6 Weeks Old!

We had a lot of fun the past 2 weeks! There were some late nights, lots of vomit, and a lottt of dirty diapers mixed in there as well, but a lot of fun too!! Austin is growing like crazy, and is developing quite an adorable little personality. She has a smile that just melts my heart (and ALMOST makes me forget how long and excruciating it was to have her, and jump on the bandwagon to have another! ALMOST.) She's a little stubborn - yes, she gets that from me. She finds her flatulence very amusing - yep...totally like her Daddy. She is changing so rapidly right now...I'm afraid to blink! With Andy travelling each week, I keep my phone handy so he doesn't miss anything special. Because of this, we have quite the collection of photos and videos. Here are some cute snapshots from the last couple weeks:

A look I'm sure to hate in her teenage years...but super cute right now!

 

 

 

 

Hmmm...not sure why these photos are looking so stretched out.

 

We have started to establish a routine! Mornings are my favorite. She is so happy and cuddly. We usually cuddle for a few minutes when she wakes up, and then she realizes that she is, apparently, starving. I then nurse her and burp her, praying she doesn't shower me in her vomit :/ Then it's Tummy Time!!! Austin is quickly changing Tummy Time into Back Time. That's right...she is already flipping herself over to her back. It's really cute. She holds her head up so well and seems to be very proud of herself. Then, it's almost like she gets bored and she rolls herself onto her back. At this point, she reminds me of a turtle, as she goes into distress over the fact that she is now trapped on her back. It's very cute :)

 

  

Ok...so...Little Miss Austin.

 

Austin is outgrowing her newborn outfits. She is getting too long for most of them. She has also moved up to Size 1 diapers. I won't lie...I shed a couple tears over it. But, my hormones are not my fault still ;)

 

 

Austin's noises have not gotten any better, so we scheduled an appointment for Monday, June 10th with a pediatric Ear Nose & Throat Specialist. We would appreciate ongoing prayer: specifically, that she will not have to undergo any treatment or surgery, but will just be healed!

But, speaking of her noises...

 

 

Doesn't she look darling in this pic?

 

Yes, well...this photo was taken OUTSIDE of Emilee's concert. We had taken her, thinking it would be no problem since she has now slept through 3 movies at the theater. Pretty immediately, she woke up. She was fine at first and just making her typical breathing sounds. Which.Are.Ridiculously.Loud.  I'm not exaggerating - we were cracking up out of amusement/embarrassment! But then precious Austin started crying. And I swear - she only did it at the worst times!! So, I had to take her out and we eventually gave up and left early :(  Sigh...being responsible sometimes sucks.

 

We were very excited to have Andy home for Memorial Day Weekend. It is rare that we get him for more than Thurs night - Mon morning, so the extra day was Awesome!! Austin gave out her very first smile (that wasn't just some sort of nerve reaction) to Andy, so I am so happy he was home to receive it. And maybe just a tiny bit jealous since I'm the one that entertains her all the time! But, I have now been the recipient to many of her precious smiles. And...sorry world...if she smiles at my ridiculously high-pitched "baby voice," it will only get more ridiculously high-pitched. Because I.LOVE.HER.SMILES.

 

 

We took Austin to her very first Crawfish Boil...yep, we in Texas y'all!! Trevor wanted to celebrate his 13th birthday with a crawfish boil. Unfortunately for Austin, I do not like crawfish, so she didn't get to "taste" any.

 

With the Birthday Boy

 

This past weekend we took Austin to the beach! It was her first time! Galveston held its 27th Annual Sandcastle Competition, so we decided to go check it out. It was nice because the sand was packed down hard enough that we just rolled her along in her stroller. She looked adorable in her Minnie Mouse swimsuit :)

 

 She was exhausted after the beach and passed out in her bouncy seat...foot propped up and Binky in her mouth!

 

 

So, here is what we have coming up:

 

Mommy 6 Week Post-Op appointment - should get cleared to exercise!! Woohoo...I need it, especially since I apparently didn't get the memo that I'm supposed to go back to eating sensibly again :/

 

Austin's appointment w/ the ENT specialist - please keep her in your prayers!

 

CA Trip!! We'll be there a little over a week. Andy will be there for Father's Day Wkd. We will be celebrating my dad's 50th bday, and Father's Day, and Austin will get to meet more of her family members!

 

Austin & I are especially looking forward to celebrating Andy's 1st Father's Day. He is a great Daddy and we miss him as he is in Canada, working very hard so I can stay home with our little beauty :)

 

 

--- As we will be travelling, I will not be making another blog post until after we get home and feel settled in again ---

 

Until Then!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Austin is 1 Month Old Today!

Wow...that first month really flew by! Slow down sweet girl...you are changing and growing every single day. Here are a few shots from our "photo shoot" in the guest bedroom, lol. She was in an interesting mood today.

 

 A lot has happened the last couple of weeks. Austin had a couple more visitors: Aunt Danielle and Grandma Carolyn. They arrived with an extra suitcase in tow: full of clothing, shoes, headbands, etc. for little Miss Aussie Bear. They showered her with love and spoiled her with kisses. We went shopping before Aunt Dani left, getting to use her stroller in the mall. Grandma Carolyn and I tested Austin's sleeping skills by taking her to her first movie: The Great Gatsby. She slept right through it :) Grandma Carolyn & I also took Austin to see the ocean for the first time!

A couple Sundays ago was a very special day: My very 1st Mother's Day. We had planned on going to church and I set my alarm to wake up at 7:30 am...Little did I know that Austin was going to want to cluster feed for over an hour :( We ended up running out of time and didn't make it to church, but still had a great day. We went to Brunch at a little Hole-in-the-Wall place here in League City that Andy found. We went with Aunt Dani, Gma Carolyn, Josh, Karen, Emilee, Trevor and Carter. It was really yummy and we had a great time with everyone. We then took a stroll to Helen's Garden, which was right next to the restaurant, to get a couple photos. This is a special place...it's where we had our Maternity photos taken. I plan to get back there very soon to take some more special photos. That evening, after a tough goodbye with Aunt Dani at the airport, we were treated to an AMAZING dinner. Josh (with a little help from Andy & Trevor) spent most of his day working on a feast featuring: Shrimp cocktail, shrimp embrochette, lobster embrochette, shiner bock beer bread, bang-bang shrimp and vegetables. I'm sure I'm missing something...just trust me, it was fabulous. All in all, it was a great day spent with family. I am so thrilled and thankful to be a mommy :)

 

Let's see...what else has happened? Austin had her first major blowout in public. At the grocery store, she started crying...when we took her out of her carseat, we figured out the problem. LOL. Poor thing was sitting in a lotttttt of poo. Austin also threw up in my mouth. Yes. In my mouth. I was holding her up, facing me, making goofy faces and talking in that ridiculously high-pitched "baby voice..." and it happened. So fast. So gross. All in my mouth. Actually, we could use some prayer in the spit-up department. Austin is very loud. It sounds like she is breathing very loudly, but in fact the pediatrician confirmed that it is her trachea. She is on her first prescription, taking Zantac to help with the spitting up, which is worsening the trachea problem. If we don't notice an improvement in a couple days, Austin will be seeing an ENT specialist and having some tests/scope work done. Our pediatrician is worried because she shows signs of having some sort of birth defect (correctable, treatable...non life-threatening) that could be causing a blood vessel to be restricting the area, making the trachea not get any better. Please pray specifically for complete healing, as we do not want her to have to have x-rays, scopes and other tests...and certainly not surgery. Austin is otherwise very healthy. She is 21" long and weighs 9 lbs 10 oz. 75th percentile in both areas!

Austin and her fabulous Pediatrician at her 1 Month checkup!

 

What else...Oh! Austin found her thumb!! She was very upset during a sponge bath and before I knew what was happening, I heard loud sucking noises. She had found her thumb! Luckily, I keep my phone on me at all times to get photos and videos of EVERYTHING, since Andy isn't home during the week. So, I got an adorable photo of her sucking her thumb. She hasn't found it since, lol.

 

She FINALLY lost her umbilical cord (with a little help from Grandma Carolyn.) I was starting to worry that I may send her off to college with that nasty thing still attached. So we are now enjoying regular baths. She is much more of a fan of bath time now!

 

I think that's all for now...we are loving our new roles as parents and learning something new each day. Austin & I were supposed to be embarking on her first flight tomorrow, but with the tragedies in OKC, our trip has been cancelled. Andy's company is instead making a donation to the victims and families impacted by the tornadoes. We are so thankful that Andy and Josh were kept safe while in OKC this week, and thankful to be a part of the Love's company family. With our cancelled trip, the Love's will be able to help a lot of people that are in need.

 

Here are some extra snapshots of our little lady :)

 

 

 

Upcoming Events:

 

Travel to CA for Grumpy Dan's 50th Birthday!

 

 

We love you all and will update again in a couple weeks :)

~Andy, Mandi & Austin Daisy

 

 

 

 

Austin Daisy

Okay, so I am the first to admit that I am THE.WORST.BLOGGER.EVER. I never remember to update this thing and figure that since I post my ENTIRE life on Facebook, it's no big deal. Well, I have changed my tune since welcoming my beautiful daughter into the world. Since we live so far away from most of our family, I am COMMITTING to updating this thing as she grows. I'm shooting for every 2 weeks right now. So, here we are. Day 15 of her precious life. She has already changed so much and I fall more in love with her every second. Today's post is going to reflect on the labor, delivery and sweet arrival of our blessing, Austin Daisy Lash.

The week leading up to Austin's birth was...uncomfortable. I spent the majority of my time bouncing on a birth ball, walking the dogs, and resting. And maybe complaining a little ;) April 18th was my due date. We had made the decision to induce on April 19th if the baby hadn't arrived yet. Friday, April 19th came and we nervously made our way to the hospital. We went that afternoon to do all the paperwork, bloodwork, etc. We had about an hour and a half before I needed to be back to start the induction, so we went to McDonald's for my "last meal." Eww...I know. I can't explain it. But I really enjoyed it!

We both had a feeling throughout the entire pregnancy that our baby was a boy. During this final week, however, I'd had a couple dreams in which the baby was a girl. I chalked it up to the fact that, honestly - if given a choice...I would have chosen to have a girl. I would have been equally in love with a boy, but I truly did desire a baby girl. Perhaps that is because all the clothes are so stinkin' cute?! Anyway, back to the story: In the truck, as we were nearing the hospital, Carrie Underwood's song "All American Girl" came on. I was fighting back tears as I listened to the words and realized we were really about to welcome our son or daughter into the world. I swore to my family that it may be a sign that we were having a girl, but truly still believed I had a little man kicking me from inside.

We arrived at the hospital (late) and they started me on Cervadil to soften/ripen the cervix. This was going to start labor and Pitocin would be started the next  morning if necessary. I started having bery minor contractions within the hour. Andy and I went to sleep, trying to get as much rest as possible. I awoke to some intense contractions right around 1:00 am, Saturday April 20th. I was excited, thinking that maybe I wouldn't require the Pitocin and thinking the baby would be born that afternoon. Ha. A girl can dream. My doctor checked and I hadn't really dilated much. She decided to insert a Foley Bulb (balloon that they filled to force me to 5 cm) and started the Pitocin. It realllly sucked. The balloon was very uncomfortable - painful really. My contractions were getting super painful. I made it 11 hours before I broke down and decided to get the epidural. It was clear that this baby was not coming anytime soon and I was already getting exhausted. I never would have made it through those contractions without Andy. He was an excellent labor partner and counted me through my breathing techniques. The epidural was amazing! It didn't hurt at all to receive it and the relief came instantly. The entire mood shifted in the room, as I relaxed and laughed through contractions, no longer requiring absolute silence from my mom and sister.

Here is my final maternity shot, April 19, 2013. 40 weeks + 1 day pregnant.

 

 

I was continually dilating and then just seemed to stop around 8. I also wasn't fully effaced. By this time, I was on my 4th L&D nurse, Vaniece. She was my favorite. She was determined to help me do anything we could to get this baby out sooner than later. We tried all kinds of positions to get the baby to move further down and speed things up. Everyone was laughing when I was on all fours, swaying my hips, all while checking my Facebook.

Here are some more photos during labor:

 

 

Karen is missing from these photos. I had an amazing support group and am so happy they were all there to share in this time with us. We also had Andrea Tougas, photographer, present to capture the birth of the baby. We were then told that our hospital allows no photography until after the baby is born. Boo. But she was able to get some fun shots before the arrival. Shelbi then took over as photographer to get some amazing shots of our precious first moments together.

Back to the story.

My doctor finally came to see what the hold up was. I had made it to a full 8 cm, but just was not effacing fully on one side. She took a look and realized that the baby was starting to swell and was unable to come down any further. She made the call to do a cesarean delivery. I was heartbroken, but exhausted. My body was past the point of exhaustion, and I had begun to throw up. At this point, I had been in hard, active labor for over 25 hours and just wanted to meet this baby. I cried, I pouted, I asked why I was unable to deliver naturally as I had planned. My family all rallied around me, reassured me, and calmed my nerves before they wheeled me down to the operating room.

 

Things got crazy for me pretty quickly. My entire body was trembling and I was terrified. I was relieved when they finally brought Andy in the room. I got sick another time, literally on the table as my doctor was cutting into me. I absolutely hated the feeling the pressure of the surgery and my insides being pulled out. It was horrible. I honestly think I tried to break Andy's hand. I had a death grip on him! The anesthesiologist leaned over and told me to get ready for the most pressure - they were going to pull the baby out. I had asked for the doctor and team to not announce the baby's gender. I wanted Andy to tell me. That moment is a moment I will never ever forget, even though everything else is very fuzzy. Andy stood up to look at the baby. He came down to me and looked almost confused. He said, quietly, "It's a baby girl!" I couldn't believe it. I think I started to laugh. I was so convinced that she was a boy! I thought he was joking! I started to feel the pain of the doctor stitching me up, and the next thing I remember, I was in the recovery room and they were handing me our baby. And she was perfect. And beautiful. And ours.

 

 

 

 I cannot imagine a greater gift. We are so blessed to have her. Even if she does start peeing almost everytime I open her diaper (does she think she's a boy???) or likes to try to put her feet in her poop. Or acts like a shark in bloody water when it's time to nurse, sometimes literally scaring me. I love her more than I ever thought possible. She looks so much like both of us. She melts my heart everytime I look into her blue-grey eyes. She and Andy are my world. I don't deserve them, but I sure am thankful for them.

Austin Daisy is now 15 days old. In the past 15 days she has:

Smiled

Pooped on us (like a missile launcher)

Gone shopping

Passed more gas than I thought possible

Caught a stomach virus :(

Had a catheter placed to rule out a bladder infection :'(

Slept one full night!!

Gotten into a routine of nursing every 3 hours at night

Started to try so hard to hold that head up for long periods of time

Gone to the airport

Gone to a few restaurants

Visited with Grammy Kim & "Grumpy" Dan, Auntie Shelbi, & Uncle Blake

Visited with Josh, Karen, Emilee, Trevor & Carter

Bonded with her brothers: Walt & Scout

 

Upcoming Events:

Visits with Grandma Carolyn & Aunt Danielle

Flying to Oklahoma City w/ Mommy & Daddy for a work event with Daddy (5/22-5/24)

Flying to CA for Grumpy's 50th Birthday!

 

 

 

So...this has been a loooong post. Austin has taken several naps that allowed for me to write this. And yes, because I chose to do this, I am still technically in pajama-style clothing. Haha. But Austin sure looks cute and that is really what matters these days.

 

My goal is to post an update every 2 weeks, as she is changing so much. We will be sending out announcements once we receive her newborn photos, which are currently being editted.

 

 

Lots of love to all of you!

Andy, Mandi & Austin