One Week Old!

(This should have been posted on Sunday, but, you know, there is a newborn in the house and other things take precedent right now).

Catherine is one week old today!  So far she is sleeping a LOT and having lots of dirty diapers.  She is only taking about 1 to 1 1/2 oz of milk every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  I'm pumping, not straight nursing.  It just works out better for both of us this way.  We have a tendency for both of us to fall asleep every time we tried to nurse.  And because she is so little I like to know how much she is getting at each feeding.

(We went back to the doctor for a weight check on Monday.  She has gained 4 oz in 5 days, yeah!  So, now her current weight is 5 lbs 7 oz.  She is doing good!)

She makes the cutest and funniest faces in her sleep.  We are smitten with her.  She is so wonderful and we love her to pieces!

Catherine Elizabeth - 03.20.2011

Well, better late than never (in posting this), but Catherine was born at 6:35 am on Sunday, March 20, 2011.

It was a BIG surprise to say the least!  I had a feeling that she would come early, but I never thought it would be 4 weeks early.

I had been feeling really tired all day on Friday and Saturday.  The leg swelling had gotten worse and I was just feeling overall icky.  So, I went to bed early on Saturday night, hoping to get a good night of sleep.

Much to my surprise (and shock and terror), I felt a brief, sharp pain in my lower abdomen followed by a small rush of fluid.  It was 3:00 am and I had been sound asleep. 

I literally leaped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom.  As I was leaping out of bed, understandably startled, all I could say was "Oh!  Oh! OH NO!"  And then I tried to speak intelligently and tell Trey that I was pretty sure that my water broke.

I was not doing a good job communicating because I recall Trey telling me that I would need to get my thoughts together before I attempted to call the Emergency After Hours number.  So, I tried to gather my thoughts and then I called.  And she told us to head to the hospital to get checked out.

And then the contractions began.  Every five minutes all the way on the 40 minute drive to the hospital.  I looked over at Trey and said, "Yeah, I don't think they are going to send us back home."  I was right!

We arrived at Labor and Delivery just before 4:00 am and I got checked in and got in a room.  The nurse came in and got us all hooked up and confirmed that my water broke.  At this point I started to shake all over.  I was nervous and starting to panic a little bit because I was only 36 weeks along and I was scared for what that meant for Catherine to be 4 weeks early.

It all happened so fast that I really didn't have time to sit and dwell on it.  She was coming and we had some phone calls to make.  I called my parents (and woke them up) and they assured me that they would be there as soon as they could that morning.  Then I called Robin because they were the closest to Little Rock and I was hoping they might make it in time to wait with Lauren.  But everything was  happening so fast. 

Sometime around 5:00 am the nurse told me that the doctor on-call would be performing my c-section sometime that morning, so I thought maybe we had time.  That was a terrible assumption on my part, or a miscommunication on the nurse's part, but she came back later and said that the surgery would happen in the next hour.  PANIC MODE.

We had to come to the realization that Trey would not be able to be in the operating room with me because we had no one to stay with Lauren.  There just wasn't enough time to get anyone there.  I was disappointed and scared, but there was nothing that could be done about it.  it all happened so quickly.  Time to be a big girl and have this baby girl.

The shaking was the only part that was really irritating.  The epidural was no big deal, painless and began working immediately.  So grateful for that.

The c-section went very well and the doctor, although not my own, was very nice and careful.  He did, however, accidentally nick Catherine's forehead as he cut her out of me.  He said my uterine wall/lining was extremely thin and Catherine was facing up instead of down.  But thankfully it was a superficial cut and is gone now.  I don't even think it bled at all.

She came out crying and hollering.  And then I started crying because I knew she would be okay.  They lifted her up so I could see her and I couldn't believe how little she was.  She scored a 9 at one minute and another 9 at five minutes on the Apgar test.  She's tiny, but scrappy!  She was 2 lbs lighter than Lauren was when she was born.  And at least about 3 inches shorter.

She weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz and was 17 3/4 inches long.  Tiny, but healthy!  She looks a LOT like Lauren when she was born.  Catherine has the same dark hair that sticks straight up.  It's so fuzzy and cute.  Makes me wonder if Catherine will have curly hair like Lauren.  I think Lauren had a little bit rounder face, but I think Catherine's will round out as she puts on more weight.  They have the same eyes, nose and chin. 

We have beautiful girls, what can I say?  I'm a proud Mama.

We are doing pretty good.  Just adjusting to having two little girls in the house.  Lauren has been so great with her baby sister.  She wants to help all the time and I think it's very sweet.  She does ask a TON of questions, but she's 3 1/2 and there are lots of things to learn!

Surprise!

No, I did not have Catherine, yet... Although any day would be fine with me!!!

But I did have a Surprise! Baby Shower at work on Tuesday.  Boy, those ladies I work with are sneaky and also super sweet.  I have the privledge of working with an amazing group of people who are like family.  But I had NO idea they planned this!  They decorated the conference room while I was at my doctor's appointment.  That had to be tricky because my cubicle is right next to the conference room.  Ha!

To get me out of my cube they had a co-worker come get me to "look over something" at his desk.  I almost blew him off and told him I would do it later, because I was actually listening to a conference call at the time.  Then another co-worker came and got us and said that our boss needed to talk to us about our performance reviews.  I bought the whole she-bang!  So, imagine (or just look below) my surprise when I walked into the room and saw it all decorated for a baby shower!

I am seriously anti-picture these days so I was moving around a lot and not in focus.  Mission accomplished.  :)  And my friend Emily that was taking the pictures agreed to not get me in too many of them.  Seriously, I don't look like myself at all and it had been a long morning at the doctor's office.

Lots of the ladies that I work with came and everyone in our billing group was there too.  It was so special and so unexpected.  I'm so glad I didn't just burst into tears, but I was holding them back!  I love the people that I work with, they are so wonderful.

Everyone was so generous and I got such a variety of things!  There were diapers, wipes, precious onesies, gift cards, a play mat, one of those big stroller/car seat toys that you attach, a precious monogrammed burp cloth, a baby blanket, a very nice diaper bag, and sweet baby outfits.  It was wonderful and I'm so thankful to work with such a great group of people!  I'll get a picture of all the wonderful gifts once I get everything unpacked at home.  It may not be until this weekend though... Mama goes to bed very early these days.  :)

35 days and counting down

1.  35 days from today is the big day!  Oh my word, I don't know if I'm going to make it.  Seriously, I don't want Catherine to come before she's ready, but my feet and legs are about to explode from all the fluid.  I'm busting out of all my shoes, it's awful.  I think it's worse that it was with Lauren.  For example, at my checkup last week I had gained 5 pounds... in a 2 week time period.  Ya'll, I'm not eating that much.  There is not that much room left to pack away food like that!  I.IS.SWOLE.  From head to toe.  And the last day or so I've been monitoring my blood pressure (we have a machine at home and one at work too) because I can feel a little bit of difference.  My normal reading is around 100/60 (and sometimes lower), but in the past couple of days it's been closer to 120ish/80ish.  I realize that's typical for the average person, but because mine is usually lower than that I wanted to keep track of it.

Visual proof of the severity of the swelling (the left foot/leg is much worse than the right):

(Wow, I can't believe I just posted those photos... it's so embarrassing how fat my feet are right now!)

2.  I'm making my list for my "go-bag" for the hospital.  I have a few toiletry type items I need to pick up, but in general I think I have everything I need.  I might get a new nightgown or robe though.  I'm sure I'll forget something though... I guess I just need to think of it as going to stay at a hotel for a few days, ha!.  That might help my thought process.
Here is my super cute duffle bag for the hospital.  It's from my sweet sister for my birthday!  I love it!!!  She gave me the matching tote bag too so I'll have plenty of room for all the stuff I'll need at the hospital.  I can't wait to pack it! 

3. This time around I'm going to pack a few things for Catherine... little outfits and hats and things.  I was so naive with Lauren I didn't know we were allowed to dress them in their own clothes at the hospital!  Poor Lauren only had one outfit at the hospital for her picture to be made in.  I guess it's not really a huge deal.  They are swaddled the whole time anyway.  But anything is cuter than that little white t-shirt they put them in.  I would like to get a cute little pink cap too... something more than the generic hospital one.

4. I think we are all prepared at the house (as far as I know...).  The only thing to be brought down from upstairs storage is the swing and that's no big deal.  Everything else is ready to go!  We just need to learn how to install the new carseat and we'll be all set!

5.  Lauren is getting ready for "her" baby to get here.  She walks up to me a lot and puts her hands on my belly waiting for Catherine to move so she can feel her.  It is the sweetest thing.  She's not quite understanding how Catherine is going to get out of my belly though.  Thankfully since I'm having a c-section it's a bit easier to explain.  I'm not sure how I would even attempt to tell her how it works "naturally"... ha!

6. I am hoping to get over this sinus/congestion issue I've been fighting for a week and a half now.  I was able to get a z-pack from the doctor, thank goodness, and it has helped tremendously.  I don't have the horrible sinus headaches, pressure, and earaches that I had over the weekend.  It was a lovely way to spend a long weekend... and my birthday weekend at that!

7.  I did, however, manage to burn my tongue by sleeping with a cough drop in my mouth every night for over a week.  My word, it is SORE and all red and terrible looking too!  I thought I was doing good by using the Halls Fruit Breezers instead of the menthol ones, but they burned it just the same.  Hopefully it will feel like normal in another day or so.  OUCH.

How to cut down a massive tree

We are all about education here at The Steiner Family blog.  You'll get family fun pictures, the occasional cooking/recipe post, and now here's one on landscaping for your enjoyment.

How to cut down a big 'ole tree in your front yard.  This happens to be a massive sweet gum tree (can't stand those balls that drop all over the place!).  Actually, it was a cluster of 3 trees, but the other ones were much smaller and I didn't get a picture of those before they got cut down.

Anyway, so here's how you cut down an unwanted tree.

1.  Marry a man that loves to dig in the dirt.  :)  This is key.  (It's a bonus if he's cute and his baby girl adores him.)  :)

2.  Have access to, or buy your very own tractor.

3.  Position tractor so that the backhoe attachment is pushing the tree in the direction you want it to fall.

4.  Grab your chainsaw and get to cutting.  First cutting on the front side of the tree, and then cutting a wedge in the backside of the tree to weaken it.

Take a look... make sure you are doing it right.

5.  Grab your axe "thingy" and metal wedge "thingamajig" and pound it into the backside of the tree.

6.  Pick up your chainsaw and get after it from the other side.

7.  Sense that the tree is falling and duck and run.  Don't forget to say TIMBER!!!

Take a look back... this is the fun part!

SUCCESS!

8.  Start cutting off the limbs so that you can get it hauled off to the burn pile.  This part might take a little while...

9. Dig out the root ball and begin the plan of attack for the removal of said MASSIVE root ball that was the base of the tree.  

10.  Gently pull the root ball out of the ground.  And don't tell your wife until a few days later just how dangerous this process is.  Don't tell her that you know of a person who was doing something quite similar and the chain broke loose and hit the person in the head and killed him.  No... keep that information to yourself.  But for the love of your family, be careful!

11.  Drag that joker to the back of your house and dump it somewhere out of sight.

12.  Leave a large hole in the front yard.

13.  Call it a day and fill in the hole the next day.  Go inside and get yourself some dinner.  I'll bet your wife made some chicken pot pie, just the way you like it.  :)  Wait a second... how did she have time to do that if she was photographing your tree removal process?  (You must have married some kind of super woman!)  It's a mystery... the world may never know.