a fluke, but we've been working on this "becoming baby wise" schedule all week and some days it was pretty tough so part of me wanted to believe after these last few days maybe he was finally starting to get it...well I'm happy to say that last night he slept from 11pm until 6am!! Yes!! I couldn't believe it when I got up this morning...even when Chris got up for work he said "this is the first time he was up all night???". He's also been taking a 3 to 3.5 hour nap in the morning and trying to get one in the afternoon - though when we're out and about he takes a few shorter naps instead. It's been glorious and we have Carrie to thank for lending us the book to get us going on this method....I hope the streak continues!!

Also, this morning when I went to retrieve Jake from his bed (with much energy since I had so much sleep too) he had scooted all the way to the top of the matress!! Needless to say, once he got out of bed for a little while I promptly removed the bumpers...it doesn't seem like the same little baby crib anymore, but it's exciting to realize the kind of progress he's making every day!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

Well, after lunch with Tina, Claire, Kim and Henry today, we returned home and I decided we were going to do a fall photo spread. I got out the boppy and put leaves all over it and pulled the pumpkin around back so the pictures could be autumn-tastic. Jake didn't mind laying in the leaves so much but once I put his Sock Monkey costume on, he wasn't too pleased. Maybe we'll get some happier pictures this evening at my grandma's house :)

Check out my Facebook page if you would like a copy of any photo since the Smilebox slideshow won't allow you to save or copy pictures from their site.

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8 weeks old...he's getting so big!!

2008-10-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

We don't have the 2 month appointment till next Tuesday, so I'm not entirely sure how much he weighs or how long he is at this point, but his 0-3 month sleepers are just about too short....maybe a week left trying to wear them then they'll get packed up with the newborn stuff and tucked away. He's becoming a champion of pooping out of his diaper, but that's pretty common for this age....a lot of force behind that removal (sorry for the graphic imagery). We've been working on a "becoming baby wise" schedule this week and toward the end of his naptime he starts crying for food. Chris seems to think he just starts crying at the first sign of hunger and doesn't know how to deal with it since I catered to his every whim before....but I have confidence that he'll get used to it. I was hoping this would improve his eating habits really and make him a more of an eater instead of a snacker, but I think if he could take more in he'd be much happer at the end of the cycle....in due time I'm sure.

I do go back to work on Monday and I'm not looking forward to it in the least, but there are some things in the works so maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel.....I won't get my hopes up quite yet but I have to try and remain positive about the whole thing.

I visited a couple of daycare centers yesterday and one was kind of scary but the other was pretty nice. I really liked the people and the setup of the center but they've recently raised their prices a little making the price difference between the two places something to seriously consider. I have a couple more places to contact and figure out what our final decision will be for December. It's so hard to make a decision when none of the options are really what you want.

There are no pictures to post today as tomorrow morning we'll be conducting a photo spread outside with the fall leaves and our pumpkin and Jake's costume....I love the fall so I'm really looking forward to it :) I'll be sure to post before we head out for our tour de force of the evening.

7 weeks and a sad reality

2008-10-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well, Mr. Jake is 7 weeks old now....actually 7 weeks and 5 days as of today. Sorry it took longer to post this week, but you have to know it's been a rough few days. My boss called Thursday to tell me I had to come back to work this week. What? We had discussed my being off for 12 weeks so I have the vacation time all ready to go. The problem becomes she thought maternity leave was 12 weeks and didn't realize she could tell me no and since she has final approval on all vacation time and the products aren't getting done as they need to be (which isn't my fault....again, another sign of poor management) she is making me come back to work. I even got HR involved so we "compromised" on me coming back 10 days in November. The other suck part is that I'm going to end up losing some vacation days unless I get creative with calling in during December. It's all a total bummer. Needless to say I have spent some time just cuddling with my darling son to fit in some time....since I thought I had 5 weeks left hanging out with him day in and day out and it's been rudely reduced to 1. I start back on Monday....unless we can pull a lottery win out this week.....if karma or any of the gods are listening, please....please.

At any rate, Jake is growing like a weed. He's still fitting into his 0-3 month clothes, but some are pushed to the limit. He's surely not going to make them another month, but maybe a couple of weeks so he's not quite giant to size as one might expect. He's smiling and cooing and melting my heart at every opportunity.

November is going to be very busy between my return to my stupid job and Chris' classes plus he's starting a new class that takes place Friday nights and Saturdays plus he's still got to try and work a couple of days and also study for the LEED exam he wants to take in December. By the time Christmas comes around the next 2 months will seem like a blur, I know it.

Despite the somber....or angry tone of the post, here are some great pictures of Jake in his Osh Kosh wear. He was on the floor in his newborn lounger and the dog was hanging out beside him. Sometimes you can see Yukon in the shot but other times I just captured the loving lookes Jake gives him. He's always checking to see what that big furry thing is doing and where he is. I love it.

Take care and enjoy the pictures -

6 weeks, you're kidding me??!!??

2008-10-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

So, under old CSI policy if I had no other vacation time to take and my 6 weeks of maternity was over, I'd have to go back to work today. What? Are you freakin kidding me? There's no way I could turn this little guy over to someone else all day today. As it is I don't think it's going to be any easier in another 6 weeks when I really do have to go back, but I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing.

Jake is now 6 weeks old. He's dictating the eating and sleeping schedule but at least I can nap during the day so it's not terrible. If I could just go to bed earlier myself it wouldn't be bad at all cause he's sleeping most of the time from like 8pm till 2am, but there's no way on this green earth I could possibly get myself to bed that early unless I was really sick. So I just deal with it...but waking up with him is just more time spent in the quiet, alone together and I can watch his darling face and he smiles at me and I melt. That's REALLY when I dread going back to work...hehehehe.

I had my 6 week follow-up this week and barring a few more tests at the hospital next week, things look all healed and good to go. I lost another 10 lbs making total weight loss since delivery 36 lbs. Nice, eh? I'm ready to do it all again if I can lose another net of 25 lbs....hahahahahah. Just kidding, I want to enjoy Jake while he's still in the cuddly cooing phase before any of that happens. Though the doc did say if I wasn't going to use any formal preventative methods, please try to space them 12 to 16 months apart and don't pull a Spears girl so I have enough time for everything to heal inside properly....hahahahha, the Spears'.

Ok, now what you've really been waiting for, more pics of our little man. These are from yesterday so exactly on his 6 week celebration. He wore a fitting t-shirt for the party time. We visited Chris at work and the Habitat ladies were all over him with love, then we went to Aunt Sue's office so the ladies there could love on him a bit and Laura even got to stop over and love on him, so he was gushed upon greatly yesterday, but of course he loved every minute.

Enjoy!!

5 weeks and a couple of days....

2008-10-13T06:58:00.001-07:00

So I wasn't right on top of 5 weeks this week, but I did start a Facebook page with a photo album of the little man AND my parents were here again this weekend so there was a lot going on. They stayed at our house and watched Jake (and Yukon) so that Chris and I could go out and celebrate our anniversary. It was nice to go out and not have to think about all the stuff going on here. Matt and Brian came to dinner with us since Matt now lives in Dallas and Brian is working in China for a year and is only home a short while to sort out some visa stuff. It was great to see them and I think they were both happy to meet Jake.

Otherwise things are moving along. Some nights are better than others but he's definitely getting a schedule to come together, so at least his hourly cluster feedings are predictable.

Here are some updated pics, enjoy!!

4 weeks old

2008-10-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been 4 weeks since the little man arrived into our life and things are trying to stabilize and become more normal. Chris returned to work this week and they were very happy to see him! Jake is still fitting into the newborn clothes, but this will probably be the last week...luckily we don't have that many and it just means the size 0 - 3 month stuff fits better.

We attended the Thomson family carnival last Friday and it was nice to get out and visit with some work peeps. Jake had a great time. Also my parents were in town for the weekend so we were quite busy.

This week's pics are Jake and Claire, Partied Out, and Tough Guy. Enjoy!!

3 weeks and uncontrollably adorable

2008-09-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our little man is 3 weeks old today!! It's just crazy how the time flies....I can't imagine how fast life will be when I finally have to go back to work in December.

We had a pediatrician appointment this week on Tuesday - which was really his 2 week checkup - and he is doing wonderfully. Jake weighed in at 9 lbs 8 oz (for those keeping track that's a whole pound in 14 days) and measured at 20.75 inches. So even though I sometimes feel like nursing may not be going so well, he's obviously getting everything he needs and thriving beautifully.

Here are some updated pictures. He gets this really goofy smile when he starts to fall asleep but I haven't been able to capture it yet....we'll see if I can get it on camera sometime soon.

Enjoy!!

2 weeks old and changing every day

2008-09-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Jake is two weeks old today! How time is flying....I can't believe it's been that long and I can return to driving status. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the c-section wound is healing well and I'm losing lots of weight....all good things :)

This is Jake after falling into a post nursing food coma....hehehe....couldn't you just grab those cheeks?

Jake's umbilical cord remains fell off today. I weeped a slight little bit but then I had to take pictures of his adorable little belly button. He's definitely looking bigger and older every day. Hopefully the feeding stuff continues working itself out so that the sleep schedule gets more regular. Chris took night duty a couple of times earlier this week so I could get 2 nights of 6 hours straight sleeping and that helped a lot in returning to humanhood.

First week at home comes to a close....

2008-09-13T10:47:00.001-07:00

We've had a good week and things are really starting to come together. I was reviewing the pictures on the camera memory card this morning and decided there were a few I just had to share. Here we see some great shots including "What up to my west side", "Bathtime friggin sucks", "I love Daddy time", and "Swinging is so good I pass out every time".

Jake met Aunt Laura, Magic great grandma, great grandpa Paul, "uncle" Erik and "aunt" Shannon these last few days. I need to be better about taking pictures when new visitors come over, but I'm sure those won't be the last opportunities since these folks will be around again soon, I'm sure!

Home is getting easier

2008-09-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

When we got home on Sunday things were a little rough, but thankfully we've been able to work out a few kinks and things are getting smoother around here. Jake loves his swing and enjoys his nightly talks with dad about things like high definition televisions and how pepperoni is another member of the pork family. Yukon is a doting big brother and is learning the meaning of the word "enough" when it comes to licking Jake's face. I don't want him to feel like he can't do it ever so we're not saying no, just "enough" and he seems to respond pretty well.

I got my staples out on Tuesday which helped restore a bit of movement which is a nice feeling. Chris is doing a fantastic job of making sure I do things I need to do like eat, shower and get at least a couple of sleep stints throughout the day. Today he took me to Babies R Us just to get out for a bit and we ran into Carrie. That woman is everywhere!!!

At the pediatrician appointment on Tuesday we got some tricks and tools for nursing and it's become so much easier, thank heavens. By Monday night my emotional issues coupled with our inability to see eye to eye on this nursing thing left me in a heap of a mess, but we worked through it and all the family memebers are much happier and I'm just thankful nursing is finally working. Jake also measured at 20 inches and weighed 8 lbs 8 oz, so he's thriving wonderfully and gaining appropriately, which despite all the nursing woes was very nice to hear.

I'll try to get some updated pictures posted before the end of the weekend, especially since Jake's jaundice has improved sooooooo much....Chris actually tried to freak me out by saying we brought home a little oompah loompah (SCARY) but when I see the pictures of him now I have to agree he was quite orangy....hahahahaa

Stay tuned for postings soon....

Welcome Jake Elwood Kaczkowski

2008-09-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, on Wednesday 9/3 I made my way to the doctor's office for an appointment which turned out to be my last visit. I was almost 4cm dilated and 80% effaced but my blood pressure was high. I can personally attribute the bp spike to my decision to join Tonya, Therese and Anna in Ann Arbor for lunch that afternoon -- fully forgetting it was the first day of classes at the University and for some dumbass reason we met there for lunch anyway....hahahahah. So, after eating great Indian food and enjoying a nice afternoon - then nearly killing 420 stupid students walking across the street anywhere they wanted while gabbing about got knows what on their cellphones, I went to the doc. Anyway, she decided I should head over to the hospital for some bloodwork to make sure I wasn't developing toxemia or preeclampsia. So I left the office and something told me I should just stop at home and get my bags anyway, which is where I was headed. I was talking to my mom on the phone and the doc beeped in, talk about personal service!! She had spoken with the doc on call at the practice - initially to tell her I was coming over for some tests and they decided since I was only 9 days away from due date, they weren't going to bother with monitoring, they were just going to induce labor so I should stop at home and get my stuff.....its a completely jarring feeling when after weeks and weeks of telling you to not have the kid, they just one day decide hey, we're going to make you have the kid now.

So I rolled up to the house, got my stuff together and ate one last meal knowing I'd be high and dry at the hospital for at least a day, played with the dog a last time before he's not the only baby in my life then made my way to St. Joe's. I was especially not in a hurry cause of course it was Chris' first day of class for the fall semester and he was at the Livonia campus. He knew I was headed there so he was just meeting me after class cause nothing was going to happen before that time anyway.

I checked in and they took me right to my labor and delivery room. What a crazy feeling. Here is where my baby is going to be born. This is the last place I'll be as a mother-to-be and actually be a mommy. They broke my water at 8:15pm and I was 4cm and 90% effaced. They intended to start me on a pitocin drip to accelerate labor, but right as that was supposed to happen 6 other ladies came in ready to deliver and there weren't enough nurses to cover all those deliveries plus monitor my pitocin schedule every 15 minutes. Luckily I was contracting a little on my own so they could just let me sit and hang out. Many people called or got calls so I spent some time on the phones. My parents decided to make their way up here despite my insistance nothing was going to happen even if they just came in the morning, but sometimes there's no telling my mom, she was going to be here come hell, high water or Hurricaine Hannah....hehehehe. They were able to restart the pitocin just after 11pm. I really wanted to try and go through labor as far as possible without an epidural but after a couple of hours it got quite difficult. I finally asked for the meds just after 1am after trying positions and breathing and everything. I would have made out with the antesthesiologist for sure cause he was like an angel from above :) I shouldn't have waited cause the positions helped me to lose more amniotic fluid than I should have and as the night turned into morning and the contractions got stronger and closer together the little man's heartrate was dipping and having some issues. The doctor at the time (around 4am) just said to take me off the pitocin and see where it went. Labor stayed hard - which was good cause it was on my own and the baby's heart rate leveled out so things were OK for a while again.

My parents arrived so we saw them for a while before they went back out to the waiting room. Noreen arrived in case Chris wasn't going to be able to handle the pushing phase at about 7am. I am so happy she was able to make it cause the rest of the morning turned to a sort of chaos. The doctor's changed at 7am and the baby's heart rate started suffering again. The amniotic infusion they tried didn't work out so well and she didn't like what she was seeing on the monitor. This is when talks of c-section started floating around. The nurse seemed to think we could still do it and I hoped she was right cause I did not want the surgery at all. Things went along for a little while with hopes we were not having surgery and I was going to be able to deliver.

Next phase - nurse makes 1 phone call and suddenly 12 people are in my room (nurse and tech types) to unplug everything and wheel me into OR. They said if they plugged in the monitors and the baby's heartrate was back up that we'd wait 15 minutes and if it stayed up we'd go back to the labor and delivery room. No such luck. Next thing I knew they were moving me to the operating table and prepping for a c-section. Getting enough meds was tricky but I don't think I felt too much more than a planned c-section would have, but since I've never had one of those I guess I wouldn't know, right?

Anyway, we welcomed Jake into the world at 10:24 am, weighing in at 8 lbs 10 oz and measuring 19.5 inches long with a crazy head of dark soft hair. He's got big feet and these cute curly ears. Everyone that has met him so far fell in love immediately. I'm working (ok, I'm having the husband work on) a video slideshow to just post up here so you can see the pictures so far. We're expected to go home tomorrow and we're doing pretty well. Chris is even teaching him about cranes and bacon, so he's well rounded :)

Check by in a few to see the pics. Love to all and see you soon!

38 week appointment - seriously

2008-08-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I walked into the doctor's office this morning knowing I've been having contractions....most likely Braxton-Hicks sort cause they're not strong enough to make me feel like death or anything, but noticeably uncomfortable from time to time...nothing huge. So they weighed me and first of all I lost the weight I had "gained" last week, so that was kind of happy. Keeps my total weight gain at this point 7.5 lbs....the doc is very, very pleased about that. Truthfully I am too cause I think that's what is keeping me as mobile as I am, otherwise I'd be bound to the couch for sure....not that I've got an entirely large amount of energy anyway, but what I do have would be sucked up indeed.

Anyway, she checked baby's heartrate and he's still in the 140's - 150's with accelerations, so that's perfect. He's still in the same spot so that's good. My BP was 120/70 which is more than excellent especially for me - good thing I waited to call HR at work till after the appointment - more on that momentarily. She checked my progress and I'm almost 3cm dilated and about 80% effaced. I know what you're thinking - hey, you were supposedly 90% effaced 3 weeks ago!!! I know, but doc explained it's harder to measure effacement when you're only 1cm dilated, which is where I was 3 weeks ago, so now that I'm a little further "opened" it's easier to measure and that's what she gave me. Now I know it sounds like not much, but any progression on my own is better than what some other folks (that poor dear) are going through right now. Let's just say hopefully Tina has that kid today....for her sake in the least cause she's having a rough road at this time.

So, although I'm making headway, they had me schedule an ultrasound for next week to check approximate weight of the baby and the fluid levels - which they have every reason to believe are fine cause of the size of this load I'm carrying around regardless of the fact I haven't put on a ton of weight - and also check the placenta function cause sometimes later in pregnancy it stops being so efficient. They also had me make my next 2 weeks of OB appointments which leads me to believe they're not convinced it's gonna happen anytime soon. So here I sit and do this thing, which is fine....having him a little late (beyond due date) wouldn't be a bad thing as long as he's not mammoth and still getting everything he needs in there.

About HR - for the THIRD pay period in a row, I did not get paid today. They tried to blame it on the short-term disability administrator the first time, but now it's just ridiculous!! Luckily I talked to the same guy I had 2 weeks ago and he's just going to overnight the check to me tomorrow. I told him this is kind of silly though, isn't it?? Now I know my company outsources our HR for these things but this company we use has given us far more headaches over the last few years.....why can't they just get it right??!!?? At this point, since my disability approval only goes till 9/15 and based on what docs think about me now, I'm probably going to have to extend it all again....what a headache. Luckily my health is good and I can get out to do some stuff during the day and in the evening so I'm not just sitting around stewing about it.

Chris is getting restless, I can tell. He's just nervous about being a Dad, but I know he'll be a super excellent dad and it's just gotta happen before he stops worrying so much. He's being very supportive of me though and everytime we go somewhere (just to walk around in someone else's air conditioning) if I stop with an "ouch" he's right on top of it...usually it's just a punch to the bladder by little one or I stepped on something that made my flip-flop cut into my foot weird or something silly, but he's always thinking it's gonna be the first big contraction :)

If there was an award for clearance shopping....

2008-08-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening starting out in relaxation mode. Noreen and Scott stopped by to drop of Carrie's cake lid contraption and we hung out for a little bit before they went off to Ann Arbor to meet up with some peeps. I had kind of a long day (shopping...hehehe) so we decided to stay in for the evening and just take it easy cause it's so hot outside I was truly exhausted.

So there we sat kind of watching TV and Chris was playing into his A.D.D. by surfing the internet at the same time....a common site around here - TV on and laptop going. He came across a message board where someone posted a note that their Walgreens had marked down a whole bunch of their comfort stretch brand diapers to $5 a jumbo pack, plus the August EasySaver catalog had a coupon good for $5 off 2 packs of the house brand of diapers. Couple that with a coupon we recieved via e-mail giving us $5 off any $20 purchase (which ended at midnight) we got kind of revved up and decided to go have a look at the two 24-hr stores near us. Off to Belleville we went. Also worth noting, the new Walgreens store by our house offered a $25 gift card for new or transferred prescriptions this week and I got a new script for my folic acid supplement so I had that gift card in tow as well.

The Belleville Walgreens had zero diapers marked down but they had lots of other goodies we normally buy and once we piled those up, decided to get 2 packs of diapers anyway. They're regularly $8.99 a pack or 2 for $15.98 so we figured with the $5 off 2 packs coupon and the prorated share of the "back to school" coupon, they were still like buy one get one free. So we checked out and made our way 4 miles up the road to the Canton store.

The first thing that caught my eye was that the same diapers are actually 50 cents a pack more expensive here...interesting how demographics play into such things, isn't it? But just as we were about to cut our losses and get out of there, Chris spotted the shelf where the miracle $5 diapers were hiding. There were 9 packs - mostly sizes 2 and 3 with a random 6 in there - and we loaded them all up into the cart and made our way to the register. The cashier had the EasySaver catalog and we were apprehensive if the coupon would apply to all 9 packs. The diapers themselves didn't ring up at $5, but since they were clearly marked (I mean big orange tags for pete's sake) he didn't make a fuss at all to just change the price as each pack rang up. Then the coupon automatically applied to every pack (discount of $22.50) then we applied our $5 off coupon. Grand total for those 9 packs including tax? Just over $19.....seriously!! Not to mention we had a little bit of the giftcard left so we didn't even pay that much out of pocket.

All in all for the evening we ended up with over 450 diapers for a total cost of just under $27. Our adrenaline carried us through cause it was seriously 11:30pm at least....talk about cutting the coupons close ;)

Now one may look at this as a lame Saturday night event, right? But for parents-to-be, nothing seemed more thrilling than clearance plus coupon madness, even if we did have to go for a little drive. Mind you, we've always been clearance shopping addicts so we've honed our skills over the years. I think the funniest part of the night was driving by Meijer on the way home and Chris looked over at me to say "we could run in there and browse clearance"......I was exhausted so we skipped it, but oh what a hilarious story for bargain hunters everywhere.....

Shower pics from 8/17

2008-08-23T10:47:00.001-07:00

Well, for all those who thought I wouldn't make it that far, thanks for making me prove you wrong...maybe this kid gets his stubborn from me and not his daddy? Who knows.....

Anyway, the shower was lovely and the ladies put a great deal of time and effort into making the afternoon absolutely wonderful. I am so lucky to have such fantastic friends - they really are like family to me and their support means the world to us!!

Check out the homemade pirate cake a la Carrie!!

36 weeks strong

2008-08-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Again no check this week, the doctor just giggles in amazement, checks my blood pressure (still steady and normal), the baby's heart rate (steady in the high 140's to low 150's) and measures for tummy growth. I did gain a few lbs this week but that's to be expected....between the heat and water retention and the fact the little man is putting on his weight, this wasn't a surprise and I'm still well below the allowed 15 lb threshold, so I'm doing great. Doc also pulled in the ultrasound machine just to make sure he's still head down (since he's been persnickety - to say the least) and he is indeed in the same position he's been in for at least 10 weeks....head down, butt in the air and knees and legs flailing to my left side. She said he must be really happy right there cause he's moving all the time but not away from that spot. I was thankful he's at least handling that with ablomb cause Tina's little girl keeps flipping back to breach every week and it made me slightly nervous!!

Didn't even check me this week

2008-08-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well, doc says we've progressed far enough now that we don't even have to check progress every week. She said she could tell by looking at me that he hasn't moved down or anything so why bother since it wouldn't change the course of action anyway, right? Then of course she said for all the times this little one has been stubborn throughout, she's now envisioning induction at week 41....hahahaha, so funny. Just seems he's content to be where he is and would like to stay a while...fine by me!!

I went to a Pet Preparation course this week to make sure everything is on order to help Yukon not feel left out when the baby comes home. She had some good ideas about his jumping and she really liked the fact I'm trying to make him feel as included as possible....the teacher is an animal behaviorist and she was really great - it was a fun class...more fun than the child birth class by far!! It was reassuring to know I've done my share of dog readiness, especially since there was a couple in the class due in 4 days with 1 dog and 3 cats who had done nothing....they're ready to hire someone cause they're dog already has issues....what a tough situation, eh?

The big friend shower is this weekend and I'm getting really excited! I know Noreen and Joanne and Angie have put a lot of work into preparing for the day and Carrie is making a surprise cake, so I'm sure it'll just be spectacular. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life...the support is amazing and it really helps, especially when I'm missing my mom with her being far away!! I've always had pretty good luck with wonderful friends and even get to catch up with some peeps from way, way back from now and then. Sometimes it's mind boggling to think of all the things I've been through with these ladies and all the great times in life still to come. In case I get all wrapped up (or 500% exhausted by the day) thanks to all of you for making this something really special!!!

34 weeks, 3 days and going strong

2008-08-07T17:16:00.001-07:00

Well, today's appointment went well. I saw Dr. Jones in the practice and there's just one more doc to meet....we'll see if I can get that far, right? Today's results were weight gain of 1lb which puts my total weight gain at 6.5lbs for the whole pregnancy, awesome eh? She did the group B strep test and figured while she was in the vacinity she would check to see if I had progressed any further from my last appointment - nope. Standing still at 90% effaced and 1cm dilated. His heartbeat was steady and normal and my blood pressure was totally in check. All in all, a positive check-up. Also turns out the doc is using 9/12 as the due date instead of 9/15. I think 9/15 probably came from the reproductive endocrinologist I had been seeing and I had kind of forgotten they didn't really agree at the very beginning. I'm still going to use 9/15 as the due date for my purposes but in consulting with Dr. Angie she said I should be sure to use 9/12 at the hospital since the records from my doc are what they'll be referring to and I don't want to cause any confusion. Due dates are so subjective anyway, right?

I peeked my head in and my doc was there so I stopped to see her and she returned with a high five and rubbed my belly to say he really is a miracle baby. She's just so happy things have turned out this way and she can put the worries of the past few months aside. Me too.

Then I talked to Dr. Angie cause I like to keep her updated and she said she's so happy I have been be this lucky cause so many people get into this situation and don't last this long and have to deal with months of observation and things if they even make it that far. I know we're blessed and every day I thank goodness he's coming along :)

Nursery pics - Thanks Carrie!!

2008-08-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

Carrie and Alana stopped by for a visit today and I confessed to her that my camera was in the closet behind a load of stuff I couldn't move, so she took some pics for me so that I could get them posted ASAP. Of course after she left I got a little motivated and made Chris move some stuff out of the way so that I could get to my camera, so now there are lots of pics to share and enjoy.

Note a couple of the decals are just curling away from the wall at the sides and the vendor said I can use rubber cement to stop that from happening, I just haven't made the attempt yet. Maybe I should take a picture of the insides of the drawers, the shelves of the changing table and the inside of the closet so you can see exactly how full everything is....well maybe I'll save those for later. Goodness knows I'm not going to have to buy clothes or diapers for at least a couple of months :)

Of course I go through all that and for some reason I can't get any of Carrie's pics to upload....anyway, I went into the room and tried to duplicate her shots. Hopefully these give you an idea of the look anyway.

I'm told they're the cutest pirates ever....I tend to agree...well, till our little pirate arrives!!

I have my week 34 appointment tomorrow and I'm meeting another doc in the practice (in case she's the one on call when I finally deliver) so it should be an uneventful morning. I'm also going to stop by the pediatrician office next door and see what they're all about, so it should be informative to say the least.

33 week appointment

2008-07-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Doc says things are going well and if I were to go into labor in 2 days she wouldn't even stop me anymore. The baby is of good size, excellent movement and great heart rate. My glucose test came back awesome, my blood pressure has been steady throughout and I've lost weight. She says it couldn't be a better situation. Tomorrow will mark 10 weeks since I was in the hospital, so everyone in the practice is just pleased as pie with my advancement. She said the partners had their "high risk" meeting this week and the other 2 docs who I'd met at the hospital were astounded I was still pregnant :) They reviewed (yet again) the ultrasound photos from that day as they wanted to be absolutely sure there was ever cause for concern in the first place - and there was, I just did a good job holding on I guess!!

Today's results of the manual check are that I'm about 90% effaced (which is about the same as it's been for 8 weeks or so) and for the first time I am dilated - 1cm at this point. So really actually quite normal. I remember when Melissa was getting ready for Lexi and she was stuck at 90% and 4cm for like a month, so being a little dilated at this point is nothing out of the ordinary. Doc said after she presented all the info at the high risk meeting the big joke was I'm going to have to be induced at week 41....hahahahahha....doctors are funny eh? Though that would absolutely guarantee me being off work for the rest of the year, so I'm not going to complain if that's the case.

Otherwise things are pretty status quo around here. I got my hair cut really short over the weekend and it's super cute, so that's a nice feeling. The baby's room has a few tweaks left but nothing major except some of the decals just don't want to stay put where they are.....the vendor suggests rubber cement so that might be next.

Anyway, I think I nearly have this picture thing figured out so I'll post those soon.

TTFN

Crazy few weeks

2008-07-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we're still chugging along here. We had a couple showers last weekend for the families and not much has changed with me or baby. He's moving and growing of course, but he's still hanging in there and I'm not progressing, which is all good news. I have pictures to post of the baby's room - the decals are up and everything so we're excited to show it off....just have to figure out the camera pics and how to get them up here.

My next dr appointment is on Wednesday so hopefully the good news will continue. Being 33 weeks along makes things much more comforting as the end is really getting closer and we're all doing a great job of letting him bake in there as long as possible :)

Thanks to all for your well wishes and I promise I'll get pics and more up soon!

30 weeks, 2 days and counting

2008-07-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at my dr. appointment we got some better news than last week. After my appointment last week I left feeling like maybe things were getting more serious, mostly cause my doc got that quiet, serious tone about her....but after yesterday things are more clear. I was afraid maybe I had started to dilate but yesterday's results prove that's not happening. Not only is the cervix still closed but it's the same thinness (about .5cm) as it's been the last 4 weeks. This is good news cause maybe we can hang on another 4 weeks, right? I'm doing everything I'm supposed to as far as resting and laying down. Apparently I'm even doing great with eating cause I'm losing just over a pound a week....at my size this is fine....the baby will always get what he needs and I'll just be thinner after delivery...not a bad deal, right?

In other news, the baby's room is painted. Chris got ambitious this weekend and did it all. He's so amazing. I am lucky to have such a wonderful partner in him...he's taking care of me and we're doing great.

We also started our child birth class at St. Joe's last night. In my opinion it was kind of a snooze and a little lame...hopefully the other 3 classes this month will provide for some useful information. I was hoping it would entice Chris to be more interested in the actual delivery but it seems those thoughts may have backfired. Sometimes I'm afraid I'll need him in there more than anyone else but I know he's not comfortable with the idea....I guess we'll just wait and see when this all happens....hopefully not sooner than later ;)

5 weeks ago today

2008-06-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

So, today marks the 5 week point since my first day on bedrest. The time really is flying by faster than I thought it would....don't get me wrong, it's a good thing :)

Yesterday our little man was a total rockstar. He was doing a double drum kick and twirling his drumstick above his head in there. I swear he was moving so much he was going to wake Chris up at 4:30 am from inside. I didn't mind being up and feeling that at all. This really is such a miracle and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Maybe this bedrest thing is the big guy's way of giving me a break to really enjoy the moment. I am super grateful that other stresses are gone by the wayside and I can just concentrate on baking what might possibly be the greatest achievement of my life!!

Day 1, Third Trimester

2008-06-23T17:38:00.001-07:00

Well, today was a big milestone. Baby and I reached the 3rd trimester. I'm taking bed rest very seriously cause I want to keep this little guy in there as long as possible. The weekends are a bit harder than the weekdays since I'm so used to going out and doing stuff on the weekends, but everyone is doing their part to keep me company so it's not as terrible as some might think.

The dog and I are just hanging out watching some movies while Chris takes his last final this evening. I'm glad he'll be off school for a week to get a little break then for the summer term he's only got 1 class and it's taking place online, so he'll be around a bit more. I think he's just as comforted by that as I am.

The shower invites are making their way out for the first round of family gatherings. I can't believe we've made it this far. I know when I go to the doctor's office on Monday she's going to say I'm beating her expectations every day. I guess I strive to surprise and impress, right?

Our little man cooperates....a bit anyway

2008-06-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

So this morning I snuck into the ultrasound office for a quick scan. I only scheduled it yesterday...mostly cause I was kind of afraid given the outcome of my last visit there. I had the same technician from the first time I was there and I think I appreciate her sense of humor more, though I'm grateful to the lady I had last time since she's the one who spotted the cervical issues.

Anyway, after much prodding and poking we actually got the boy to show us his face. There are a couple of good face shots, a decent profile shot and a HILARIOUS shot of the right arm. In my opinion this is him welcoming us to the "gun show" and he'd like us to check out his pythons. Hahahahahahha!!!

He's weighing in at about 2 lbs 13 oz today. This is big for his gestation but given the steroids recieved during the hospital stay and the fact we all know is the boy does not hail from a small sized clan, so we expect him to be big anyway. Some may cringe at the size already since in a few weeks he'll start packing on the weight big time, but in my mind it's comforting to know he's sizeable and if something does happen early where my body just can't hold him in there anymore, the bigger and more robust he is the better his chances of having zero to few complications no matter how early he arrives.

We had to coax him about to get the correct views of his heart etc cause apparently he's a stomach sleeper and is quite content to lay that way. He's head down and kept turning his back to the ultrasound scanner....just like his dad.....this is the vision of what's to come, right? His bottom is right about under my belly button today so I was giving him little taps to get him in gear...seemed to be effective anyway cause all the required pictures are finally taken and the screen is complete. Only took like 6 weeks, right?

Anyway, here's the scanned image of today's ultrasound results. Enjoy his little face, it was hard to get his hands away for a second but we did it!!

Keep off your feet!!!

2008-06-17T11:59:00.001-07:00

So apparently I overdid it a little the past few days cause although the doc is still happy I've made it this far, the measurements at my appointment yesterday indicated the thinnest yet. So here I am, making the most of bed and laying down time. Luckily Chris is back from his trip to the UP and working hard to finish his projects and study for his finals at the end of this week and beginning of next week, so he's here to get meals together and check on me, which is nice.

Our friend Kris came over and re-roofed the shed for Chris as a surprise while he was gone and admittedly I probably just got up and down too much, though I didn't really help at all except to order food so all the workers didn't go hungry ;) James was here too (that's Chris' nephew) and he did a good job of helping out all around.

I promise I'll do better to relax and take it easy. At least the doc was happy enough with how things are going that I still don't have to go back for 2 weeks, especially since now is the time when regular appointments would move to every 2 weeks anyway which makes me feel better to be on a more normal schedule.

Due date is 90 days from today. I'm so glad bed rest hasn't seemed to slow down time!!!

Crazy feelings

2008-06-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

So I'm laying in bed...as I often am being on bed rest, and my stomach is visibly moving....and I mean A LOT. He's doing summersaults, commando rolls and 40-yard punts in there, I swear it. Chris felt him move for the first time last week and gave me this look like "ok, that was insane" but the words that came out were "aw that's not so bad". I never said it was painful (yet, I'm sure as he gets bigger it'll get there) I just said it was noticeable. It actually makes me giggle when I notice my stomach moving cause I get giddy knowing he's in there getting bigger and stronger and that I'm doing everything I can to give him a good place to do so.

Less than 100 days now.....98 days from today is the due date in fact. I remember when I first set up the baby due date ticker and thought 248 days sounded like forever far away. And now it's less than 100. That time is going to pass by so quickly. Good thing Kassie is finally going to come over and start helping to get the nursery ready tomorrow cause I really need the help seeing as how I can't lift or move anything or bend and stuff.

I'm still trying to give Chris' choice of baby name (Elwood) a chance, but I think the problem comes down to the fact I'm in love with the name Jake. Not only have there been good literary and movie references for the name (think Jake Ryan - hunk in Sixteen Candles, John Cusak's role in Must Love Dogs is a Jake, not to mention he's also a Blues Brother, if that's the idea Chris is looking for, etc...) but a couple of years ago when Rocco got Angie a rescue dog and she named him Jake, I went off the handle cause how could my first son possibly share his name with their dog??? Unfortunately for Angie (and fortunately for my selfish reasons) the dog situation didn't work out and they returned him to the shelter....I thought for sure that was the sign my first son really should be named Jake and perhaps I've just thought that ever since.....it's so hard to let go of something you really have had this perfection feeling over for so long. Truth be told, this is a name Chris came up with years ago and I just sort of assumed we agreed upon using it, so I just imagined that's what it would be...till the curveball...he's good at those sometimes!!!

Not going stir-crazy.....yet

2008-06-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

So now I've been home over a week and things are going pretty well. I'm able to do little things like light laundry (no lifting or carrying) and small meals and dishes, so things could certainly be much worse.

I had another doctor's appointment this morning and things are looking good. Bed rest is really helping out and the cervix is maintaining it's integrity, so that's good news. I won't have to go back for 2 weeks now and the doc is feeling much better about everything, so less and less to worry about makes life a little easier. Also, I lost another 2lbs in just under a week, so my eating approach is working nicely.

By all accounts Jenny Grigg's wedding went really well and I'm so happy that Al was able to fill in for me and get the ceremony handled. It's really comforting to know how all these people are behind me whenever I need them.

A week gone by...

2008-05-31T20:09:00.001-07:00

So it's been just over a week since I was admitted to the hospital for monitoring. Bed rest hasn't been quite as boring as you might think since I've had visitors almost every day. I'm so fortunate to have had my job with such a good company for over 7 years as this is affording me the opportunity to be off work this whole time and not worry at all about money, which is definitely a stress I didn't need.

We appreciate all the prayers and well-wishes from everyone. We are truly blessed to have such a strong community of friends and family to rally around us in this time of concern.

At my doctor's appointment on Wednesday she did further measuring of the cervix and has labeled it "dynamic". Leave it to me to be dynamic, right? Ha! She was relieved when she showed up at the hospital for her day on-call Tuesday and I wasn't still hanging out there. She said bed rest is really agreeing with me and we're just going to keep a tight monitor on all the conditions and hope and pray for the best outcome. I'll be visiting her every week, so at least I have a day to mark weeks by since the days are already melting together....hehehe.

The first day alone all day....

2008-05-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

So, at the ultrasound appointment on Thursday the tech saw something she really didn't like. She sent me over to the birth center triage at the hospital and after admitting me they gave me more information. My cervix is thinning and that's not cool since it's way early. They determined I'm not having contractions but I'm for sure on bedrest. Mr. Uncooperative didn't get any better pictures to post so you're going to have to wait for next time since I will need to go back again in a couple of weeks.

Think of us every day and we'll be here resting!! I'll probably get bored enough to post what I'm actually doing every day but for now just the basics are enough to handle :)

Imagine that

2008-05-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Twice in one week? Hold onto your socks!! Today is ultrasound attempt #2, so hopefully those pics of beautiful baby boy will be posted later this evening.

Having a cold while pregnant is not cool. Not only is there the risk of peeing my pants every time I sneeze, cough real hard or blow my nose, but sleep is even less comfortable. Last night was the first night I got over 6 hours this week, so at least I'm feeling better. Maybe 2.5 hours on Monday night was supposed to be a preview? I did make it at work all day on Tuesday though, so I guess I'm a trooper or something :)

Trying harder....

2008-05-21T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well, since I keep getting little jabs about not writing often enough, I hereby declare a more concerted effort in writing more often.

This weekend a decent amount of progress was made in the "guestroom cleanup challenge of 2008". With another trip to the Salvation Army last night, the grand total of giveaway bags has exceeded 20 for the year. Let's see how much else I can really get rid of to make room for little one :)

Tomorrow is the second attempt at an ultrasound with decent pictures. We'll see if son wants to show us his face. He's really reactive to grapefruit juice (also Chris' favorite, go figure right?) so the plan is to have some about 15 minutes before the appointment so he's making all the right moves in there.

I feel him kicking and moving and dropping elbows on my bladder every day, so the activity is very reassuring, which is nice.

Chris is petitioning for the name Elwood, while I still like Jake the best. He's afraid Jake is too common with Jacob being the #1 baby boy name for a few years running. Not like if he goes to school in Ypsilanti his classes would be filled with Jakes, but I digress. I mean, we both made it through life being Chris, what's so bad with a more common name? What do you think?

And it's a.......

2008-05-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

BABY!!! Ha. That's what Chris wanted me to say. So I know it's been a while yet again, but in that time I finished school and Angie and Rocco had a beautiful wedding. Today was the ultrasound and in the spirit of daddy, baby did not want to be photographed.

For anyone that has tried to get Chris on camera before, you'll know he usually puts his hand up to his face, turns his head at the last moment or even flashes the bird. Our first glimpse of baby K really looked like we were getting the bird version so perfected by daddy. We saw the head and the heartbeat - everything looked strong. The ultrasound tech maneuvered skillfully to reveal IT'S A BOY. Yes, that is correct, we're having a baby boy. And this little guy is a spitting image of his dad....well in every attempt to block the camera that is. Therefore, at this time we have no pictures, no profile and nothing else to post.

I'll be going back to the ultrasound office on 5/22 to try again. The tech said I'll need to drink something with a little more "pep" than just water....she even suggested (though said she'd deny if anyone asked her) that I might even drink a Red Bull.....ah.....he's his father's son for sure.

Hope all is well. If you're around on Saturday we're having a graduation celebration at the house, so if you were somehow skipped on the evite, make your way over 'round 7-ish for food and merriment. I can't believe I'm really done. What a crazy year it's been already!!!

Ok, ok, ok, ok,ok.......sorry!!!

2008-04-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Right, it's finally 4/15. Tax season is over. I still have a couple of returns to file but they're on extension so no big deal.

Yes, it's been a crazy month (and a few days) since I last blogged. Things are going well with baby and I'm feeling pretty great too. The hormones are leveling off and the only food still bothering me is anything deep fried and onions....so those are a no go and will probably not come back till long after pregnancy is over....if ever I guess. Which of course makes it hilarious when someone offers onion rings...hahahahaha!!

I went to my first mom 2 mom sale with Carrie this weekend and purchased my first baby item. I got the Fischer Price papasan swing in excellent condition for $25. That's a steal when they're listed at Target for $139.99. Chris seems to think I shouldn't buy stuff when I'll be having showers, but I try to explain there's more than enough to register for....just wait till he gets to do that with me!!

I'm still wearing my regular clothes and not having any issue. I'm afraid one day my pants just aren't going to fit anymore but since I can still get the jeans on without even unbuttoning them, that day should still be kind of far off.

Angie and Rocco's wedding is fast approaching. The shower and bachelorette parties were so much fun and Angie really had a great time, so it's nice to have those over and done with. the boys are having their bachelor party this weekend and the girls are going to assemble boxes....wait, how does that seem fair? hehehe

Graduation is 4/27 and I picked up my tickets yesterday. I still need one more so hopefully when I go back next week they have a few extras. My brother volunteered to step out if I can't get another ticket, but said it would suck to not see me walk. He's sweet. For as much of a pain in the ass we were for each other for a lot of years, I'm very lucky to have him around.

I also got a new car in my time away from the blog. It's a 2007 Montego and I really love it even though it's the same "old lady" burgundy I was making fun of my mom for having earlier this year on her new Taurus. It all comes back to bite us in the butt, doesn't it? Chris had enough with my old Taurus and it was over 120,000 miles already....I think he was nervous about me and the baby on the side of the road waiting for AAA and it was keeping him up at night, but he swears that's not the case. He's not fooling me.

Also, Melissa had Lexi, her newest bundle of joy. Check out the Mueller family page for pics and info on her delivery. It was a close one there....I had visions of Scott delivering the baby in the trailblazer, but they made it to the hospital with enough time to check in, get to a room, get checked out and deliver in just about 1 hour....holy whirlwind!!

Well, the next doc appointment is on 4/28 and the big ultrasound where we'll find out whether our little one is a boy or girl is scheduled for 5/7, so some big things coming up. We're not entirely sure we're going to share the results or keep them to ourselves just yet, but you know how I am with exciting news, so we'll see.

Wow, that long really?

2008-03-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have to get better at doing this....work has just been SO busy!!

Thursday 3/6 was an appointment at the OB and I lost a few pounds, so she was happy with that kind of progress. She couldn't find baby's heartbeat using the doppler - which is not uncommon for women with size - so she wheeled in the ultrasound machine and got a picture externally. I'm not kidding Baby K was waving hello....s/he also had a nice case of the hiccups and the sadist in me thought it was so cute the way his/her entire body FLUNG across it's little sack.....hehehe.

My BP was a little high and they're having me go back this week. Doc agrees I shouldn't have any more 3:30pm appointments after having been at work during tax season anymore, but she just wants to make sure.

Otherwise things are pretty fine. Melissa should hopefully have her little one any day now. I spent the evening with Ava last night while mom and dad went to the hospital, but today they are home to hopefully get some serious contracting and dilating underway before they have to go back!!

Chris and I went to IKEA on Saturday and we may have found a solution to the organization (ok, storage of all my crap) issues....those Swedes really know how to pack in the storage, I tell you. So hopefully we can get that sorted out and squared away soon.

My last spring break?

2008-02-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

EMU is on spring break this week. And where am I? Yes, working. I am spending my last spring break as a college student at work. The weather is snowy again to boot. I chose to drive the surface roads this morning because I don't think I can handle the highway drivers any more...I know it may seem like fun to some reeling along the icy highway at 85mph, but the second you're off the road it's not so fun anymore....though it's never happened to me, I'm not in favor of giving it a go.

My boss asked me today why I don't seem excited or even indifferent about this happy occasion. Really? I think every day I wake up giddy to the hilt but by the time I walk in the door of this place for another day of droning over tax law and calculations, I'm ready to go back to bed. Not to mention I think I'm seriously coming down with a work allergy.....I'll sit down at my desk and sneeze a few times every morning. Maybe it's my body reminding me where I am? Who knows. Kind of silly though isn't it?

Carrie announced she's leaving the bank to be a stay at home mom. I couldn't be happier for her cause I know this is what's going to make her feel better. It's also kind of scary cause I don't want to feel sad about going back to work when it's my time....despite my current allergic situation I really enjoy what I do for most of the year, just these next couple of months are kind of boring is all. Luckily my employer is very family oriented and flexible so I don't envision myself falling prey to a super demanding schedule or anything like that, which is a nice feeling.

The 12-week mark is approaching and even though I'm too read to think that gets me out of the danger zone, certain people can start to feel happy for us too and celebrate the impending joy...maybe that will take a little piece of the load off my mind.

I've also decided a month is a long time between doctor's appointments. A lot can happen in a month and it just leaves me anxious for the next time to get another glimpse of this little person flailing around in there. It's kind of like when I'm baking something for the first time....I'm too impatient to wait till it's done so I have to turn the oven light on so I can see what's going on in there without opening the door.

President's Day

2008-02-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

Amazingly it's been a week and a half since I last posted....oh how the time flew by!! That's probably a good thing except I've made practically no headway in clearing out the guestroom, but I guess I have time, right?

Thursday was the first Valentine's Day where Chris and I actually went on a special date in probably 7 or 8 years. My company always had a fancy dinner at Laurel Manor in Livonia the weekend before or after so I pretty much let him off the hook for planning a special evening in exchange for his attendance at the work dinner. This year we no longer have the work dinner so he was back on for planning and boy did he do a nice job!! First, to my surprise and joy, Chris presented the baby with his/her first Valentine's day gift. He ordered a set of They Might Be Giants items so he and the baby can share in something they will love...sweet eh? For dinner we went to Leon's Diner in Dearborn so that I could have soup bar cause I've also been really digging soup and it was delicious there. Our final destination was The Henry Ford to see the U23D movie which is a U2 concert performance shown on the IMAX screen in 3-D. Wow. That's all I can say. It was as if Bono was singing to me. It was awesome and amazing.

On Saturday Aunt Sue, Laura, Gram, Rosie, Sam and myself packed into Sue's car to head for my cousin Katie's baby shower in Grand Rapids. There's nothing like 6 hours of driving for a 2.5 hour shower, is there? It was a good time though and it was nice to see Katie and Deb and spend some time with my aunts and grandma. Sue and Laura's kids made me a Congratulations card and they are all excited about the arrival of our little one.....I'm excited too cause they're going to cover a lot of babysitting years, hahahhahahaha!!!!

I'm still having meat aversions and onions are entirely off limits. I still have an apple or something apple related every day. I still haven't gotten sick at all (and both Sue and Gram seemed happy about that since both were sick the entire time they were expecting).

Even though today is technically a company holiday, I write this while sitting at my desk for the department "mandatory" 8 hour work day....at least parking was easy cause so many people are off today and the traffic was a breeze on I-94, even past State Street, which is a treat.

First OB appointment, the dentist and other niceties

2008-02-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

Baby K measured in at 8 weeks, 4 days yesterday at our first OB appointment. Dr. Davies was very excited to see us and had a lot of nice things to say and talk about. Her first comment was how pleased she is with the amount of weight I managed to lose between our visit last March (when I was gearing up to start seeing the reproductive endocrinologist) and yesterday.....I lost about 46 lbs total....not bad at all....

Other things we talked about were how much weight I should expect to gain during pregnancy. She said she surely doesn't want me to bring back all the weight I've lost, so she'd like to keep it around 10 or 15 lbs. Honestly, from all the reading I was doing I was almost afraid she was going to tell me to try and gain nothing or 5lbs max, but she said 15 was well within her acceptable range and even if I got up to 20 she wouldn't be mad at me, so that was a good feeling. She said of course the baby plus fluids etc will weigh more than 15lbs and I'll just end up even lighter afterward....losing weight from pregnancy?? Sweet, I'm in.

She said all the bloodwork that came back from last week's nurse's appointment was fantastic and I don't need to change a thing. She also said after next week (10 weeks along) she wants me to stop taking the metformin, which she put me on for a couple of reasons....one being that insulin resistance is a major component of PCOS which is the condition I have that made this whole thing harder in the first place and the other being most women with this condition perform better on fertility therapy medications while taking it than without it, so it would serve a good purpose. She said of course we'll again evaluate the glucola test once I'm off the metformin for a few weeks, but she doesn't anticipate any issues between having lost some weight and the fact my sugars were never out of control prior to all this.

I couldn't get another picture as she was having difficulties with the ultrasound machine (I swear at one point she almost chucked it clear out the window....or wanted to anyway) and was maybe a little flustered since I had waited a while for her to get to the office from the hospital where she ran over on a surgery. I tried to explain to her being out of work for the afternoon was fine with me, even if it meant I was sitting on the table with the gown open in front and a sheet draped over me reading pregnancy magazines for half an hour. I think she appreciates my easy-going demeanor and sense of humor about the whole thing. And seriously, I wasn't at work so everything was good.

Baby K has a strong heartbeat and is at least double the size of last week...I think my exact words where "holy crap! it's like twice as big as last week!" to which she chuckled and said "yes dear, that's kind of the point....they grow exponentially right now." Of course I started having visions of this gargantuan child the guys at the plant used to accuse my dad of deviously formulating by "allowing" his daughter to marry "Big Chris"....hahhahaha....the gargantuan race to take over the world....awesome.

I did have 2 specific questions for her before leaving. The first was this feeling I get before every appointment....almost like some anxiety or a subconcious way of bracing myself if there's bad news to be had. She said it's perfectly normal for any pregnancy, not just the first one, and that I shouldn't feel bad about it. She said I read too much stuff online and I'm too smart for my own good but that keeping calm and healthy is all I can do. The other question I had for her was if she thinks I'm at greater risk of C-section because of my weight. She said that while many overweight women do succumb to a C-section, a good deal of the time it's because they're not mentally or physically prepared for the work and endurance this is going to involve. She said that thus far I have done everything I've been told perfectly and that my job now is to gear up for a proper healthy delivery without surgery since it's better for everyone in the long run. Ok. Good answers. She's kind of mom-ish and authoritative and encouraging without being patronizing or condescending...maybe that's why I like her so much!!

Afterwards I had a dentist appointment (which is seriously about 200 yards away from the OB office, also highly convenient) but it wasn't until 5pm. I stopped by to see if they had an opening or maybe someone had cancelled and boy were the girls happy to see me! I was the next appointment yet it was only 3:40. Stephanie was thrilled. The dentist himself was out of the office (on a cruise with his wife no less) since the week was so light, and now they might get to go home early! They too were excited to hear the news since they knew I had been trying at this for some time. They made sure to leave Doc a note for when he gets back so he can share in the joy. I'm sure he'll love another patient derived from the Gates family.

My next stop was taking it out to Brighton for some good eats and company....met up with some old school peeps (Annette and Katie Cooney along with a recovering Noreen) for a little dinner and chatting, which was nice. Then it was back home to watch some tele with the hubby and off to bed. What an exciting day!!

Paczki Day

2008-02-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm still eating and loving apples like crazy. At least one a day plus applesauce and other appley things I can get my hands on. A co-worker was kind enough to bring paczkis today and I even got an apple-filled version, how fantastic! My meat aversion has kicked into pretty high gear and the only tolerable meat at this point is chicken....and I don't want to see it raw, just cooked. Spices also seem to be giving me troubles so I'm off those for a bit; luckily I like pepper and it's still tolerable otherwise I may as well eat boiled mush.

It was made abundantly clear to me how excited my mom is over all this....I called the Parrott family on Sunday to make sure they had heard the good news - and of course they had. I talked to Devon for a while with Dennis talking through her a bit to pass on his congratulations. The funniest part (to me anyway) is that they knew about the baby but they DIDN'T know I'm finally graduating with my BBA in Accounting in April!! Is that messed up? The baby won't be here till September and she's so excited she's completely skipped over what is also a very important accomplishment for me and sure as heck took a lot more work than baby making.....ew, maybe that was too much.....hahahahhahahaha, sorry.

Anyway, luckily I have lots to keep me busy and time will continue to fly by. I'm getting ready to marry Jenny Grigg and her fiance Nathan at the end of May and both Chris and I are standing up in Angie and Rocco's wedding at the beggining of May. So with those big events, plus school and graduation, tax returns, doctor's visits and getting the house ready for our little one, September will be here before we know it!!

Seriously, apples

2008-01-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, so maybe saying I would only update weekly was a stretch. I want to come out here and talk about this every day just cause I'm so freakin excited, you know? Today I had my nurse's appointment at the office where my OB is now located. They go over things like family history and what I should and shouldn't be eating.....to my surprise I'm actually more strict than they expect me to be, but with all the other issues I need to combat it's probably not a bad thing to walk the cautious side. They also did blood work and I tried to stress that the specialist I had been seeing did most of these tests in September but they didn't seem to care. And the woman taking blood was terrible....both arms were fished and bruises are on their way. They also had me do the glucola test where you drink a sweet beverage, wait an hour and they test for how prone you are to developing gestational diabetes. They don't usually do this test till 28 weeks along but with family health history and whatnot I'm sure it's not a bad thing to tell right away.

All I've wanted to eat today is apples. Applesauce and apples. Luckily I had an apple in the car and it tasted so good I think that's what prompted the further behavior in seeking out apple products. Luckily dearest Christopher had the foresight to help me purchase sensible snacks for my desk so that I could easily avoid vending machine junk. Peach medley applesauce and Granny Smith applesauce from the "healthy harvest" Mott's line....mmmmmm

Seven week ultrasound

2008-01-29T10:12:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures from our ultrasound yesterday. The baby is about .8cm only, but the tech was kind enough to label the blob for us all to oogle.

You can click on the images to view them in a larger window. Chris thinks it's odd to show people pictures of my insides....I keep telling him it's the baby they want to see, not me!

Welcome to the new family page!!

2008-01-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

Well, now that we heard the heartbeat yesterday and have some sweet little ultrasound pics, it was time to begin the ever elusive baby-blog. Why a baby blog you ask? Well, since my parents are in KY and there are people all over the country watching for this little one, I figure it's the best forum to just get everything out there so we're all on the same page.

As many of you probably know it's been a significant journey to get to this point and we wouldn't have made it without the love and support from all of you. We are so thankful to have people like you in our lives and look forward to sharing our family with you very soon.

The expected due date of Baby Kaczkowski as of now is September 15th. On one hand this seems like a million years away, but then the part of me that knows there's a TON of work to be done to get ready for little one's arrival, I'm kind of flipped out at how fast it will really come!!

I hope to post weekly so check back for pics, updates, mood-swings and general forays into my pregnant world.

Stay tuned.....