An Update

Katy is almost 4 weeks old so I guess I can give an update of the last few weeks.
Mark went back to work on Monday the 18th after taking a three week leave to take care of me & the kids. I was a little afraid of how things were going to go (it had only been 2 weeks since the c-section) but everything has gone really smoothly for the most part. Katy is beginning to know that we sleep at night so I am getting a decent amount of sleep (on average 6 hours) but she LOVES to be held when she is awake so I am not getting much done during the day. I just borrowed Erika's bouncy chair that Emma has outgrown so we'll see if Katy can hang out in that so I can get laundry & some cleaning done during the day! Keep your fingers crossed for me. As you know Katy was 10 lbs 11 oz at birth & she was down to 9.13 at her 2 week appointment which is when most babies have gained back all their lost birth weight. Well, we had a weight check yesterday & she is back up to 10.7! I am SOOO relieved! The pediatrician wants to see her the end of next week just to be sure but she said she looks great & is gaining weight at the appropriate rate. I was nervous but now I am reassured that I am doing the right things for her & keeping her fed. PHEW! She is also beginning to love to eat almost as much as Lizzie did so we are nursing on a VERY regular schedule. We are supplementing with a few ounces of formula after every feeding though, something I wish I'd done with Lizzie. This way she is eating every 3 hours rather then every 1-1 1/2 hours like her big sister did.
Lizzie LOVES being a big sister & has discovered that she is just strong enough to pick Katy up out of her bed. I've been able to persuade her of how dangerous that is so she doesn't anymore, I think she just likes knowing she can. She likes to give Katy her pacifier when she is upset & ALWAYS wants to hold her. Lizzie also got to get some shots last week & she has told anyone who will listen that she is NEVER getting shots again! She was incredibly brave though, mom was super impressed!
Jalen thinks she is adorable & like an angel. He is a good brother & will go fetch things for mom when asked. He can even warm up her bottle in the microwave if mom asks! He is done with school for the summer & will be going to Montana for 10 weeks with his grandparents. When he gets home he will be starting SECOND grade! I am always amazed when I realize how much time has passed since he was my baby!
Mark is still working at GoDaddy in server support & he is so good at what he does! I am always so grateful that he works in the computer industry, we really haven't felt the bite of the recession. We are super blessed in that way. He is also working on some side business opportunities that he really enjoys & that he sees having great potential in the coming years. He has been having fun cooking something fun & new almost every night using the Biggest Loser cookbook I mentioned in my Mother's Day post. I am so grateful that he likes to cook, we would be eating PB & J (or PB & Honey for Jay) every night if it were up to me! I am motivated to get myself in shape but not really up for cooking much lately. Easy & fast is what I'm into! Thank goodness for Mark!
I am healing really well from my surgery. I feel better & better almost every day. I am SUPER excited to get back to the gym next week. I will be able to do cardio for two weeks & then I will have my 6 week check up to get cleared for doing things like strength training & swimming. I can't wait! I am so glad that I was able to get to the gym so often when I was pregnant. I know that is the main thing that has been making my recovery go so quickly & easily. I aim to get in EXCELLENT shape & then (if we decide to have more!) stay in shape through regular exercise. That is something I've never done before I really look forward to making that lifestyle change!
Well, things are going pretty great right now & Katy just went to sleep so I get to go do some laundry.

Pictures of Katy

Here is a picture of Katy that Jay took.

Grandpa Gus with Jay & Katy

Mommy & Katy

Katy sitting on the couch at Grandma & Grandpa's house

Such a pretty 3 week old

Mother's Day

I know it's been over a week since Mother's Day but I REALLY want to brag about the AWESOME gift Mark & the kids got me this year.
As most of you know I had been working on my physical fitness when I got pregnant with Katy & since being pregnant isn't the best time to lose weight (at least for me!) I went out of my way to eat healthy & get to the gym at least 3 days a week while I was still pregnant. I still gained quite a bit of weight but as of last Friday I had already lost half of what I'd already gained & with the AMAZING Mother's Day gifts I know I'll lose the rest in no time. In case you can't tell, we love the Biggest Loser & the books are the 30-Day Jump Start (workouts & meal plans) and the other is the Budget Friendly Family Cookbook. We have already begun using the cookbook (REALLY yummy recipes & Mark is doing most of the cooking, this gift just keeps on giving!) and in a few more weeks I'll be able to begin working out so I'll use the 30 day jump start at that point. I am INCREDIBLY excited to get back to the gym in two weeks. I'll be able to do cardio then & two weeks after that I'll be able to do some strength training. The best part? Mark is going to come to the gym with me! We will go when he gets home from work & then come home for dinner. I am so happy we have a plan! Besides all the health benefits I have the goal of running the 10K Mesa Turkey Trot with Rachel & Olivia this Thanksgiving so that is a major motivator for me as well.
SOOO grateful for a loving husband who loves me regardless of my size but loves me enough to be supportive of my fitness goal, enough that he will join me & get our kids to be a part of all this as well. I am so blessed to have him!

More Pictures

Katy & mommy

Katy

Maddie & Lizzie @ Chuck E. Cheese

Katy thinking deeply

Super Smiley One Week Old!

Mommy & Katy cuddling

One blessed mommy with 3 beautiful kids

Pictures & the rundown

This is me waiting in triage to be taken to the OR, the last pregnant picture. Notice the big grin? I'm WAY excited to be almost done being pregnant!


This is Mark just before entering the OR. My midwife, Janice, was kind enough to take this shot. Even though you can't see his face I know that he has a big grin under that mask. We were both SO excited & happy!


Mark took this one when he was finally able to come into the OR. They were still doing a little bit of prep for the surgery but it could've been almost over for all I knew. I couldn't feel a thing! Spinal blocks are AMAZING once you get past the side effects of feeling like you can't breathe and that you're going to puke. Once I got the puking out of the way I could breathe just fine! I think the oxygen mask was precautionary.

Once Katy was out I told Mark to hurry and get some "gooey" pictures of her. I have the mental image of my other kids like that but with the c-section I didn't want to miss out on those memories!


The nurse from the nursery brought Katy over to me after they did the initial clean up before heading to the nursery & Mark took the top photo. Then she was kind enough to take this one of the three of us. I couldn't stop looking at Katy even long enough for the picture. She is SO beautiful & she is FINALLY here!

For those of you who can't imagine it, here is a picture of Katy on the scale in the nursery, minutes after birth. The reading is 10 lbs 11.4 oz. At 22 inches long I feel like she can't really qualify as a newborn, can she?

Here are Mark & Katy together in triage where we went to recover until a regular room had opened up. I honestly have zero memory of taking this picture so I REALLY hope one of the nurses did!

This is Katy with Aunt Sarah just a few hours after birth. It took a little while before we got into a regular room & Aunt Sarah came within minutes us getting settled! We had to document the big alert eyes. She looks like a baby who is a few weeks old in this one, not like a baby just hours after being born!

Here is another of Katy's very first visitors, Uncle Mike. You can't tell by the smile on Mike's face but he was a little nervous about holding her. He did though & he has even held her a few other times since then as well! We think he is a great uncle & the kids seem to agree!

This is the first time Jay & Lizzie met their new sister. When we went into the hospital last Wednesday for the big fake out we were happy to notice that the visitor policy for children was that siblings could visit, any non-sibling children visitors had to be 12 & over. Well, on Thursday that changed the rule to no children in the hospital AT ALL due to a late RSV season & the swine flu outbreak. The kids had seen pictures but were disappointed in getting to see the real thing until we were released on Monday. Contrary to the look on Lizzie's face in this picture they were both very happy to meet Katy & to get to see mommy again after almost 3 whole days!

Katy was already showing off what a good sleeper she is in this picture. We were outside the hospital, waiting for Mark to bring the car up & she slept & slept & slept! She is still doing her long sleep stretches during the day but last night I got about 4 hours in one stretch & then we were up for about 2 hours with gas pain before she was able to fall asleep again. After that I got another 3 1/2 hours so she is doing pretty good so far!

This is Katy meeting Grandma Dee for the first time yesterday. Grandma got here yesterday morning & will be here until next week & Katy got to go to the airport to pick Grandma up. It was fun for the whole family to go & see Grandma arrive & then we spent the day at Aunt Sarah's house playing and taking turns holding the baby when she wasn't eating. It was a nice day all around.

There it is, all the pictures so far & the rundown of how things are going so far. We are so happy to have Katy here & SO blessed to have so much loving family around to take care of us while we figure out how to take care of Kathryn. And even though there isn't a single picture showing it, I do hold the baby & often!

The BIG One

Kathryn Grace Stoecker arrived in all her glory Saturday May 2, 2009 at 9 a.m. She weighed in at 10 lbs 11 oz and is 22 inches long. Yes, she is bigger than Lizzie was & she is much more calm & sleepy then her big sister. She has short brown hair all over her head where Lizzie's grew just on top & she arrived via c-section.
I had an ultrasound on Friday that estimated her weight at 10.6 lbs and after talking things over with Dr. Kells my midwife, Janice called to let me know my options & to fill me in on some of the risks that go along with a baby that big. Basically we could either continue waiting for things to happen naturally or we could have a c-section. Mark & I discussed it & decided that the inconvenience of recovering from a c-section was more worthwhile then any risk of injury to the baby so we decided to do the surgery. We got scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning & felt REALLY good about our decision. Mark would've felt better with a later appointment time but I was SUPER anxious to have my little girl here. We arrived to check in at 6:30 in the morning & after a little bit of paperwork & surgery prep I walked to the OR at 8:15 to get my spinal block. At 9 a.m. exactly she was here! She cried & scored a 9 on both her APGAR tests and Mark went with her to the nursery while I got myself put back together.
We've been having a REALLY great stay in the hospital, the nurses and aides are taking really great care of us. We may be going home tomorrow & I am feeling pretty ready. I miss Jay & Lizzie and because of the swine flu they haven't been able to come visit us in the hospital. They have seen pictures & Lizzie was pretty sad yesterday when she couldn't come but they are excited to meet their baby sister.
I am so happy & grateful that everything turned out so great & that Katy is here safe & sound. We are still having an adjustment period (for some reason I can't stop comparing her to Lizzie, she is SOOO different!) and I am excited to have her home & get back to life.