My Baby Girl...
Links, Pictures and Video...
- Kaylee's Site
- Ultra-sound pictures
The first child of Ethan and I was expected on November 5th, 2007. We are very excited to be making this move from a couple to a family. This site has filled out slowly over the course of the pregnancy. Now that she is here, you can read updates about the baby on her own site at kaylee.ethanet.com.
Baby was conceived in February, 2007. We had been trying for several months, so when we took the test and saw that we had indeed gotten pregnant we were over-joyed! The restrictions on my diet and exercise during pregnancy were hard to get used to though. I had to miss my hockey state tournament, which was very hard for me, but at the same time the tiny baby inside me was much more precious to me than any WHAM state title! For about the first two months I did have to continue to remind myself how much I really wanted this baby, as I went through morning sickness, and other unpleasant symptoms of early pregnancy. It felt more like a bad stomach flu than a pregnancy to me! Once I began to near the end of the first trimester, I started feeling relief from much of the physical discomforts and the pregnancy became much more enjoyable.
I had my first ultra-sound at 11 weeks, and it was an amazing experience. The OB/Gyn clinic I am going to has great in-house machines, and it was really easy for the doctor to just take us over, and in seconds we could see our little baby squirming on the screen! Baby measured 5 cm (just under 2 inches) from head to butt. And the heartbeat was 160 bpm. So fast and strong! Baby moved around a lot and gave us views of all his/her fingers and toes, and even faced the "camera" for the picture! The doctor said that if the baby is this cooperative at the next appointment (at 16 weeks) then we will easily be able to find out the gender! I could have sat and watched the baby all day. It was amazing to see that there really was a little person inside of me. And I was amazing how much like a baby the picture looked, even so early on!
Our friends and family have been extremely supportive. Right away in the first trimester we received several adorable baby gifts from our friends, including a music playing Pooh bear, a baby Darth Vader costume, and several "one-sies" with various sci-fi related phrases on them. The gifts are all adorable and very much appreciated. It's great to know that there are so many people who will care about this little child. From the beginning we started to plan the nursery. We started working on the room at the beginning of the second trimester by putting in light blue curtains and a light green rug. We also began to plan a dinosaur theme, although we wanted to wait until we found out the baby's sex to make more specific plans.
Being pregnant is one of the strangest and most fascinating things in the world. It's amazing to me what the human body is capable of. The first trimester was a rocky road of sickness, soreness and generally unpleasant symptoms. But as soon as I hit the second trimester the sickness went away, my energy went back up, and I started to grow. It is so strange to watch my own body change and grow, and it is hard to imagine that my generally small frame will really stretch to accommodate a full-term baby! Without being able to actually see the baby, sometimes it's hard to believe that there really is a little person inside me. The whole process is so strange, sometimes it seems like something out of science fiction! Grow a person inside my body? That just sounds crazy! But it's happening! And it is quite an interesting experience. Starting at 14 weeks, Ethan and I began to talk to the baby and even play a little Mozart for it. Mozart has always been my favorite composer, so I'm really happy his music is so highly recommended for the baby. Being pregnant is fun in the second trimester! But it is distracting, it's hard to think about much other than the baby!
At 16 weeks we found out, WE ARE HAVING A GIRL! At the 16th week appointment we had another ultra-sound, and this time the doctor was able to tell us (with 80% certainly) that we are having a girl. We are very happy to be expecting a daughter. We already have her name picked out, although it is a secret until she is born. At the 16 week appointment Baby had a heart-rate of 145 bpm, and had grown to an estimated 6 oz. Just one of her feet was as long as her whole body had been at the previous appointment! She seemed sleepy at this appointment, and didn't show off as much as last time, but we still managed to see her head, toes, heart, feet, belly, spine and "girl parts".
After we found out the sex of the baby, we started to put together the baby registry. We registered at Babies-R-Us and Target, and I have a wishlist set up at China Sprout. Our main registry is the one at Babies-R-Us, it contains all the essentials, such as car-seat, stroller, bottles, and bedding, along with some of the funs stuff, like toys and books. The Target registry is all smaller items, like toys and blankets. To access either registries you just need my or Ethan's name. The wishlist at China Sprout has a bunch of Chinese and bi-lingual books, videos, and CDs for kids, as well as some cute items, like clothes. Since I want to raise my daughter as immersed in Chinese language and culture as possible, these items would be very helpful. If you can't find my wishlist, but would like to purchase something from China Sprout, please contact me. Although we set up the registry early in the second trimester, the baby shower will not be held until the third trimester.
At 18 weeks Baby had two important mile-stones. In the evening of June 5th, Ethan and I felt the baby kick from the outside for the first time! Her movements seemed to change over-night from little flutters to full-fledged kicks. She usually kicks in response to loud sounds (such as Ethan talking into my tummy) and cabonated beverages, but will also kick like crazy for no reason at all. Her favorite trick is to wait for me to want to go to sleep and then start her kickboxing exersizes. At 18 weeks we also had the "formal" ultra-sound with a tech. The whole thing lasted over 45 minutes, and was a bit tedious, but very fun. The tech confirmed her gender and pointed out all sorts of other things, such as the four chambers of her little heart. At 18 weeks 2 days she measured at approximately 9 oz, with a heartrate of 152 bpm. At this ultra-sound she wiggled all around energetically, but was still shy about showing us her face. Never the less, we got some fun pictures and enjoyed seeing our little girl again.
Towards the end of the second trimester, Ethan and I moved from St. Peter to Apple Valley. It was quite a chore to move while pregnant, but I really like out new place in Apple Valley. After we moved we finally got to set up the nusery for Kaylee's arrival. We changed the theme from dinsaurs to something a little more girly, with lots of pink, purple, and green. With the crib and changing table all set up we started to feel much more prepared. We also were given lots of hand-me-downs from both Collyn's daughter Gwen and Ann's daughter Zoe. Kaylee's dresser and closet were quickly filled with all sorts of cute little outfits.
Part of moving meant switching doctors and hospitals. This was difficult for me, because I really liked my OB clinic on Mankato. But we found a good doctor at the Fairview hospital near our house. In our third visit there we got another ultra-sound, which showed that everything was growing just like it should, and that little Kaylee was still a baby girl. We also started birth/parenting classes at Fairview. They were a little disapointing at first, but I think we have learned from them. We took a seet of 6 classes that ran from mid-September to mid-October. Unfortunately, during that time we also learned about labor through experience. Twice I had to go into labor and delivery for contractions. But both trips did not result in a premature delivery, and that's the important thing.
On September 8th my mom threw me a baby shower. My mother and grandmother were there, as were many of my friends. We played baby games, like trying to guess what different baby foods were, we talked, ate food, and people decorated squares of fabric that my mom will make into a quilt for Kaylee. We also got many gifts at the party, the biggest of which was the stroller from my grandmother. We also got toys, clothes, diapers, a swing, baskets, baby bathtub, and more. The shower was a lot of fun and I'm really happy so many people could be there. After the shower Ethan and I went out and bought the rest of the stuff that we would need before Kaylee arrives, such as the car seat. By mid-September we were all set, now we just had to wait for her to arrive.
Kaylee Rose Sommer was born Saturday, November 10th at 6:37PM via emergency c-section. She is a big, healthy girl weighing in at 8lbs 15.4oz and 22 inches long. I went into labor at 3 am that morning, at about 6 am Ethan and I arrived at the hospital, by this point the contractions were very painful so I asked for an epidural right away. At about 4 pm I was told I could start pushing, after 2 hours of pushing (and the epidural wearing off), Kaylee had still not made any progress so the OB told me a c-section would be nessisary. Half an hour labor my little girl was brought into the world. The birth was not quite the experience I had hoped for, but in the end I had my healthy baby girl, and that's all that matters. The whole journey of pregnancy and birth was both amazing and terrifying, I learned a lot about myself through this journey. Now that Kaylee is here I will be keeping this page up as a reminder of the experience, and updates about Kaylee will go on her own webpage at kaylee.ethanet.com. Thank you for taking the time to read my pregnancy story.