Kate's Trip to the Pediatric Cardiologist

We had Kate's appt today with Children's Hospital for her Echo-cardiogram to "investigate" her heart murmur. (An echo-cardiogram is basically an ultrasound of the heart)

Kate had an EKG done in July & she was a total spaz during it & freaked out when they tried to put on the stickers & the probes. She was literally screaming, crying & thrashing around during her EKG. They were able to get a small reading on the EKG for about 5 seconds.

The results of the EKG came back "Abnormal" and did indicate a murur. Our Dr. referred us to Children's Hospital to meet with a pediatric cardiologist and ordered an echocardiogram. She wanted to see if there was a correlation between Kate's heart murmur & her small size & slow weight gain. The thought was that maybe her heart was working too hard & this was causing her to not be able to gain weight.

My dr told me it was probably an innocent murmur & she might out grow it my 4 or 5 years old. (I found out last month that my dad had a murmur as a child & actually still has one at the age of 59).

My dr told me not to loose sleep over this & that Kate is probably just fine, she just wanted to "make sure", hence the referral to Children's.

My mom came with me to Kate's appointment today b/c I had Kate and Claire & we didnt know how Kate was going to react to the echo. I needed back-up!

The appt went well. The dr came in and checked her out with the stethescope & Kate played with a sticker he brought her. He said he could hear the murmur & that Kate would have an echo done to see if there were any other complications with her heart, like a hole, etc, blah blah blah (other medical stuff I didn't understand or remember).

He said the tech would get us in a few minutes for the echo. That worked out well b/c I needed to nurse Claire in about 30 minutes, so I figured I could wait until the appt was over. Well a few minutes turned into 45 minutes! While we were waiting Kate was busy looking at books & playing with my keys & wallet. All of a sudden I felt something wet on my arm & I noticed I was leaking! There was a huge wet spot on my left boob. That is classy with a K.

Finally, the tech gets us & we follow him to the echo room. This is when Kate starts to freak. She has to lay down on this bed & we take off her shirt. The tech squirts the ultrasound goo on her chest and Kate is screaming & trying to get off the bed. I have to hold down her arms & my mom has to hold down her legs. The dr even brought her a lollipop. Kate didn't want that and practically flung it out of my hand. The echo took about 10 minutes and Kate was hysterical the whole time. She obviously doesnt like people in her personal bubble.

After the echo, we went back to our room & then the dr came in with the results. He said, you have a healthy little girl with an innocent heart murmur. He said "It has been nice being her cardiologist, I dont need to see her again!" Praise God!

YAY! Great news! I took Kate to Starbucks for a Strawberries & Creme to celebrate.

Stainless Steel Wipes

Last month, I told you about The Ped Egg.

This month, I HAVE to tell you about my new favorite product.

Weiman's Stainless Steel Wipes. They are the BOMB.

Kevin and I are "nesting". Usually this happens a few weeks before the birth of your child. For us, we didn't nest until this weekend and Claire is already 2.5 weeks old. Better late than never, right?

We decided to deep clean our house. We started with our kitchen Friday night after the girls were in bed and cleaned until 1am. We re-sealed our granite countertops, cleaned the shutters, cleaned the sink and then I decided to try out these stainless steel wipes that I had picked up at Safeway earlier in the week for $4.79

Seriously, I was SHOCKED at how well they worked. My appliances look brand new. I am so happy.

It is a little pathetic how excited I am about these wipes. I need to get out more.

Hola, me llamo Claire

Claire has black hair & a dark complexion.

On more than one occasion, people have commented about this & have said she looks Mexican.

My favorite comment from a family friend was,
"Oh Wow, she looks like she is from South of the Border"

We agree, so Kevin and I have been speaking Spanish to Claire in hopes that she will pick up the language at a young age & not have to cheat her way through Spanish (like her dad).

Adios!

A visit to the Doctor

Today we had Claire's 1 week check up & Kate's weight check.

Kate: 20 lbs 6 oz & 32.5 inches
(she gained a pound since her 18 month check up. yay!) She is in the 2% for weight & 50% for height).
Kate has her appt with the pediatric cardiologist on Sept 29th to get an echo-cardiogram to check on her heart murmur.

Claire: 9 lbs 7 oz & 22.5 inches (100% for both...haha..so different than Kate!!) we go back in 3 weeks for her 1 month check up. Obviously the measured Claire incorrectly at birth, because there is no way she grew 2 inches in a week. I am thinking she was really 22 inches (or more) at birth.

I also weighed myself at the dr. (we dont have a scale at home) I have lost 30 pounds & have 12 pounds until I am at my pre-pregnancy weight! not bad for 9 days post partum....gotta love breastfeeding!

And, here is a cute pic I took today of the girls:

Mellow Yellow

No, I am not talking about the nasty soda.

The home nurse from the hospital came yesterday to check out me & Claire.

Claire weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz. The nurse said she looks good, but is a little jaundiced and has a "yellow" tinge to her skin.

She suggested that we put her in some in-direct sunlight to help the yellow-ness go away.

Here are pictures of Claire "sunbathing"

No mistaking they are sisters

I think Kate and Claire look so much alike. Well, their faces look alike, but Claire has a ton of black hair.

Here are comparison pictures of Kate & Claire at 2 days old.

Can you tell who is who?

Claire's Birth Story

Today was my due date with Claire (9.12.08)

Here is her birth story:
I went in for my induction at 7 am on Tuesday 9/9/08. At my appt the week before, I was 2 cm & 50% effacted. Dr. W wanted to induce me because I had a big baby. He wanted to induce me on September 1st, but that was too early for me...I wanted to get in another week of teaching because school had just started on August 26.

When we got to the hospital, I got checked in & then my nurse wanted to check me. She couldn't feel my cervix b/c it was too high?????? So, she wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby was still head down. She did an u/s, and baby was head down, so she started the pitocin at 8:30.

I got checked at 10:30 and was only at 3cm. Then, my dr came in at 12:30 to check me again & I was still only at 3cm!!! I couldnt believe how slow I was dialating. So, at 12:30 my dr also broke my water to get things moving faster (the pitocin was at the highest level they could go). I started feeling more contractions & I knew I would start progressing faster.

They checked me again at 2:00 & I was only 3.5 cm. I was starting to get frustrated! They suggested I get the epidural then so that maybe my body would relax & I would dilate more. So, i got the epi & waited.

I got checked again at 3:30 and I was still a 3.5 cm. I started freaking out that my body was failing me & that I wouldn't dialate. (I was also induced with Kate & I dialated 1-2cm an hour, so I was shocked that with baby #2 it was going so slow)

I got checked again at 5:00 at I was still a 3.5, but I was now 100% effaced and the baby's head was moving down. I was still super frustrated that I wasn't dialating. I thought I was going to have to have a c/s for sure.

I was checked at 6:45 and I was a 4.

I was checked at 7:40 and I was at a 10 & ready to go! I was SOOO relieved.
(Side note: we were watching Wheel of Fortune)

Dr W got there at 8:25 and we started pushing. I pushed for almost 3 hours with Kate, so I was hoping I would only have to push for an hour or so.

Well, after only 25 minutes of pushing, Claire Kristine Larson was born!
It was another GIRL!!!
I knew it! It was so fun hearing, "It's a Girl" again!

She was 9 lbs 6 oz & 22.5 inches long. I had a 2nd degree tear & had to get some stitches, but I feel great! I was more torn up with Kate & way more sore with Kate. Kate was 8 lbs 5 oz, but had a bigger head.

She is so big, the newborn diapers don't even fit her.
The nurses had to bring me a pack of size 1's. That was kind of sad.
Hopefully she won't have the weight gaining issues like Kate has!

Claire looks so much like Kate did as a baby, it is kinda scary! Claire has more hair than Kate, her hair is black! She looks like an eskimo!
She is nursing like a champ & sleeps a lot (for now)

Leaving for the hospital!

Playing Cribbage during labor & eating Jell-o. Good times!

30 seconds after Claire was born!

Yep, a 9 lb 6 oz baby. I was shocked!
With our Favorite Doctor!

Check out those cheeks!
What a cutie!
We are so thankful for our newest blessing & I am so excited to have TWO daughters!

We are tickled PINK!

It's a GIRL!!!

I was right!

Claire Kristine Larson is here!

Born September 9, 2008 at 8:50 pm
9 lbs 6 oz
20.5 inches

We got home this afternoon. I will post the birth story tomorrow.

Kate loves her little sister. She met her at the hospital yesterday. It was adorable!

Eviction Day

Tomorrow is Eviction Day for Baby #2.

We are heading to the hospital at 7 am.

Tonight is the last night Kate is going to be an only child.

I can't believe my "baby" is going to be a Big Sister. I got teary eyed tonight reading her the new book I got her, "I'm a Big Sister".

Kevin is at high school youth group right now & Kate is asleep. The house is quiet & I am reflecting on tomorrow.
I am so emotional about having this baby & meeting this new member of our family. Will it be Claire or Luke?

Will I love this baby as much as I love Kate? Will I be able to handle having 2 kids 19 months apart? I am a good enough mommy to be a mom to 2 kids?

It is time to go to bed & rest up for labor. I hope I don't have to push for 3 hours.

The bags are packed, the camera batteries are charged!
By this time tomorrow (hopefully!) we will have 2 kids. That is like a "real" family!

My last belly picture!

Here I am in all my glory.........39 weeks preggo.

I will be induced Tuesday 9.9.08

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Baby Luncheon for Baby #2

My sister in law Cindy called me a few weeks ago & wanted to have a luncheon in honor of Baby #2's upcoming arrival. And, she wanted to have it at Peasant and the Pear! Isn't that nice?

Before the luncheon Elyse, Rebecca and I went to Bagel Street & then we went and got pedicures. (I have to have pretty feet for labor). It was nice to have a morning to get pampered!

After the pedicures, we went to the luncheon at Peasant and the Pear. I LOVE this place. I had an awesome panini sandwich with pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes & chicken. It rocked. The baby got some cool stuff....diapers, a blankie, a book & some onesies. Kate got a Big Sister T-shirt. It was fun to celebrate with my sisters, mom, sister-in-laws, mother-in-law & my niece Lou Lou. And, we had the best waiter ever (what is the soup de jour?).

The waiter Jim even brought me out a cake that said, "It's a BOY". (was this prophetic?)

He must of noticed our shocked faces when all of us said, "Really???"
He then quickly realized this cake was for the other baby shower going on. Good times.

Thanks again Cindy!

Here are the favors:
"Claire & Luke" cookies...who will it be?

Not Cool.

Things that are not cool:

1. Having to pee every hour because a baby is pounding on your bladder.

2. Still having waves of nausea when you are 9 months pregnant. Throwing up with a big ole' baby belly is not fun. Seriously not cool.

3. The A/C in my classroom not working on Back to School Night....it was 90 degrees in my classroom. I was sweating as I was giving my presentations to the parents. You should have seen the looks on their faces as they walked into the INFERNO (aka my classroom). It was nasty in there.

4. The fact that in your last week of pregnancy the weather has been in the triple digits for 5 days straight. What is up with that?? It is September...summer is OVER!!

5. A rat (or some other rodent) dies under your house & it's awful stench stinking up your laundry room because the heat is baking it's corpse. This is not cool ever, but when you are 9 months pregnant your sense of smell is out of control.

It's Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

Well, it is Labor Day, but not "Labor" Day for me.

My Dr. wanted to induce me today because he was going to be inducing one of his PA's and also my friend Nicole. I said I needed to wait until at least next week because I need to get in another week of teaching!

But it is September which means I will be having a baby this month (probably next week!).....craziness!!!

Here are some pics of Kate from today getting ready for the baby: