A Fun Weekend and a 2 Month Old Baby

Last weekend we got to go to Seattle for a very special occasion. My nephew Joseph was baptized. I cannot BELIEVE he is 8. And he just looks so grown up and he gets more and more handsome every day. We were so very proud of him and I loved being there for his special day. We were extra lucky because we arrived on his actual birthday! So the whole weekend was a big birthday/baptism party and we had a GREAT TIME! It was absolutely wonderful to see Darren, Jill, and the kids. Their precious babies are growing up too fast and it's killing me! Of course, I was teary during the baptism because he was just so adorable and it was clear that he knew how special it was. We love you, Joseph! Here are some pictures of the birthday and baptism.

 We crammed a lot of fun into this weekend! And the kids were so adorable with Harlow. Erica couldn't stop kissing her. Her kisses are so cute! She touches her lips to her and says "BUH"! It's so cute! Justin just kept commenting on how cute she was. I loved seeing her with her cousins. Speaking of Harlow, this kid is an angel! We were worried about the 5 hour drive up to Seattle, but we had no reason to be. She did not make a peep in the car. And she slept 7 hours at night, and she was perfect all day, everyday. THANK YOU, HARLOW! It was a wonderful trip!

Harlow turned 2 months old on Mothers Day. It's killing me! She's SO BIG! Last night we put her in 3-6 months old jammies and I about died. She's a growing girl that is for sure. She really learns something new everyday. Yesterday she started swatting at the toys that hang about her swing. It was so cute. She is also starting to put things in her mouth. So cute. She smiles so much and is still working on that giggle. She has slept through the night 3 times this week. BEST! And when she doesn't sleep through the night, she at least gives me 5 hours. So, I think I'm pretty spoiled. She really is such a good baby and brings us more joy than we could have ever imagined. When she is asleep, we stay up and talk about her and look at pictures and videos of her. We adore her. Michael is so sweet with her and she loves her daddy. She is trying SO HARD to suck her thumb. It's pretty cute. She gets her fist up to her mouth and struggles to get her thumb in. She'll get it someday. 

Life is great around here. Michael started work at Moss Adams and Harlow and I are loving being at home with Grandma and Grandpa :)

A Few Pictures of Miss Harlow

We are having so much fun here in Oregon! I plan to post again soon with more details on what we have been up to and more pictures of the fun we've been having. But for now, just a quick update on our lovely girl. Harlow is SO much fun right now! She has just begun to respond with smiles. It is so much fun to make her smile. We really think she is working on laughing. When she smiles really big she starts to gasp for air like she's trying to get a giggle out. I can't wait for that! She holds her head up and doesn't like to relax. She likes to be set up like a big girl. And speaking of big girl... she is looking like one! It's killing me! I mean, I love it-- but I also hate it! I'm trying to treasure every moment of my tiny baby while I still have her. She sleeps 4.5 hours minimum at night and then another 4 after a feeding. But we have been getting some 6-7 hour nights lately. So, fingers crossed that continues! She really doesn't fuss unless she needs something. We feel so blessed. She is a happy girl and we truly ADORE her more than anything in the world.

Great Grandparents

Harlow has been doing a lot of visiting and meeting important people lately. We are here in Oregon for the summer again (YAY!), so we knew that we had to take the chance to meet cousin Ivy and Grandma Williams while we were still so close. So, Emily, Ivy, and Emily's sweet friend Sara, met us in Beaver. I'm SO thankful that we made this trip! Grandma was wonderful and sweet and hilarious as always. She is not sure about Harlow's name hahaha, but she sure did love her, despite her name... which I adore :). I love this picture and will treasure it forever. 

It was so fun to see Emily with my baby! I'm just so used to snuggling her babies, it was just so weird to see her lovin' on my baby! Harlow looks so big there! And speaking of Harlow being big, She's HUGE compared to Ivy! At least that's how I felt! Let me tell you about Ivy. My goodness, she is absolutely precious and beautiful! Her skin is perfectly smooth and soft. I couldn't stop touching her! She is just so cute. Her face just melts my heart. Her and Harlow love each other so much already, as you can see below. They were snuggling. 

 A couple of days later, we were SO lucky to have Harlow's Great Grandma and Grandpa Woodmansee come into town. Michael and I love them so much and it was so special to see them interact with Harlow. She really did love them and was such a good girl for our visit.

We were blessed to have a lot of other visitors as well and we have loved introducing Harlow to the important people in our lives. Here are just a few pictures of some of Harlow's new friends. I love these people so much and it's so fun to see them with her!

Look at how she's smiling at Lauren... SO CUTE! And now, we're here in Oregon and she is having SO much fun meeting even more friends! Post about that to come. We love our girl so much. She really is such a good baby and she is changing so much every day. We are looking forward to so much fun this summer!

1 Month Old!

Our little Lo Bug princess is 1 month old today! She got to wear both of her special outfits from Aunt Emily and Aunt Steph :) I absolutely cannot believe it has been a month. All day I've been thinking about what we were doing exactly 1 month ago. We were just getting to know each other. Now we're best friends. Harlow is a great baby. She is growing too fast! At our last doctor visit, which was last week, she weighed 9 lbs and 13 oz. She is a growing girl! She is on an awesome day time schedule. She eats, plays, and then naps. Over and over all day. She is really good during the day. I am starting to feel accomplished every day. I get a shower, tidy up the house, prepare dinner, and have time to play with my baby. I hope that lasts! And of course, every now and again there is still an off day. She does pretty well at night. Every night is still different, but for the most part, she gives me one good long 4 hour stretch and then another short stretch. I think she's gowing through a growth spurt right now though. Last night she woke up every 3 hours on the dot to eat, so I didn't sleep much. Michael is insanely helpful. He always makes sure that I feel rested. That way, Harlow and I have very happy days together.

She is starting to wiggle a lot more. She kicks and waves her arms all around. Which means that she has begun to be a wiggly eater... not cool! Michael and I are truly in love with her. Every day when we are hanging out together in the evening, we both just talk about how dang cute she is! We feel that we've been really blessed with patience. Having a baby is difficult, but we truly love it and we're enjoying every day.

This month has gone by so fast! She is getting too big already! We can't wait to keep watching her grow.

We love you soooooo much Harlow!

My Baby's Jaundice Story

My precious baby girl's first week in this world was not very good to her. Or her mommy and daddy. The events of that week were so very upsetting to us and heart breaking. I cried every time I talked about it, which is why nobody knows about it. But now that it's all behind us, I want to record it. When you read this, some of you will think it's no big deal and that I freaked out over nothing. But it was a very big deal to me! Nobody wants to see their first baby in this condition the day after their born! Even though it was a somewhat minor problem, I sure have learned to be CRAZY grateful for my baby's health and my heart aches for those who watch their children deal with any kind of pain. I'll try to tell the short version of the story, hopefully you make it through this post!

In the hospital, the day she was born, the doctor told us that her biliruben levels were a little high and that he wanted us to get them tested again the next day. It didn't even phase me! Tons of kids get jaundice! We'll keep her in the sunlight and no biggie! So, the next day, she got her foot poked and here biliruben level was 14.5. I reported that to the nurse (idiot nurse), and she did nothing. Said nothing. So I assumed we were all good! Then, later that night, I looked at Harlow, and she looked like this:

Yikes! She's orange! I kind of started to freak out. I was telling my mom and Michael how I just felt uncomfortable with how she looked and how the nurse didn't give me any info. It was 9:30 PM by now, so I called the on call nurse. I told her that Harlow's level was 14.5, and she said "what?!, go to the emergency room". I of course, began crying instantly. My baby in the ER!? I hate that idea! She quickly called back and said just to go to pediatrics and that the doctor was going to meet us there. And to pack our bags because we'd be staying. I was a mess. That is upsetting news. We just got our baby home, and now we had to take her back!

They tested her again when we got there and her levels were up to 17 by this point. Over 20 is risking liver and brain damage. Her jaundice was bad. I'm so very thankful that my mom encouraged me to call the nurse. I'm so very thankful that I noticed that she looked worse. They then spent 2, count 'em-2, hours trying to get an IV in my angel. They tried every vein. They poked her OVER AND OVER and she screamed until she lost her voice. It was the most awful experience. This is 3 of the nurses who tried, the eventually had to get the NICU nurses and the FINALLY got the IV in her poor foot.

It's now 2 or 3 AM and they explained that she would receive fluids from the IV because the high biliruben had made her dehydrated. Then, she would sit under the bili lights all night. We could only take her out to feed her. Michael asked if this was the same amount of lights they would put on a normal jaundice baby, and the nurse told us that this was way more, stronger lights. She had them coming at her from all angles.

It was the worst thing EVER to see my little princess just stuck in that bed. We stayed up all night just waiting for feeding time so we could hold her and kiss her and remind her that life gets better!

To make matters worse, our nurse in pediatrics was CRAZY annoying. Oh my gosh, I nearly knocked her out. Seriously, I won't go into detail, but she was nuts. The next morning, the doctor came to check on us, her levels had gone down to 12 yayy! So, he said we could go home, but she had to be under lights at home. That sucked just as bad. She was trapped in a tiny box that was too small for her so she couldn't even stretch out her legs.

She stayed in her little box for I think 4 ish days. I don't know, it all runs together. Again, we could only take her out to feed her. The worst part was that her eyes had to be covered with a hat and a mask. It was so awful. Even if she was wide awake, I had to cover her pretty eyes. I felt so evil. She worked it though. She looked cute even with a mask on, and she was a perfect angel in the box. She just layed there and enjoyed the heat :).

I love this one, She's so precious, it's like she's trying to escape. Throughout this process, she had to have her levels tested pretty much every other day, so she has 4 poke marks in each foot. No wonder she hates her car seat, every time we put her in it, she goes somewhere where she has to get poked! The good news. It worked! Her biliruben levels are normal now and my little love is freeeeee! Like I said, obviously there are worse things, but all I wanted to do was snuggle this baby I'd been waiting to hold for 9 months and I just had to watch her in a box. Boo :(. Now, her skin is glowing and beautiful and we're having all kinds of fun :)

You Are My Sunshine...

My only sunshine.

You make me happy

When skies are gray.

You'll never know dear

How much I love you.

Please don't take

My sunshine away.

That's my favorite song to sing to her. Sometimes I can't even make it through it because I start crying :). As if I wasn't emotional enough before, looking at this angel really does me in.

Courtenay took these beautiful pictures of her. I love them so much. I think they so perfectly capture her perfection. Court was so awesome to come and do this and Harlow was perfect for her. Thank you so much, Court! Life is good with Miss Harlow. She has a hard time at night, but I usually get 3-4 hours in a row. Just enough to keep me going the next day. It's amazing how I can be so miserable to be awake at night, sometimes even in tears. But then when the morning comes, I am just re energized and so in love with my baby and I don't care at all about the sleepless nights. She is 2 weeks already. I love her so much.

Harlow Carol Woodmansee

There she is! The love of our loves, my little baby girl! Harlow Carol Woodmansee was born on Tuesday, March 13th at 5:34 AM. She weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21.5 inches long. She is perfectly beautiful. For now, I'll briefly share with you how this angel made her wonderfully smooth entrance into the world. Turns out good things come to those who wait.
I was supposed to be induced on Tuesday morning. So, they wanted me to be admitted on Monday night so that I could receive a pill that would soften my cervix. Piece of cake, right? So, at about 7 PM I went on in with my mom and my husband on hand to keep me company. We played cards and joked and I had a good time. I was having some mild pains. The nurse hooked me up to the moniter and says "You're having contractions". Looks like the little miss knew already it was time to come out. But, they gave me to pill anyway just to see what would happen and speed things along.
After that, things SURE did speed along. Around 11:00 PM the contractions got down to business. Those things are TORTURE. I was in the bad place until about 2:40 when I asked for my epidural. I was 3 cm and 90% effaced. Ahhh pure bliss. Epidural, I do love you. Then, the nurse came to check me at about 3:15 AM. "Whoa, your membranes ruptured and you're a 5, this is awesome!" What happy words to hear from my WONDERFUL nurse. She they decided that I would not need to pitocin and that this baby was coming on her own.

About an hour later, at 4:00 AM, I was feeling really uncomfortable. Nauseous, back aches, sweaty, I knew something was up. So, we called the nurse. "Oh my gosh, you're at a 10, you're complete, the other nurses are not going to believe this. Call your mom, I'm calling the doctor and we're going to push". OHHHH my gosh! I was so excited/soooo nervous about pushing.

Mom and the doctor showed up very quickly. I pushed for 40 minutes and then heard my favorite sound. Harlow's voice. I'm crying now just typing about it. It was truly a beautiful experience. Michael was a giddy little boy with excitement. It was SO cute. And it was so special to have Grandma with us to see her grand baby enter the world. I will always look back on that moment with so much joy.

There's my team (with mom behind the camera). Dr. Broberg was FABULOUS and made me feel so important and so strong. But Alicia, my nurse, was just wonderful. She took such good care of us and I totally feel like we're BFFs. I'm so thankful to her. Michael was the best support a person could ever ask for in that kind of an overwhelming situation. And my mom kept me sane with all of her encouraging words and I just knew that I could do it. Here are some pictures, in random order, of our whole hospital experience.

I am healing up wonderfully, have had very minimal pain, and feel very, very blessed to have enjoyed this whole experience. There are not words for how much I love and adore Harlow. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Thank you all so very much for your kind words, love, and support. Now, let the fun begin!